May 18, 2021 • 30 mins
Barry Bremen was a novelty goods salesman, but between 1979 to 1986 he was known in the sports world as The Great Imposter. He posed as a player and umpire in the MLB, a player in the NBA, a PGA golfer, and even Dallas Cowboys cheerleader -- among others. He also accepted an Emmy award meant for Hill Street Blues actress, Betty Thomas.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Criminalia, a production of Shonda land Audio in
partnership with I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the
third season of Criminalia. This season, we're exploring the lives
and motivations of some of the most notorious impostors throughout history.
(00:23):
The subject of this show actually is a really fun one,
which we don't get to say very often around here.
I'm mariach Markey and I'm Holly Fry, and Maria was
not kidding about the fun. We are going to talk
about a man today named Barry Breman. Barry was a
businessman who earned a living as a salesman. His specialty
was actually as a novelty good salesman, so he would
(00:44):
have been selling things like gag toys and whoopee cushions
and maybe some pet rocks. My personal fingers are crossed
for a lot of wax lips, right, I mean it
was it was the time, right, yes, But for seven
years of his life from to nineteen eighty six, it
was not for being a salesman that he became well known.
(01:05):
He was, in fact known as the great impostor of
the sports world. Barry was born on June thirtieth, nineteen
forty seven in Bloomfield Hills, which is a suburb of Detroit, Michigan.
He loved sports, and he was considered an enthusiastic but
amateur athlete while he was growing up and by his
early thirties, Barry would also self describe as a professional impostor,
(01:28):
and I have quotes around that. So after going to
see a lack of confidence was never really a problem
for this man. I so admire his confidence. So we
gotta rewind back to nineteen seventy nine to set the stage.
Nineteen seventy nine was the year the Iran hostage crisis began,
(01:48):
and the most serious nuclear power plant accident in the
United States happened that year at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania.
On the much lighter side of the news, Sony introduced
the Sony Walkman that year, and if you're curious, Maria,
was I actually remember its introduction. I do too that
I didn't remember this piece of it. I did because
I had older siblings who I got to when it
(02:11):
was released. It costs two hundred dollars, which was incredibly steep, right,
which I'm sure is why I didn't realize it at
the time. I was little you know, and the Sugar
Hill Gangs Rappers Delight became the first rap single to
become a top forty hit in V nine was also
the year the very Bremen became a household name. This
(02:32):
wasn't all that long ago, but it was an era
of high spirited and fun loving pranks, and in particular
in sports, and they were totally all publicity worthy. For instance,
a woman who called herself Morgana became known as the
Kissing Bandit because she was known to run onto Major
League Baseball fields um and actually other sporting events too,
(02:53):
to plan to kiss or two on unsuspecting players. It
sounds so fun and at the time hilarious us. But
today that would be perceived so differently. Yeah, but we'll
get we'll get into that in a little bit. So
as for Barry, he has been described as equal parts
of these three characters. First P. T. Barnum, the showman
(03:15):
who founded the Barnum and Bailey Circus. A lot to
unpack their We're going to say that Barry was associated
with the more fun association the Shuman Ship. Correct. Second
Walter Mitty, who, of course, is a fictional character of
an ordinary person who indulges in fantastic daydreams of personal triumphs.
(03:35):
And third, the paper Lion era George Plimpton. Oh, George,
a writer who at the time was trying different disguises
and stunts and writing about them. I still have a
crush on George, so I'm not even joking. Let's let's
see if Barry matches up to these figures. It's an
(03:58):
interesting trio. So in nine, a strange man in a
Kansas City Kings uniform that's a team that's now known
as the Sacramento Kings joined the basketball team for pregame
warm up, and this prank was what began the legend
of Barry Bremen. Impersonating a professional basketball player at the
(04:19):
NBA All Star Game in Detroit was one of Barry's
first pranks. He We're gonna say, borrowed the uniform and
joined the team as they warmed up on the court,
and he took several shots before he was outed and
escorted out of the arena. Quote. I did it on
a bet, explained Barry. He made his way onto the
court at halftime during the game in a uniform with
(04:40):
the name Johnson. Quote. There were thirteen Johnson's in the NBA,
So it was almost like I fit right in so
that I did it on a bet. Part of his quotation, mark,
I know it's it's to the media. I know he
said it, but I totally think it's a lie with
my so right, maybe that's it. In general, though, the
(05:04):
professional athletes that he would get onto the court or
the field with, none of them were generally really bothered
by any of his antics, and on the contrary, they
were kind of taken in by his infectious charm, his charisma,
and just his general love of life. That probably also
explains why after an air ball and a couple of conkers,
the pros actually started feeding him in the ball. The
(05:26):
real players, I mean, at least a few that we know,
but we're likely in on some of these antics as well.
