“Pittsburgh Dad” Curt Wootton throws the first pitch at the Altoona Curve game Thursday night at Peoples Natural Gas Field. Wootton based his popular YouTube character on his father, Keith Wootton, who died in February at age 66. “I feel like I got all the greatest parts of him, and that’s why the character keeps living on and his legacy will live on,” Wootton said. Photo for the Mirror by Rob Lynn

Pittsburgh Dad is not a real person, to the surprise of some, but the fictional comical character most definitely is based on a real person.

Actor Curt Wootton found a way to honor his father, Keith, and make people laugh with his yinzer way of talking while portraying the popular online character, Pittsburgh Dad.

“The basis of the character is my father,” Wootton said during a visit to Peoples Natural Gas Field for Thursday night’s Altoona Curve game.

“The voice and the mannerisms are mixed between my grandfather and my father, but mostly my father, everything he said to us, just his demeanor. He also had just a great sense of humor.”

Wootton’s father died in February at age 66. Keith Wootton was “beyond proud” of the character his son created in his likeness eight years ago, and which has become an internet sensation, particularly in Pittsburgh and western Pa.

“I feel like I got all the greatest parts of him, and that’s why the character keeps living on and his legacy will live on,” Wootton said.

The Curve have a season-long promotion going where they’re changing their name to the Allegheny Yinzers for seven games. They’re also wearing special Yinzers jerseys and celebrating the western Pa. lifestyle.

It was a natural, then, to bring in the Pittsburgh Dad character for a promotional appearance. Wootton threw out a ceremonial first pitch and signed autographs for fans Thursday, enjoying the unlikely celebrity status that has come his way thanks to the quirky character.

Ironically, the Pittsburgh Dad was not a dad all these years, but that changed in April when he and his wife, Kaitlin, welcomed their daughter, Penny. Curt said “people are amazed to hear” that he was not a father while doing all the performances.

“First of all, they think the character is real, a real person they’re seeing,” he said. “But no, I’m actually method acting, as I like to say.”

Wootton was born Jan. 22, 1979, the day after the Steelers beat the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII.

“My dad always tells the story about how my mom went into labor as the Steelers were kicking the ball off to the Cowboys,” Wootton said.

Curt noted that, while growing up, his father “had a lot of rules, and you had to follow the rules. If you didn’t, you got hollered at, and I got hollered at a lot and constantly for the same things over and over again.”

All of that plays a role in how Wootton developed the Pittsburgh Dad character. He and co-creator Chris Preksta were on the set of a Syfy Channel show eight years ago playing around with the voice and telling stories, and suddenly, it all clicked.

“I remember all around the cast and crew really gravitating to­ward the character and responding,” Wootton said. “I’m like, ‘I’m just doing my dad.’ Then that’s when we came up with the idea.”

“We didn’t set out to be entertaining the entire city, just our friends and family. And lo and behold, here we are still doing it and people respond to it, which is a blessing. I couldn’t be happier.”

There are hundreds of Pittsburgh Dad episodes on YouTube, and there’s something for any taste, from sports and pop culture to visiting Giant Eagle to go grocery shopping.

The comedy can be subtle, but it’s witty and pretty much spot on in terms of capturing so many common elements in the lives of people in western PA.

Wootton has become famous for playing a down-to-earth kind of guy, but in his Pittsburgh Dad voice, he explained how he has people who help keep him grounded.

“Like any true Pitts­burgher, it’s like, ‘Yeah, don’t get too big for your britches there,'” he said.

Mirror Sports Writer Cory Giger is at 949-7031.