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Who is the greatest living Philadelphian? Our readers have 25 suggestions

We received many suggestions for local luminaries who readers feel are deserving of a monument.

Philly.com readers suggested that these people are some of the greatest living Philadelphians. Clockwise, from left: Will Smith, Tina Fey, John Chaney and Howard Eskin.
Philly.com readers suggested that these people are some of the greatest living Philadelphians. Clockwise, from left: Will Smith, Tina Fey, John Chaney and Howard Eskin.Read moreAP and Staff Photos

We knew readers would respond strongly when local writer Quinn O'Callaghan pitched us a piece calling It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Rob McElhenney the greatest living Philadelphian and arguing that the city should erect a monument in his honor.

After McElhenney himself responded to the story, many people weighed in with which version of Mac, the character McElhenney portrays on the show, they'd like to see memorialized.

One popular suggestion was to build a monument to Fat Mac, referring to a seventh season arc in which McElhenney's character put on a lot of weight. Several Philly.com Facebook followers responded with gifs to show their support for this idea.

However, the hottest topic related to this piece was not about which version of McElhenney to celebrate, but instead, whether he is, in fact, the greatest living Philadelphian, as O’Callaghan argues. We received many suggestions for local luminaries who readers believe are more worthy of a monument. (Although, the term ‘Philadelphian’ is applied loosely to some of the entries, as is “living.” We assume readers meant “alive in our hearts and memories.”):

  1. Former Phillies player Chase Utley

  2. Fresh Prince Actor Will Smith

  3. Comedian Kevin Hart

  4. Musician Jim Croce

  5. Actor Kevin Bacon

  6. Saturday Night Live actress Tina Fey

  7. Singers Boyz II Men

  8. Singer Chubby Checker

  9. NBA player Kobe Bryant

  10. Baseball player Roy Campanella

  11. Baseball player Reggie Jackson

  12. Former Temple University basketball coach John Chaney

  13. Basketball player and coach Dawn Staley

  14. Three Stooges actor Larry Fine

  15. Sports talk radio personality Tony Bruno

  16. Sports anchor Howard Eskin

  17. Musicians Daryl Hall and John Oates

  18. Rapper Meek Mill

  19. Musician G. Love

  20. Mascot Philly Phanatic

  21. Model and actress Amber Rose

  22. Rapper Beanie Sigel

  23. Rapper Matt Ox

  24. Basketball player Joel Embiid

  25. Actor Bob Saget

In addition to celebs, some readers also wondered if what makes Philadelphia great is not people with recognizable names, but instead the everyday citizens who populate our city.  On Facebook, Kevin McKinney wrote, "We need to build a statue of a blue collar worker … that's the true symbol of Philadelphia."

Who do you think is the greatest living Philadelphian? Tell us in the comments below.