Also in nineteen seventy nine, ESPM launched on cable televisions.
There was only one then, but it was actually a
different network that noticed Barry. Sports journalist Dick chap first
shown the spotlight on Barry after he crashed the halftime
(05:48):
warm ups of that nineteen NBA All Star Game. Chap
actually featured him as Sportsman of the Week on NBC's
Today Show, and it did not take long before Barry's
anti got him on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson
by invitation, not by a prank, and with that, Barri's
days of being known as the Great impostor were firmly established.
(06:11):
That kick started a tour of TV talk shows, including
Late Night with David Letterman. He went on to become
the subject of a Jeopardy question, and his appearances on
TV really seemed to tap into the growing appetite that
Americans were having for what would later become reality television.
But here's what Barry had to say about his television
(06:32):
experiences and appearances, and we quote this. What sinched it
for me was when Bowling for Dollars called and asked
me to be the celebrity bowler my kid's favorite program.
Right right then, I knew I had arrived. I love that.
That's the effects of his fame for him. I know
he's like Johnny Carson. Right Bowling for Dollars is where
(06:55):
we are going to take a quick break for a
word from our sponsor, and when we return, we will
talk about the time that Barry impersonated a chicken. Welcome
back to criminalia. Let's talk about all the times Barry
(07:18):
pretended to be a professional athlete, among other things. It
was also in nineteen seventy nine. Clearly he was very busy.
That year, Barry warmed up with the American League team
for the Major League Baseball All Star Game while wearing
New York Yankee pinstripes. That was before he was escorted
off the field. The following year, in nineteen eighty, Berry
(07:39):
showed up as an umpire at home plate for the
World Series. That was when the Philadelphia Phillies and Kansas
City Royals were playing. But again that did not last.
He was quickly escorted off the field. Yes, and as
Holly mentioned earlier, in two he attempted to crash the
Super Bowl while impersonating a chicken, specifically the famous San
(08:01):
Diego chicken. But here he was stopped by police before
he could actually enter. I guess they noticed the chicken.
It's hard to, you know, keep it on the d
L when you're walking around in a chicken suit. I
might know that from personal experience. Maybe maybe not. During
(08:23):
a nine six batting practice at the All Star Game
in Houston, Texas, Barry, who was wearing a new York
Mets uniform with the number thirteen on it, but no name.
Actually fielded a few fly balls when the manager of
the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tommy Lasorda, it's a very recognizable
name in Major League Baseball, noticed him, and loss Orta
(08:46):
ran onto the field bat in hand. Again, no surprise
if you know anything about Tommy Lasorda shouting and we quote, hey,
hey's a whole lot of expletives behind it. That's exactly
what I expect from Tommy. Started yes. Lossorta, who was
serving as the National League coach for the game, told
the media, I knew something was up when he couldn't
(09:08):
go to his right. He continued quote, he said he
was living his fantasy, and I said it was my
fantasy to get his bleep off the field. That's me bleeping.
Before leaving, Barry explained that he just wanted to take
batting practice and get one hit. That was all, just
one hit. Barry's big dream prank at this time actually
(09:30):
was to masquerade as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. Being Barry,
he did it. He lost twenty three pounds and shaved
his legs. He practiced routines with his wife and he
had a custom made cheerleader uniform mate to pull it off,
he probably spent about a thousand dollars, if not a
little bit more of his own money. So he made
(09:52):
his move at a Dallas Cowboys Washington Redskins game. In
those hot pants boots, he had some breast enhancers and
blonde wig. Barry danced with the cheerleading squad during the
last two minutes of the game, and he also got
out a single cheer of go Dallas before Cowboys security
grabbed him. This part of the story that that right
(10:12):
there wore is my heart. The image of Barry dancing
with the cheerleaders, Like, I just love this part of
his story. The team vice president Joseph A. Bailey did
not love it. He called Barry quote perverted, and when
Barry called the cheerleader's manager to try to explain that
it was all just in good fun, she replied tersely, quote,
(10:33):
you are not a female. So the way that Barry
played imposter, it's a little different than the way that
we talk about other impostors in this season. He didn't
cause himself or anyone else any harm. He didn't do
anything physically or financially wrong, but the Cowboys sued him
to the tune of five thousand dollars for trespassing and
(10:54):
for creating a nuisance. They wanted to ban him from
Cowboy games for the rest of his life. Barry's reaction
was pretty berry. He said, what are they going to do?
