Birdman took home four Oscars last night, with Mexican filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu winning the Best Director and Best Picture Awards while making even more headlines when Sean Penn made a distasteful joke about his heritage.
Still, it doesn’t take much to realize why people loved Birdman. Not only is it a good movie, it’s a name we are quite familiar with in pop culture.
Cash Money’s CEO Baby has been stunting in our eardrums for years, and Tony Hawk earned the name ‘Birdman’ by paving the way for skateboarders everywhere.
So we decided to look back at some of our favorite Birdman references over the years. FYI, we didn’t include The Murderous Birdman of Alcatraz, but we did listen to Morris Day & The Time’s “The Bird” while writing this.
Harvey Birdman
This ‘60s superhero from the Hanna-Barbera days is now defending his fellow cartoon characters as a lawyer in an Adult Swim cartoon series. Hey, you gotta do something after you stop fighting crime, right?
Birdman, aka Baby
The Cash Money CEO specializes in staying fly in any weather, with alligator seats and swine on the dash in his G ride. Baby has made a career out of stunting, having nice things, and being “flyer” than you.
Birdman Jr.
Back when Lil Wayne was stunting like his daddy, he took on the persona of Birdman Jr. after his mentor Bryan “Birdman” Williams, the founder of Cash Money Records.
Tony Hawk – “The Birdman”
The legendary skateboard champion is also known as “The Birdman.” He gets his name for his high-flying acrobatic tricks on the board. He’s the Kool Herc of skateboarding and his pioneered the industry. He’s a different kinda fly.
“The Birdman” Koko B. Ware
The Birdman Koko B. Ware thrilled wrestling fans in the ’80s with his gimmick. This WWE Hall of Fame wrestler would sing and dance to entertain the crowd and came to the ring with a parrot named Frankie. Koko was known for two things: his high-flying moves and getting his butt kicked. He’s the first person to do the ‘Perfect Plex’ move, and the first person to lose a match on Raw.
Chris Andersen
Chris Andersen, the tatted up dude who helped LeBron James win a couple of titles with the Miami Heat, is known for his bird-themed body art, his long wingspan on defense, and his mohawk.
Instagram Star Atown
https://instagram.com/p/yAiLm5EG3g/?modal=true
“Atown” will always be the real ‘Bird Man’ though!
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty, Adult Swim, Instagram
