Where did the ongoing ‘do a good deed and the mayor of the town congratulates you with the key to the city’ in movies & shows come from? Was that ever a real thing?

Question

I’m watching family guy & Peter found a missing kid and as a reward the mayor gave him the key to the city (or town hall?).
I’ve also seen this happen in a few other movies.

Was this ever a real thing? Is this an inside joke I’m not aware of?

In: 2567

Answer 1

Weird coincidence, I did some 3am wikipedia surfing hours ago and stumbled on Mac Miller’s wikipedia page which says that he was given a “key to the city” by the mayor of Pittsburgh, his hometown.

So yes its a real thing, but I think it is less about just doing a good deed and more about who the state deems an honorable person who came from there, and Mac Miller (rest in peace) being a famous musician was awarded such an honor. Think of it like the UK knighting a British celebrity on a much smaller and less grandiose scale.