Put wanted posters at every entrance? This is ridiculous. I
was just having fun, and in the end of the
team did drop the lawsuit. This is one of those
(11:14):
things where I kind of see both sides. I fall
on the side of fun, but I could see where
someone who was not particularly humorous about their job would
be very irritated by this whole business. Um amidst Amid
start talking about his infiltration of the Cowboys cheerleading squad,
(11:35):
we really have to pivot a little bit and talk
about Barry's golfing prowess. On three yes, that is correct,
three separate occasions. Barry played golf in the US Open
practice round, which is amazing, right, and he actually was
considered a pretty good golfer according to the man himself.
At least he allegedly had a seven handicap, But great
(11:57):
or not, most golfers still do not it to play
around with a talent like Jack Nicholas or Fred Couples,
right or he did, but Berry did right. So again
in nineteen seventy nine, Barry snuck into the club that
was hosting the US Open and he played a practice
round with Jerry Pate, who was actually unaware of who
(12:19):
Barry actually was. At the US Open in nineteen eighty,
he played so poorly that a spectator actually asked that
the United States Golf Association's representative how an amateur golfer
could make it through qualifying? Um, But it's Barry. So
Barry didn't actually go through qualifying. That's why it was
his third time doing this in five where things went
(12:43):
well a little differently for him on the golf course.
While he was scouting the Oakland Hills Country Club, he
happened to meet pro golfer Fred Couples and the two
men hit it off, and Couples would later remember Berry
saying quote, I had a great chuckle with him. So
when it comes to this nineteen event, a friend who
was a club member also helped pull off this caper.
(13:06):
He's the one who smuggled Berries clubs and his caddy
into the club. Barry were a disguise, which I love,
included a fake mustache along with a wig, and he
claimed to be a qualifier named Mark Diamond. Once he
was in he found Couples, who was playing a practice
round with Jay Hass. According to Couples, and this is
a long quote, so stick with me, he came out
(13:26):
of the shrubs on the second hole and hit this
tea shot that buzzes the spectators. He had on this
big wig and advisor and looked a little out of place,
but we didn't care. He just did his deal and
had a great time. It didn't take long for people
to scream out, who's that guy? I mean, the cat
was out of the bag after a couple of holes,
but we didn't get into trouble and no one came
out to get him. I suspect having the pro golfers
(13:50):
not really carrying helped a whole lot in terms of security.
At the tenth hole, the threesome turned into a fiveesome,
four professional golfers and Barry quote. When we played as
a fivesome, according to Barry, that's when I got a
little nervous. All they said was we don't mind you
playing as long as you keep the ball in play.
(14:13):
I think that's fair. I think that's fair good nature
right out of all of his stunts, Barry always said
that he was proudest of his golf antics. He said, quote,
I was out there for the longest time and I
was never caught. He called this particular four and a
half hour prank his favorite impersonation quote, no question about it.
(14:34):
It was wonderful. He also said, quote during one point,
as I was playing, I remember thinking what a great
place this is. I mean, is America a great place?
Or what? Berry can do crazy things that are completely
untoward and still get away with it. So let's just
(14:54):
call them. They're all fun. We're going to take a
quick rake for award from our sponsor, and then we'll
be back to talk about Barry's stunt, not in the
sports world, but at the Emmy's. Welcome back to criminal lya. Okay,
(15:19):
let's talk about why Barry needed to apologize to entertain her,
Betty Thomas. This is one of Barry's non sports related pranks.
He brazenly accepted Betty Thomas's Emmy. This was not a
small prank either. It's not like running onto the basketball
court at halftime. Betty Thomas to give you some context,
(15:41):
started her acting career alongside Bill Murray, Harold Ramos, and
John Belushi on stage every night at Second City. She
has started hit TV shows. She moved into directing, eventually
giving us such hits as The Brady Bunch Movie and
Dr Doolittle, and her two thousand nine film Alvin and
the Chipmunks. The Squeak Wol became the first female directed
(16:01):
picture to gross more than two hundred million dollars. It
makes her one of the most successful directors of all Tommy,
I'm so sorry, squeak one. So this is the first
time you encountered the Squeaks as an animation person. I
(16:24):
knew all about the well Alvan, I got that, but
the Squeak well, I just um, I can go now.
I think she definitely has Hollywood credit. But for our purposes,
we're talking about the time earlier in her career when
Betty landed a role as police officer Lucy Bates on
Hill Street Blues. So this show actually ran between nine
(16:48):
seven and Betty received during that time seven yeah, I said,
seven Emmy nominations for her work as Outstanding Supporting Actress.
But it was this year she took Home and Emmy.
