Joseph Gitnig

Joseph Leslie Gitnig (January 26, 1930 – February 23, 2025), also known as Pegasus, was an American street entertainer and poet.

By 1971, he was known as Pegasus, and became a familiar sight at Central Park Zoo in his court jester costume and mismatched shoes. His main income was from performing at private parties for children, as well as tips from street performances, from which he earned $3,000 a year. He was charged with violating a New York Parks Department regulation, which had been interpreted as requiring licenses for performers in the city's parks, although no other performer had ever been similarly charged. He was arrested a second time in May 1977. His book with Roeline van Berchum, Unicorns in the Afternoon. Poetry of promise, was published in 2024. He died of kidney failure in Tilburg, on February 23, 2025, at the age of 95.