Who was Pat from Moonachie? Tributes pour in as popular competitive eater dies aged 59

The famous Pat from Moonachie, also known as Patrick Philbin, recently passed away at the age of 59. He gained recognition for his appearance on the radio show, Opie & Anthony.

Host Anthony Cumia of Opie & Anthony paid tribute to Philbin on social media, saying that he used to entertain everyone and remained an important part of the show for a long time.

Philbin’s cause of death was not revealed by his friends and family members. Over the last few years, he used to update his fans on social media about his medical treatment, which included dialysis and cataract surgery. His leg had to be cut off, following which he had to undergo hydrotherapy.

Philbin’s fans launched a GoFundMe page last year aiming to collect $20,000 when they were made aware of his health problems. Although there have been reports that Philbin died from some health issues, it remains unknown if they were the same issues he was suffering from all these years.

"Kind, gentle, humorous": Netizens pay tribute on Twitter

Philbin became a popular name over the years as a radio personality and competitive eater. Twitter was flooded with tributes when people heard about his demise:

Philbin was known for participating in eating competitions and frequently appeared on Opie & Anthony.

Pat from Moonachie was famous as an eating competitor

Philbin initially appeared on Opie & Anthony in 1995 and was featured on the show until 2014. He became people’s favorite when he accepted the challenge of taking 75 shots of a beverage.

He then participated in a hot dog eating contest by Nathan’s Famous where he grabbed the second position by eating 26 hot dogs in ten minutes. In an interview with NJ.com, he said that he used to make hot dogs when he began to learn cooking. He added:

Philbin wasn't very active on Instagram, with only four posts and 801 followers. His last post was back in November 2018, which was a video featuring cats. He was active on Twitter, where his posts featured the treatment he had to undergo due to his health issues.

Philbin is survived by his family members, whose identities have not yet been disclosed. Although he was a well-known personality, he did not have a Wikipedia page, and so detailed information about his parents and educational background remains unknown.

He never spoke about his personal life and so it is not known if he was married or dating someone.

About the author

Anupal is a pop culture writer at Sportskeeda with a degree in Political Science. He developed a keen interest in the lives of celebrities, films, TV shows, and box office collections since an early age. After accumulating significant experience as a content writer across varied fields at companies such as The Indian Wire, DigiStatement, and QuirkyByte Media, he eventually settled on writing about his favorite genre - pop culture.

Anupal believes in conducting in-depth research while writing about any topic and relies on varied sources to ensure he produces holistic articles. He also often glances through content that was published in the 80s and 90s to gain a better understanding of the subject he is covering.

Anupal admires Robert Downey Jr., who played one of his favorite Marvel superheroes, Iron Man. He is inspired by the actor's resilience and the determination in overcoming past struggles to building a successful Hollywood career and admires the way he articulates his thoughts while speaking in interviews.

If Anupal could travel back in time, he would love to experience James Cameron's 2009 film 'Avatar' in a theatre full of fans. When he's not busy working, he binges on the latest OTT titles across languages.

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