Crazy Philadelphia Eddie Funk

Aug 22,1936 - Oct 8, 2016

Edward Funk got his first tattoo at the age of 15 years, it was a skull. In 1952 he began to work for a tattoo artist named Brooklyn Blackie, also known as Electric Rembrandt. After a short time he opened together with Lou Rubino a studio on Rockaway. He later ran his own studio in Coney Island. In 1961 after New York City banned tattooing due to some hepatitis cases, Eddie was one of the defendants who took the fight to the New York Supreme Court. Eddie moved to Philadelphia and opened a tattoo shop at Ninth and Cherry.

Afterwards, Crazy Eddie opened several tattoo shops on Race Street in Chinatown, Philadelphia. Deemed as urban blight by city planners, this cityscape was home to bums sleeping on the streets where prostitutes worked, despondent drunks dwelling in flophouses, and industrious grifters and downtrodden–yet honest–characters hustling and gambling for easy fortunes. Amongst the handful of tattooers in this neighborhood, Eddie hung his flash on the wall, unpacked his stencils, mixed his inks, started tattooing, and joined the fray.

Now Crazy Philadelphia Eddie, he made his name in those rough and tumble streets. Eddie was a character and along with his dedication and work ethic he carved a substantial swath as a tattooer in the neighborhoods of Philly.

"Tattooing, they say, is one of the first two professions. Prostitution and tattooing—we don’t know which came first, but I like them both."




During the '60s Eddie began traveling around visiting tattoo artists, expanding his knowledge of the artists and of the trade. He started collecting business cards from other tattooers. Eddie had several succesful shops on Race St, he was getting more involved in machines and pigments and the tattoo supply business. He began to think about the power that a union of tattooists would be to watch out for the interests of the tattoo business. With those business cards and contacts from selling tattoo supplies, Eddie started writing and calling and talking about his plan to unite the tattoo world. As he contacted more and more tattooists with his idea for a club, the more support he got.

Eddie claimed, "I later estimated there were 300 people tattooing on the globe, and if we could have that many in our little association-club, and each one paid their dues, we would have quite a bankroll to fight whatever steamroller came at us.To unite everybody, to get everybody together and be a union. The movie industry had their conventions and gave awards to the good actors and to the supporting actors, for the scenery, for the ideas, and I figured that if we could do that for the tattooing, there would be no end, no-no limits to where we could go."

Eddie imagined uniting tattooists and get them together as a union, a guild of professionals. He thought of the movie industry with their conventions and ceremonies to give trophys and awards to the good actors and to the supporting actors, for the scenery, for the ideas. Thats what he imagined for the entire tattoo industry. According to Eddie, "I figured that if we could do that for the tattooing, there would be no end, no-no limits to where we could go."

In 1976 Eddie co-founded and became the first president of the National Tattoo Club of the World, which was in 1978 renamed the National Tattoo Association. It was at that time that National Tattoo Supply was also established. Both the National Tattoo Association and National Tattoo Supply thrived with Crazy Philadelphia Eddie at the helm. He knew how to partner with artists and sell their flash. His knowledge of sources and his connections built a comprehensive supply house with the tattoo products and supplies that ran a world of tattooists world wide.

The National Tattoo Association became the premier organization for tattooists and fans and family alike. The appeal of a mutually minded cooperative of individuals who would artfully, thoughfully, intellegently and, bordering on elegantly, elevating the perceptoin of tattoos and tattooed people to the world at large. Crazy Philadelphia Eddie lead and guided the organizations till he retired from tattooing in 1992.

Never satisfied with past accomplishments, Eddie went on to form United Tattoo Supply which became another leader in the supply business and was preferred by many older long time tattooers and many their young charges. As the years progressed and the "old timers" of the industry were literally dying off. The interest of the younger tattooers were turning with a great hunger for the styles and even lifestyles of tattooers of the older eras. It was time for Crazy Eddie to memorialize the amazing journey, so he wrote a book of his life. Eddie was royalty at the many conventions that swept the world in the 90s and into the 21st century. To the tattoo artists of the day and to a new generation, here was a real life warrior from the bygone days of tattooing in Coney Island, NYC and Philly when it was not for the feint of heart. Eddies stories of real adventure and of the men and women who strived to learn and master the craft and the business. The competition and camaraderie and friendships and animosities of a brethern of artisan craftsmen against the backdrop of public derision and fears. Crazy Eddie was true to his inner beacon and singularly epitomied the will to not only survive but to thrive. Eddies health began to fail and he died peacefully on October 8 2016. Crazy Eddie left the party, but he is not gone.