Written by Mike Sullivan
I met Rip and Marsha a few years after I moved to New Orleans in 1981. We were neighbors on Bourbon Street and worked together at the old Petunia’s restaurant. We remained close friends until their deaths in 2017. In the 30+ years we knew each other, they published Ambush Magazine and became fixtures in the French Quarter.
Every Mardi Gras morning, I and a few of their friends remember Rip and Marsha with a pink glitter tribute in front of their former home, the old Ambush headquarters, (located in the 800 block of Bourbon Street).
It started as a sort of joking request they made to me in 1987 or 1988, not long after their first Mardi Gras day in the “Ambush Mansion.” The request was to “scatter our ashes when we are gone” and was repeated with more specificity over time. It was easy to say, “yes, of course” to that first request.
Their first Mardi Gras in the “Mansion” was the beginning of a tradition which lasted until their passing in 2017. Rip, Marsha, Michael Strong, Marsha’s mother and I celebrated the day by tossing beads from the balcony and eating red beans and King Cake. It was my first balcony bead toss, and I didn’t realize how tame it was. But it was so much fun that I couldn’t stop smiling for a few days afterward. On Ash Wednesday, my co-workers asked me why I couldn’t stop smiling.
The tradition grew yearly into several annual traditions: balcony decorations, the Krewe of Queenatinas, the coronation of the King Cake Queen, and the Mardi Gras day bead toss. Guests at the first few King Cake Queen Coronation Parties included members of Patio Planters, mostly older, single, long-time French Quarter women. It was always fascinating seeing these women dressed in evening wear, fur stoles and diamonds, not rhinestones, sitting and talking to the King Cake Queen and the other all-done-up drag queens.
From the second year, the Mardi Gras day bead toss became an audition for the next year’s King Cake Queen. Prospects were evaluated by costume and appearance, but most importantly by who on the balcony got the most guys in the street to expose themselves in exchange for beads. I didn’t meet those qualifications, but King Cake Queen II, Jay Loomis, called and offered me the opportunity of being KCQ III. I was honored but declined, giving Smurf Murphy the chance to receive that title.
Decorating the balcony was, of course, part of the fun. The theme in 1995 was Egyptian. The balcony was beautiful with a Pharoah’s head, eyes of Horus, and columns topped with cobras posed to strike. Afterward, these decorations were placed into the Mansion’s entrance hall and were enjoyed for years after. Another memorable theme was the devil balcony, which had large devil faces with red flashing eyes. My dear friend David visited me yearly from Michigan during that period for Mardi Gras. We were walking past the Mansion one evening during the lead-up and someone was standing under the balcony selling nitrous oxide balloons. We each bought one, sat on the curb across from the balcony, inhaled and became extra spooked by those intense blinking red eyes.
At some point the “we want you to spread our ashes” became “we want you to spread our ashes on Bourbon Street on Mardi Gras day.” I again agreed to do it.
What started out as a lighthearted way to have fun took on a life of its own. Politicians, at the time just beginning to court the gay vote, began clamoring for invitations to the coronation parties. I’ll never forget the one Mayor Ray Nagin attended. “Mayor, I would like for you to meet Tittie Toulouse.” He replied, “Oh! Tittie Toulouse! It’s nice to meet you.” A young Mitch Landrieu was there one year. I saw him smiling and agilely coming down the stairs to leave. Jackie Clarkson attended in order to rebrand herself after voting against a city ordinance making discrimination against gay people for employment or in obtaining housing illegal. Mayor Sydney Barthelemy also attended.
At some point, Rip instructed me, “spread our ashes on Bourbon Street at midnight on Mardi Gras day in front of the street cleaners.” I smiled and countered with “How about I put your ashes in a confetti canon with pink glitter and shoot it over the crowd on Bourbon Street on Mardi Gras day?”
The exchange humorously continued periodically over the years until the sad time came for me to follow through. I was reluctantly prepared to honor the commitment but was relieved to find out after their passing that Cathy, Rip’s sister, had told him that she would not allow the spreading of the ashes. Ultimately, the ashes were interred at the St. Louis Cemetery # 3 on Esplanade Avenue.
That first Mardi Gras after losing them was hard. The feeling of loss was still strong and I wondered how to honor their wishes. Hmm … pink glitter, Bourbon Street, and confetti canons are available but no ashes. Pink glitter… ashes on Bourbon street. Pink glitter on Bourbon street! Use pink glitter to write Rip and Marsha’s names in front of The Mansion!
And so it began. On Mardi Gras morning, 2018, I and a few friends (Jeff, Frank, Felicia, Chris, John and Carey) gathered in front of 824 Bourbon Street, wrote Rip and Marsha’s names in the street with pink glitter. This tradition has continued every year since, and at some point was supplemented with chalk writing.
Each year, people walking down the street would ask what was going on, which enabled us to share Rip and Marsha’s story.
Last year, Cam, Yasmin, and Steven told people who asked what was going on if there was a loved one they would like to remember, they were welcome to write their names as well. And they did.
This inclusion added a new dimension to the ceremony. The small group of friends who has been remembering Rip and Marsha every year would like to extend to you, who are reading this, an invitation to come to the 800 block of Bourbon Street at 9:30 Mardi Gras morning to honor Rip, Marsha and your loved one by adding their name with some sprinkles of pink glitter! I will be adding my dear friend David’s name on February 17, 2026.
Ricky Graham’s song “Every Day is Mardi Gras in Heaven” says “The clouds there are purple, green and gold.” I wonder if its streets have been sprinkled with pink glitter?
