The man who shot to Internet fame several years ago after appearing on Today to discuss a condition that permanently turned his skin a deep blue has died.
Paul Karason was 62 when he passed away Monday in a Washington hospital, where he was admitted last week after suffering a heart attack. He also had pneumonia and later suffered a severe stroke, his estranged wife, Jo Anna Karason, said Tuesday.
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Karason started turning blue about 15 years ago.
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Karason’s widow said some people had called her husband “Papa Smurf” because of his skin color and his white mane of hair and matching full beard.
“That was a nickname he didn’t appreciate, depending on who said it,” she said. “If it was a kid who ran up to him saying ‘Papa Smurf,’ it would put a smile on his face. But if it was an adult, well ….”
Karason began using a silver preparation to treat a bad case of dermatitis that had broken out on his face. He took the silver in colloidal form that he produced himself, using electrolysis.
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