The Man Behind The Robes: Kevin Short, West Hollywood Jesus

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA – Thou shalt honor thy comic. Thou shalt feed the hungry. Thou shalt tend the garden. And blessed are the strangers seeking to share selfies.

In the months since the death of West Hollywood Jesus, also known as Kevin Short, the mystery of his life lingers on as does his legacy of quirky compassion. Much like his biblical namesake, there are gaps in the life story of the Lord and Savior of Sunset Boulevard – even those who knew him best knew only glimmers of him. But also like his namesake, his legacy of kindness endures in a community determined to remember his guidance.

Short’s progression from ordinary stranger to LA’s biblical icon occurred naturally over time, but for the last decade leading up to his Dec. 2017 death, Short was the most well-known stranger in Hollywood. Standing at 6’7”, he waltzed down the streets of West Hollywood in flowing white robes, leather sandals, and his long, mousse brown hair and beard. He was an enigma who towered over the strangers that fawned over him, with “baseball mitt” hands that were always there for a hug, friend and former neighbor Brian Hamilton said.

Although he wasn’t religious himself, the symbolism of Short’s uncanny likeness to Christ wasn’t lost on him at all, Hamilton said. In fact, in many ways, Short embodied the textbook characteristics of Jesus. He was accepting, encouraging, and inclusive, Hamilton said. He’d even feed the hungry.

“He was a proponent of being who you are. Whatever you are, whoever you are, as long as you respect the beliefs of others, you’re cool,” Hamilton said. “That’s the unwritten mantra by which Kevin lived. Everyone is fine to be as they are, as long as peace and love were in his equation.”

The death of Short, who also went by Kevin Lee Light, has left a hole in the heart of Los Angeles. There is no more midnight gardening outside the apartment complex at N. Laurel Avenue and Fountain Avenue, no more donuts brought to tired, starving comics at The Comedy Store, no more songs inspired by West Hollywood’s ethereal Street Jesus, and no more selfies with strangers hungry for inspiration. Since his death, his legacy as the contemporary Jesus spreading peace and love has grown, as has the mystery of his life. Short was a figurehead as West Hollywood Jesus, but he was also a pizza-eating, Slurpee-drinking, plant-loving man that was adored by the friends that knew him for decades. Here is his story.

Short frequented The World Famous Comedy Store, which was like an island of misfit toys, said Jeff Scott, longtime Comedy Store house pianist. He’d often bringing donuts or pizza for young, starving comics, and most of the time restaurants didn’t even charge him for food. When he saw someone new up on stage, he’d be “so nice and open and encouraging,” Scott said. And like his comic friends, Short had a strong sense of humor, Scott said. But when he recognized the comic on stage, he’d play around.

“He’d sneak into the back of the room while [comic] Don Barris was on stage,” Scott said. “But Don would always acknowledge him and say ‘Oh look, ladies and gentlemen, it’s our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.’”

Kevin The Gardener, Kevin The Street Jesus

After late nights at The Comedy Store, Scott gave Jesus rides home, which often resulted in a visit to 7-Eleven where Short would pick up a huge red Slurpee. He’d ask Scott what he wanted, and come back with one of every brand of the requested snack, Scott said.

Snacks in tow, the duo would discuss gardening techniques for their respective apartment gardens that they tended to. Short knew every name of every plant and what they needed, Scott said. They’d empathize with each other over neighbors who couldn’t care less about the gardens they adored.

“He’d take clippings, put them in his windows until they grew roots, and then move it back out to the garden,” Scott said. “Then someone else’s dog would come and piss on it, and it’d all be shot to shit.”

Short would garden at all hours of the day; he’d almost always be out in the front of the apartment cutting, trimming, and planting new foliage, Hamilton said. Once, late at night while Hamilton took his dog on a quick walk before bed, he saw Short gardening; when he woke up the following morning, Short was still outside tending to his plants.

Short, who was practically nocturnal, would often hop on the bus to Compton in the early morning hours to get his soul food fix, Scott said. One night, while eating alone, a black woman in her 70s approached WeHo Jesus, Scott said, and they talked while eating before the elderly woman asked to give him a ride home.

He refused, since West Hollywood was so far away and it was so late at night, Scott said, but the woman insisted. She drove him all the way back to West Hollywood, telling Short “I have to give Jesus a ride home, I couldn’t put that on my conscience if I didn’t.”

Strangers were drawn to Kevin Short dressed as Jesus. He was a fixture in West Hollywood and became a symbol of acceptance, peace, and love, Hamilton said. Although most interactions with Short were brief, so many people can recall small, positive moments with him. It was his “unspoken quest,” Hamilton said, to interact with the public in a positive way.

Marry Who You Love

Short’s sexuality wasn’t what defined him, but he became a symbol of unity for the Los Angeles LGBTQ+ community, Hamilton said. He was accepting towards people who were taught faith and being gay were mutually exclusive.