That's the five season of the show, and that's also
the same year that Barry interrupted it. Yeah, she basically
got nominated every single year for that one. So there's
(17:11):
Barry at the thirty seven Annual Emmy Awards in the
Pasadena Civic Auditorium, dressed all up in a rented tuxedo
with a pink tie and cumberbund He said, quote, I
was a little tanned. I looked, Barry, Hollywood. I'm going
to interrupt you for a second that if anyone actually
wants to google that, there is a photo of Barry
at the lectern in his pink tie and cumberbund um
(17:34):
accepting this award. It's very blurry like someone took a
screen capture of it, but it exists and it's he was.
He was lightly tanned. He later explained that he had
gotten into the event with a three hundred dollar ticket
that he purchased pretending he was with the media, and
with that ticket he ended up in a third row
(17:55):
aisle seat. Berry, over the course of the evening, met
several celebrity is, including this story about actor Robert Stack.
I told him, Barry said, I was here to accept
an Emmy, and I asked him what it was like
to work with some of his friends. Barry then continued,
he didn't say much. He acted like he knew who
I was, but I knew he didn't. So when Betty's
(18:19):
name was announced, it was Barry who straight to the
lectern and whispered to the presenter, who happened to be
the actor Peter Graves, that he would be accepting the
statue on Betty's behalf. But everyone, including Peter, was confused
by this, and then it happened, Much to the surprise
of everyone on stage and at the event, Barry went
(18:39):
ahead and accepted the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in
a Drama Series, explaining in his short speech that Betty
Thomas was unavailable to do so herself. But here's the thing.
Betty was there in the audience. She got up to
try to get her award, and by the time she
reached the stage, Barry was already wrapping up his acceptance
speech with a thing you to sportscaster Dick Chap. Chap,
(19:02):
you'll recall, was the first person to put Barry on
television as Sportsman of the Week back in ninety nine,
after being ushered off stage. Barry recalls that when he
was backstage, Betty seemed and we quote Barry startled and
he said to her, I'm sorry, I'm the impostor. He
(19:23):
later said that there was no specific reason that he
had targeted Betty. Quote. I never met Betty Thomas and
I've never seen Hill Street Blues. But when I got
up there, I said I had just talked to Betty yesterday,
and then I took the award. His act Actually wasn't
the first time someone crashed the Emmys, or actually any
award show. Robert Opple made history when he streaked across
(19:44):
the stage during the forty Academy Awards. In of all
that he had done, this was the biggest trouble that
Barry got himself into. He is quoted as saying he
was quote going to try to work something out, and
he pretty much did just that. He was questioned and
booked by Pasadena police, and according to Barry, quote they
(20:04):
got a little pushy for a while. He always spent
an hour or two in jail before he posted the
hundred and fifty dollar bond, and on his way out,
he signed autographs for some of the officers that gives
you an indication of the level of celebrity that he
had achieved at this point for this impostor business. Absolutely
there Later, though, Barry did acknowledge that Betty Thomas deserved
(20:26):
an apology from him and that he we quote did
not want to take the thunder away from anyone. I
guess I deserved it, right. I mean, you take an
award from somebody on Hill Street blues, I guess you
should be thrown in jail. And when asked about that
hour that he was locked up, Berry replied, well, for starters,
I was the only guy dressed in a tuxedo, and
(20:47):
then there was the fact that I was conscious, you know,
not drunk about that. Emmy prank Berry continued, quote what
I thought I was doing, what I hoped I was doing,
was accepting an award for someone who I didn't think
was there based on her slow reaction of getting up.
He then added, I guess I missed my mark. I
should have accepted for Jane Curtin. Jane Curtain was named
(21:11):
Best Actress that year in a comedy series that was
for the sitcom Katon Alley, but she was a no show.
So afterwards, Verry said of the whole affair, and this
is a quote from him. Let me put it this way.
From now on, I am going to strictly stay in sports.
The ball players are more receptive to these things than actors.
(21:32):
I don't know if you had taken a ball players
award accepted speech, they may have felt equally chagrined. But
we'll never know. So we're going to jump forward to
and that year, Barry told the Associated Press that he
was semi retired from his impostor days, mainly, as he said,
because he didn't want to be mistaken for the quote
(21:54):
real nuts who run onto sports fields for attention or worse.
He referenced the knife attack that had happened on tennis
star Monica Sellis in as an early game changer for
security breaches. Barry's son Adam, explained that his father did
all of these things because it made people smile, but
when asked to give advice to people who may also
(22:16):
want to try it out, Barry said, and we quote this,
don't do it. It's against the law. Stay away, and
then he joked, this is my act. You know. I
could see where people would want to do the copycat thing.
But I think he was mentally ready for the repercussions
when things went poorly, and not everybody would be agreed.
