Chicago, Illinois: Muffler Man - Mr. Bendo

Mr. Bendo stands atop a car repair shop, muffler pipe clutched in his mighty fiberglass fist.

Muffer Man

During a harsh Chicago wind storm in 2010, Mr. Bendo of Ced's Muffler Shop lost the upper portion of his body. The guys at the shop set the broken portion next to the shop, and within a few days his head went missing.

It's going on 2 years now that our neighborhood icon has only been half the man he used to be. Is there anyone we could turn to for help?

[Dean Hickstein, 02/11/2012]

Muffler Man

Storm damage on Friday, June 18th damaged Ced, the Muffler man on Grand Ave near Pulaski. The legs are standing but the torso and head have fallen to the roof. I only have this bad picture taken at sunset on Saturday the 19th.

[Ed Twohey, 06/30/2010]

Mr. Bendo Muffler Man

The Mr. Bendo Muffler Man is still alive and well in downtown Chicago. Thanks to the assistance of the new map feature at Roadside America, tracking him down was a relative breeze, provided you call stop and start driving through the middle of downtown Chicago a breeze.

[Josh Shepherd, 02/26/2006]

Muffler Man - Mr. Bendo

The Muffler Man is still atop the Auto Body shop on Grand Ave in Chicago. The name of the business has changed.

[Brian Plencner, 05/30/2004]

Muffler Man - Mr. Bendo

Chicago's very own Muffler Man stands mightily atop Ted's Auto Body on Grand Avenue just east of Pulaski Road in the heart of our fair city. This behemoth is bending a bar of iron right before our very eyes! -- intimidating all passersby for decades now.

[Gene Schalke, 01/11/1997]