WeHo Jesus would attend Gay Pride parades, holding a sign that read “Marry Who You Love,” standing next to groups of protesting religious extremists, Hamilton said.

“There’s some disassociation within the LGBT community and people who broke with their faith because of their identity, and seeing Kevin out there dressed as Jesus — especially at Pride, where he’d stand up next to these vicious protesters saying you’re going to hell — would give people a lot of comfort,” Lisa Belsanti, spokesperson for the City of West Hollywood, told Los Angeles Times.

Short’s Jesus persona grew into stardom that extended beyond the LGBTQ community and the rest of Los Angeles – he had his fair share of run-ins with celebrities too. He danced in Lana Del Rey and LMFAO music videos, and inspired Aerosmith’s song “Street Jesus,” according to lead singer Steven Tyler. Short even met Snoop Dogg on Sunset Boulevard, who tried to hand him a “tithe and offering” of $20. WeHo Jesus refused, and Snoop cried out “I met Jesus, man! He’s bigger than money, man, that’s Jesus!”

Although there’s some dispute between Short’s friends over whether he enjoyed the fame, one thing was certain: sometimes he “just wanted to be Kevin,” Scott said. When Short wasn’t in flowing robes, he’d wear pull a blue parka over his face to hide his hair, "regular" blue jeans, and Crocs or Adidas running shoes, Scott said.

“I think that’s what he was trying to do by pulling the hoodie around his face, it’d be a chance for him to just be Kevin,” Scott said. “No one would scream ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!’ at him when he’d wear normal clothes.”

Rest in Paradise, #wehojesus, my neighbor who kept a beautiful garden and always had a smile, a kind word and a hug for anyone open to it
A post shared by Rex (@rexpolk1) on Jan 5, 2018 at 7:13am PST

It’s All In The Details

Though throngs of people felt close to Short, his past was shrouded in mystery. He rarely spoke of his personal life, and his friends weren’t even sure what he did for a living or if he ever held a job. When asked personal questions, Short would often answer by shaking his head, Scott said.

“There’s even a rumor he was a secret millionaire, but I think it’s just because people would give him free stuff all the time,” Scott said.

He had a nice car, but didn’t drive a lot, Hamilton said. The car was a Mercedes-Benz so old that it would be a “cesspool” money-wise, his father Dale Short said. It seemed everyone close to Short knew different versions of him, different snippets of his life that he chose to share with them. While his friends knew nothing of his background but all about his life as WeHo Jesus, his dad knew all about his background but kept tabs on his life as Jesus through news reports because the two lost touch when Short was in his 20s.

“Kevin never quite knew which direction to go,” Short’s father reminisced. “We’d go out all the time and look at the beautiful architecture in Downtown LA and then all of a sudden we’d be sitting in a dive eating. It went from one extreme to another.”

Short did have a job, according to his father, and he was very talented. He and a partner started a company repairing artwork, including the sculptures of the late Sergio Bustamante. Growing up, he was involved in the Pasadena Boys Choir and took violin lessons, although he showed an interest in football, Short’s father said. He always loved plants, and Short’s father still has succulents in his garden that Kevin planted more than thirty years prior. He attended the ArtCenter College of Design for two years, but he left because he thought he knew more than the instructors, he said.

Once on a contracting gig in Las Vegas, they were hired to work on the gold leaf around the entrance to the Disney Store because they were great at getting the detail down, Short said.

“Here are these two idiots up on the scaffolding in Las Vegas fixing the gold leaf,” Short’s father laughed. “They’d go from working on famous artwork to the gold leaf at the Disney Store. I had a painting that was scheduled to go to him for repair before he died, but I’m sending it to an auction now just to get rid of it.”

Every version of Short’s memory lives on as West Hollywood Jesus. He’ll be remembered as a friend to all, Hamilton said, because he was friendly to everyone in the community and became a symbol of acceptance, peace, and love.

“He’ll be remembered as Sunset Jesus, smiling and offering you pizza,” Scott said.

As West Hollywood settles into a new era without its Jesus, everyone should continue spreading peace and love in Short’s name, Hamilton said. Short wasn’t looking for money or self-aggrandisement, he wanted to make people smile, he said.

“In a time when a lot of people have overstepped the bounds of propriety or shown cruelty, honor Kevin’s legacy by showing kindness and compassion like he did,” Hamilton said. “Reach out, show kindness, and emit peace and love into the world in honor of Kevin Lee Light."

Main photo: WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 26: Kevin Lee Light, known as West Hollywood Jesus, holds a sign as he celebrates the US Supreme Court ruling during a community rally on June 26, 2013 in West Hollywood, California. The Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and ruled that supporters of California's ban on gay marriage, Proposition 8, could not defend it before the Supreme Court. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images); Secondary Photo courtesy of Brian Hamilton