(22:38):
And all of this, of course went even deeper than that.
In two thousand five, when Barry was asked if he
planned to completely retire from his role as the Great impostor,
he replied, and we quote, you've heard of the Taser gun,
you've heard of nine eleven. They don't ask questions anymore.
And he's totally right. Security in a post nine eleven
world is not the same as it was in nineteen
(22:59):
seventy nine. It was far less intense then. Although sometimes
Barry was arrested, he never spent real time in jail.
That there was, you know, a couple hours on that
one night after taking the award. He was mostly just
verbally reprimanded and then find Today his escapades would be
seen differently. They would likely attract attention from far more
(23:19):
than sports fans, and quite possibly from organizations like homeland
security or the FBI. So also early two thousand's when
the Super Bowl was in Detroit in two thousand and six,
the Detroit News asked Barry what he had planned for
the big event, and his answer when he he whispered
into the phone, was I've been in the stadium for
(23:40):
four months. I brought enough food and water. I bought
the uniform of every team with a chance to go
into the playoffs. But he couldn't maintain that lie. He
was He was fifty eight at the time, and he
just started laughing, and he admitted that he actually was
planning to stay home comfortably, maybe playing golf and watching
the game on TV, a much more low key way
(24:02):
to do it. When he was asked what his wife
thought of all these pranks, Barry replied, she gets nervous.
It's an odd advocation. I am a little different. And
when asked what's next, Barry admitted, I have no idea.
Maybe Johnny Carson will ask me to be on his
show and they'll say, here's Johnny, and I'll come out,
Oh Barry, that would have been funny. So whether he
(24:25):
whether he'd chosen life as an impostor or not, the
way Barry lived his life demonstrated a joy and a
passion that many of us wish we two could have.
I do what I do for the fun of it.
He was quoted in a Detroit Free Press article that
and for the fantasy of just being able to participate
in these incredible events. There's no social significance. I feel
(24:47):
like that statement cannot be made today in the era
of social media and have any of the same resonance.
Very different time. Barry unfortunately died of his off a
deeal cancer on June in Scottsdale, Arizona, know where he
was living with his wife, Margot. She once described him
and his outlook on life as quote, if you have
no guts, you have no glory in your life. After
(25:09):
his death, a lot of people spoke kind words about Barry,
and we're going to share some of those because he
was very clearly quite well loved. So let's start with
sports reporter and the son of Dick Schapp. So his
name is Jeremy Schapp, and he admitted that he admired
Berry's we quote absolute refusal to take no for an
(25:29):
answer and his ability to see padlocks and velvet ropes
not as obstructions but as provocations. Uh Neil Ruben, a
Detroit News columnist who wrote about Berry on several occasions,
remember he lived in Detroit for quite a while, had
kept in touch with him over the years, and said
quote he was just this guy who sold novelties out
of a cluttered office at suburban Detroit, and this was
(25:52):
his way to be something different. He never heard anybody
for Barry. It was all about the moment. Let's end
with this quote from Rabbi Tamara Colton, who officiated Barry's
memorial service. She called him quote more than a man,
he's a force. He's a force to remember the part
of us that yearns to do something a little different,
(26:13):
a little extraordinary, a lot of fun. What the world
needs is more forces like Barry. And we actually have
two more stories about Barry, but we couldn't confirm them. Uh,
they are still really really great stories, but just remember
that they're apocryphal and they're part of his allure, but
we don't know if they're true. Right. They came up
and maybe maybe one source that we ran into. But
(26:36):
one of them is that Barry once sang a song
on stage with Harry Tapin, but after two songs, the
singer wondered who that guy was. It says a lot
about shape spirit of like I don't know what's happening,
but I'm booked for this gig and I'm gonna do it. However,
they're trying to do it. I'm just gonna keep singing.
(26:58):
The other story is about the time when Barry addressed
a gathering of police chiefs. Quote. I pretended to be
someone else. I wore a polyester suit, and I spoke
on the legalization of prostitution. Everyone just figured I was
from Los Angeles or Las Vegas. So I like to
think that the singing one may be true, but that
the second one doesn't sound as much like Barry to
(27:21):
me as the first one does. But I maybe the
very wrong get him in the right mood, right, He's
up for it, right. So, speaking of getting us in
the right mood, what's our mocktail this week? So this
one is one that I'm doing in honor of Barry,
(27:41):
and I'm calling Aoidevieve good name for him. I wanted
to make something that was very bright and fun and
had like a good crisp flavor. So you're gonna start
this involves muddling, one of my favorite things. I enjoy
it as well. You're gonna start with six to ten
mint leaves, depending on your love of mint. I go
heavy because I love them, and you're gonna muddle those.
