Nicholas Gialamas, a retired structural-steel painter who caught on as a regular on WJZ-TV's Manic Monday , died May 15 at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care in Towson of complications from an illness. The Kingsville resident was 74.
Mr. Gialamas worked on ships, bridges and other structures all over the country, including most of the bridges on the Baltimore Beltway and the Harbor Tunnel. Family said he would often proudly point out his work.
"Anywhere we went, he would say, 'You know, I painted this bridge,' " said his grandson Zachary Papas of Dallas.
Mr. Gialamas' claim to fame later in life was his frequent appearances on Manic Monday. They weren't formal segments, but WJZ reporter Ron Matz said Mr. Gialamas' fractured English, exotic plants and Greek cookies made him an endearing character whom audiences looked forward to seeing.
"We put him on the air, and everybody loved him," Mr. Matz said. "There was this great charm about him, and we got a great reaction. Everybody would ask, 'Who is this guy? Where is he from?' "
Mr. Matz said Mr. Gialamas was part of a regular group that would go to Jimmy's restaurant in Fells Point after the show, and family members said he was often recognized around town.
Mr. Matz described him as "a great Baltimore character."
"He brought a lot of laughter into people's lives, and I really, really miss him," Mr. Matz said.
Fig trees were Mr. Gialamas' signature, though it almost didn't work out that way. He tried for years grow a fig tree until he and a friend were finally successful. The friend died months later, and Mr. Gialamas mused that his newfound success with fig trees was his friend helping from above, said Mr. Gialamas' wife, Stacia.
"It just snowballed, and it got to the point where we even built a greenhouse" on the 1-acre property, Mrs. Gialamas said. Her husband also cultivated lemon and olive trees, and jasmine plants that he brought back from Greece, she said.
Friends and neighbors looked forward to his gifts of fig trees each Christmas, when he dressed up as Santa Claus to make his deliveries and entertain local children. He also sold figs at the St. Nicholas Greek Festival and from home, with proceeds going to St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.
He was known in the community for his generosity, often going out of his way to help others. Mr. Matz returned the favors by helping Mr. Gialamas land a role as an extra in an episode of The Wire, the Baltimore-based crime drama on HBO.
