He really was.
He had a good sense of humor- he was a very big fan of PG Wodehouse, and had all of the Jeeves & Wooster books and all the rest in his library. (They occupied an entire shelf.) His main person in SC was Elizabeth Patterson, a rather imposing specimen of a woman by all accounts with the personality of a general, and his sign language gesture for her was to poke out his elbows to indicate girth and tug on the brim of an imaginary hat.

Among his followers is Pete Townshend, and apparently George Harrison was also quite a fan.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Fri 20 Mar 2009, 17:40, Reply)