(28:04):
A word of caution about muddling. People tend to like
pulverize their mint. No, No, you really just want to
press them enough that you kind of break the leaves
open lightly to let all of that yummy, yummy mint
essence out. But then after you've muddled your mint, you're
gonna throw three to four blueberries in there and also
smish them with your muddler. Again, you're not pulverizing, just
(28:24):
give them a good smush. On top of that, you're
going to add four ounces of passion fruit juice and
a half ounce of lime juice, and this should all
be in your cocktail shaker, and you're gonna give it
a good hard shake, because anything with juice multifies and
incorporates better when you give it a good shake. And
then you'll strain it over ice, so you don't want
(28:45):
the blueberries and the mint leaves to come with you. Uh,
And then you will top it off with a little
bit of soda. I like to garnish it with a
pretty sprig of like the end of your your mint
tendril where they have one of those nice clusters of leaves.
This is so delicious and refreshing. It's a little bit
tart but it's super duper yummy, and it does give
you a sense of joade vie so um for my
(29:08):
drinkers in the crowd, you may have noticed that this
share some DNA with a mohito. It certainly does. A
mohedo would also involved some muddled mint and some lime
juice or some citrus juice, and you would instead put
white rum and that so you can, if you want,
just add an ounce or an ounce and a half
(29:29):
of rum and uh, you know, spin that up and
you'll get kind of like a blueberry passioned fruit mohedo
out of the deal. Also very delicious and full of
joade vive. I bet, I bet it sounds like an
excellent drink. I have made several in the last couple
of days, both both with rumen without because they're really
really yummy. And I'm like, I got the juice on
an it's called testing shure, it's called testing testing andree
(29:55):
four or five, six, seven eight, And then I ran
out of juice. No I still have some left. Um.
I love, I love, I love, I love this drink.
It's one of my favorite markbils I've done so far. Excellent.
So hopefully if anybody else tries it, you will feel
similarly full of jois uh We We hope that you
(30:16):
are experiencing some choas or joy or however you wished
to say it these days, and we want to make
sure we thank you for spending this time with us.
We will see you right here again next week with
another impostor. Criminalia is a production of Shawonda land Audio
in partnership with I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
(30:37):
Shonda land Audio, please visit the I heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,
Welcome to Criminalia, a production of Shonda land Audio in
partnership with I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the
third season of Criminalia. This season, we're exploring the lives
and motivations of some of the most notorious impostors throughout history.
(00:23):
The subject of this show actually is a really fun one,
which we don't get to say very often around here.
I'm mariach Markey and I'm Holly Fry, and Maria was
not kidding about the fun. We are going to talk
about a man today named Barry Breman. Barry was a
businessman who earned a living as a salesman. His specialty
was actually as a novelty good salesman, so he would
(00:44):
have been selling things like gag toys and whoopee cushions
and maybe some pet rocks. My personal fingers are crossed
for a lot of wax lips, right, I mean it
was it was the time, right, yes, But for seven
years of his life from to nineteen eighty six, it
was not for being a salesman that he became well known.
(01:05):
He was, in fact known as the great impostor of
the sports world. Barry was born on June thirtieth, nineteen
forty seven in Bloomfield Hills, which is a suburb of Detroit, Michigan.
He loved sports, and he was considered an enthusiastic but
amateur athlete while he was growing up and by his
early thirties, Barry would also self describe as a professional impostor,
(01:28):
and I have quotes around that. So after going to
see a lack of confidence was never really a problem
for this man. I so admire his confidence. So we
gotta rewind back to nineteen seventy nine to set the stage.
Nineteen seventy nine was the year the Iran hostage crisis began,
(01:48):
and the most serious nuclear power plant accident in the
United States happened that year at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania.
On the much lighter side of the news, Sony introduced
the Sony Walkman that year, and if you're curious, Maria,
was I actually remember its introduction. I do too that
I didn't remember this piece of it. I did because
I had older siblings who I got to when it
(02:11):
was released. It costs two hundred dollars, which was incredibly steep, right,
which I'm sure is why I didn't realize it at
the time. I was little you know, and the Sugar
Hill Gangs Rappers Delight became the first rap single to
become a top forty hit in V nine was also
the year the very Bremen became a household name. This
(02:32):
wasn't all that long ago, but it was an era
of high spirited and fun loving pranks, and in particular
in sports, and they were totally all publicity worthy. For instance,
a woman who called herself Morgana became known as the
Kissing Bandit because she was known to run onto Major
League Baseball fields um and actually other sporting events too,
(02:53):
to plan to kiss or two on unsuspecting players. It
sounds so fun and at the time hilarious us. But
today that would be perceived so differently. Yeah, but we'll
get we'll get into that in a little bit. So
as for Barry, he has been described as equal parts
of these three characters. First P. T. Barnum, the showman
(03:15):
who founded the Barnum and Bailey Circus. A lot to
unpack their We're going to say that Barry was associated
with the more fun association the Shuman Ship. Correct. Second
Walter Mitty, who, of course, is a fictional character of
an ordinary person who indulges in fantastic daydreams of personal triumphs.
