The Guy From Boston: 'I'm the unstar'

(Bill Greene/Globe Staff)

His name is Joe Ligotti, but you might know him as "The Guy From Boston." He's the cigar-smoking man with the loud voice, outsized personality, unmistakable Boston accent, and politically incorrect opinions. Each Wednesday on his website, theguyfromboston.net, Ligotti stands in front of an American flag and delivers his biting and unfiltered takes on politics, the war, the Big Dig, and just about anything he wants to get off his chest. Over on WFXT-TV (Channel 25), the Eastie native tones it down to report humorous and offbeat segments with celebrities visiting Boston such as Tom Hanks or the Jonas Brothers. Ligotti can also be heard on local radio, with a new Saturday morning show on 96.9 WTKK-FM, where he cohosts with Philadelphia radio personality Lawrence "Huggy" Bergman.

What began as a series of patriotic video rants that he sent to his nephew who was stationed in Iraq has catapulted Ligotti into a local celebrity with a growing national profile. His website averages about 5 million hits a month. He's been a regular contributor to the Fox News Channel's morning show, "Fox and Friends." And Jay Leno invited him as a guest. The Globe caught up with "The Guy From Boston" to find out what he had to say for himself.

Q.How did you become "The Guy From Boston"?

A.I've probably been the guy from Boston most of my adult life. I used to go into my favorite cigar store once or twice a week and I would rant and rave about life in general . . . and folks started to bring a couple of friends and a couple of more. The owner of the shop would ask me to come back. A friend of mine said, "I'm pretty good with computers, and I think you would be a riot. We should put you on TV." and I was like, "Who wants to listen to a 400-pound whack job?" And here I am.

Q.For someone who has never heard of you, how would you describe yourself?

A.I'm the guy who has the [guts] to say what everyone else is thinking. I don't think it's humor. It's a way of thinking. It's a way of life. I'm not acting. I'm the brother-in-law or the father-in-law, and you know it's Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve, and you are looking at the clock because you know I am going to arrive in 45 minutes . . . I am that obnoxious guy. That is my brand of humanity. Straightforward and politically incorrect.

Q.You like to smoke cigars. Where?

A.I get them all over the place. I am an equal-opportunity cigar smoker. I smoke down in the North End, underneath Caffe Vittoria.

Q.Cuban cigars?

A.They're OK. A little different. I am more a Honduran, Dominican [cigar] guy.

Q. What's your day job?

A. I am an equipment operator for the transportation department at the airport.

Q. YouTube.com recently took down some of your online video rants. What happened?

A. There is no question, "The Guy From Boston" is not for young ears. Somebody flagged one of my videos, one of my less crazy videos, for swearing and yelling. I had 109 of them on there, and they took them down. I don't mind, because if they flag them as inappropriate for young viewers, that's fine. I don't want young kids to listen to me anyway. There was a three-week span when they had to investigate them. YouTube was nice enough to let me and my fans put the videos back up. . . . The flag I stand in front of gives me the freedom to say what I want to say. You may not agree with what I say, but I am hoping you defend my right to say it.

Q. You were a recent guest on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno." What was that like?

A. There aren't too many fat people in LA. Lots of alfalfa and Brussels sprouts. I just threw on a Hawaiian shirt. I chewed six or seven Rolaids because my stomach was full of butterflies. Jay is an East Coast guy. Great fella. We talked right up to makeup and hair. There was comic D.L. Hughley. We met up at Morton's [steakhouse] after the show. I was just being me. I'm not an actor. When I think of something I want to say, I say it. I've been getting recognized. People say, "Hey, you're the crazy Fox guy," or, "Hey, you were on Leno. Can I take a picture of you." I say, "Sure, do you have a wide-angle lens?" As erotic as it is for me to be recognized, I still feel like the same person. I'm the unstar. I'm just me.

Johnny Diaz can be reached at jodiaz@globe.com.