INSIDE EDITION catches up with Paul Karason, the man who shocked the world four years ago when he revealed his skin had turned blue.
Paul Karason shocked the world four years ago as a man who turned his skin the color blue. Karason appeared on INSIDE EDITION, Oprah and the Today show.
But what ever happened to Karason, the guy who will forever be known as Blue Man?
Sadly, he's fallen on hard times. Karason even lost his home and had no choice but to move into a homeless shelter.
Karason told INSIDE EDITION, "I really had no other place to go."
A series of crises landed him on the streets. He battled prostate cancer and heart problems. He broke up with his fiancée and couldn't get a job.
Karason said, "People are rather reluctant to hire blue people, or people that are noticeably different."
So he left Madera, California, and returned to his hometown of Bellingham, Washington, where he moved into The Lighthouse Mission Shelter, which houses 40 people.
When he grew up in Bellingham, Karason was good looking. His skin turned blue after he sought a cure for flaky skin. He read about a home remedy—drinking a solution of silver in water. At first, things were fine, but then Karason rubbed the silver into his skin. Before long, he was blue. Doctors told him there is no hope of reversing the pigmentation.
But going back to his hometown turned out to be an inspired idea. Romance is in the air for blue man.
Believe it or not, Karason has caught up with someone from his past. He first knew Joanne Elkins, 47 years ago in junior high. Karason got in touch with Elkins, and she helped him move out of the shelter. Now, they live together.
Elkins said, "He's quite a guy, despite the fact that he's blue."