(03:35):
And third, the paper Lion era George Plimpton. Oh, George,
a writer who at the time was trying different disguises
and stunts and writing about them. I still have a
crush on George, so I'm not even joking. Let's let's
see if Barry matches up to these figures. It's an
(03:58):
interesting trio. So in nine, a strange man in a
Kansas City Kings uniform that's a team that's now known
as the Sacramento Kings joined the basketball team for pregame
warm up, and this prank was what began the legend
of Barry Bremen. Impersonating a professional basketball player at the
(04:19):
NBA All Star Game in Detroit was one of Barry's
first pranks. He We're gonna say, borrowed the uniform and
joined the team as they warmed up on the court,
and he took several shots before he was outed and
escorted out of the arena. Quote. I did it on
a bet, explained Barry. He made his way onto the
court at halftime during the game in a uniform with
(04:40):
the name Johnson. Quote. There were thirteen Johnson's in the NBA,
So it was almost like I fit right in so
that I did it on a bet. Part of his quotation, mark,
I know it's it's to the media. I know he
said it, but I totally think it's a lie with
my so right, maybe that's it. In general, though, the
(05:04):
professional athletes that he would get onto the court or
the field with, none of them were generally really bothered
by any of his antics, and on the contrary, they
were kind of taken in by his infectious charm, his charisma,
and just his general love of life. That probably also
explains why after an air ball and a couple of conkers,
the pros actually started feeding him in the ball. The
(05:26):
real players, I mean, at least a few that we know,
but we're likely in on some of these antics as well.
Also in nineteen seventy nine, ESPM launched on cable televisions.
There was only one then, but it was actually a
different network that noticed Barry. Sports journalist Dick chap first
shown the spotlight on Barry after he crashed the halftime
(05:48):
warm ups of that nineteen NBA All Star Game. Chap
actually featured him as Sportsman of the Week on NBC's
Today Show, and it did not take long before Barry's
anti got him on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson
by invitation, not by a prank, and with that, Barri's
days of being known as the Great impostor were firmly established.
(06:11):
That kick started a tour of TV talk shows, including
Late Night with David Letterman. He went on to become
the subject of a Jeopardy question, and his appearances on
TV really seemed to tap into the growing appetite that
Americans were having for what would later become reality television.
But here's what Barry had to say about his television
(06:32):
experiences and appearances, and we quote this. What sinched it
for me was when Bowling for Dollars called and asked
me to be the celebrity bowler my kid's favorite program.
Right right then, I knew I had arrived. I love that.
That's the effects of his fame for him. I know
he's like Johnny Carson. Right Bowling for Dollars is where
(06:55):
we are going to take a quick break for a
word from our sponsor, and when we return, we will
talk about the time that Barry impersonated a chicken. Welcome
back to criminalia. Let's talk about all the times Barry
(07:18):
pretended to be a professional athlete, among other things. It
was also in nineteen seventy nine. Clearly he was very busy.
That year, Barry warmed up with the American League team
for the Major League Baseball All Star Game while wearing
New York Yankee pinstripes. That was before he was escorted
off the field. The following year, in nineteen eighty, Berry
(07:39):
showed up as an umpire at home plate for the
World Series. That was when the Philadelphia Phillies and Kansas
City Royals were playing. But again that did not last.
He was quickly escorted off the field. Yes, and as
Holly mentioned earlier, in two he attempted to crash the
Super Bowl while impersonating a chicken, specifically the famous San
(08:01):
Diego chicken. But here he was stopped by police before
he could actually enter. I guess they noticed the chicken.
It's hard to, you know, keep it on the d
L when you're walking around in a chicken suit. I
might know that from personal experience. Maybe maybe not. During
(08:23):
a nine six batting practice at the All Star Game
in Houston, Texas, Barry, who was wearing a new York
Mets uniform with the number thirteen on it, but no name.
Actually fielded a few fly balls when the manager of
the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tommy Lasorda, it's a very recognizable
name in Major League Baseball, noticed him, and loss Orta
(08:46):
ran onto the field bat in hand. Again, no surprise
if you know anything about Tommy Lasorda shouting and we quote, hey,
hey's a whole lot of expletives behind it. That's exactly
what I expect from Tommy. Started yes. Lossorta, who was
serving as the National League coach for the game, told
the media, I knew something was up when he couldn't
(09:08):
go to his right. He continued quote, he said he
was living his fantasy, and I said it was my
fantasy to get his bleep off the field. That's me bleeping.
Before leaving, Barry explained that he just wanted to take
batting practice and get one hit. That was all, just
one hit. Barry's big dream prank at this time actually
(09:30):
was to masquerade as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. Being Barry,
he did it. He lost twenty three pounds and shaved
his legs. He practiced routines with his wife and he
had a custom made cheerleader uniform mate to pull it off,
he probably spent about a thousand dollars, if not a
little bit more of his own money. So he made
(09:52):
his move at a Dallas Cowboys Washington Redskins game. In
those hot pants boots, he had some breast enhancers and
blonde wig. Barry danced with the cheerleading squad during the
last two minutes of the game, and he also got
out a single cheer of go Dallas before Cowboys security
grabbed him. This part of the story that that right
(10:12):
there wore is my heart. The image of Barry dancing
with the cheerleaders, Like, I just love this part of
his story. The team vice president Joseph A. Bailey did
not love it. He called Barry quote perverted, and when
Barry called the cheerleader's manager to try to explain that
it was all just in good fun, she replied tersely, quote,
(10:33):
you are not a female. So the way that Barry
played imposter, it's a little different than the way that
we talk about other impostors in this season. He didn't
cause himself or anyone else any harm. He didn't do
anything physically or financially wrong, but the Cowboys sued him
to the tune of five thousand dollars for trespassing and
(10:54):
for creating a nuisance. They wanted to ban him from
Cowboy games for the rest of his life. Barry's reaction
was pretty berry. He said, what are they going to do?
Put wanted posters at every entrance? This is ridiculous. I
was just having fun, and in the end of the
team did drop the lawsuit. This is one of those
(11:14):
things where I kind of see both sides. I fall
on the side of fun, but I could see where
someone who was not particularly humorous about their job would
be very irritated by this whole business. Um amidst Amid
start talking about his infiltration of the Cowboys cheerleading squad,
(11:35):
we really have to pivot a little bit and talk
about Barry's golfing prowess. On three yes, that is correct,
three separate occasions. Barry played golf in the US Open
practice round, which is amazing, right, and he actually was
considered a pretty good golfer according to the man himself.
At least he allegedly had a seven handicap, But great
(11:57):
or not, most golfers still do not it to play
around with a talent like Jack Nicholas or Fred Couples,
right or he did, but Berry did right. So again
in nineteen seventy nine, Barry snuck into the club that
was hosting the US Open and he played a practice
round with Jerry Pate, who was actually unaware of who
(12:19):
Barry actually was. At the US Open in nineteen eighty,
he played so poorly that a spectator actually asked that
the United States Golf Association's representative how an amateur golfer
could make it through qualifying? Um, But it's Barry. So
Barry didn't actually go through qualifying. That's why it was
his third time doing this in five where things went
(12:43):
well a little differently for him on the golf course.
While he was scouting the Oakland Hills Country Club, he
happened to meet pro golfer Fred Couples and the two
men hit it off, and Couples would later remember Berry
saying quote, I had a great chuckle with him. So
when it comes to this nineteen event, a friend who
was a club member also helped pull off this caper.
(13:06):
He's the one who smuggled Berries clubs and his caddy
into the club. Barry were a disguise, which I love,
included a fake mustache along with a wig, and he
claimed to be a qualifier named Mark Diamond. Once he
was in he found Couples, who was playing a practice
round with Jay Hass. According to Couples, and this is
a long quote, so stick with me, he came out
(13:26):
of the shrubs on the second hole and hit this
tea shot that buzzes the spectators. He had on this
big wig and advisor and looked a little out of place,
but we didn't care. He just did his deal and
had a great time. It didn't take long for people
to scream out, who's that guy? I mean, the cat
was out of the bag after a couple of holes,
but we didn't get into trouble and no one came
out to get him. I suspect having the pro golfers
(13:50):
not really carrying helped a whole lot in terms of security.
At the tenth hole, the threesome turned into a fiveesome,
four professional golfers and Barry quote. When we played as
a fivesome, according to Barry, that's when I got a
little nervous. All they said was we don't mind you
playing as long as you keep the ball in play.
(14:13):
I think that's fair. I think that's fair good nature
right out of all of his stunts, Barry always said
that he was proudest of his golf antics. He said, quote,
I was out there for the longest time and I
was never caught. He called this particular four and a
half hour prank his favorite impersonation quote, no question about it.
(14:34):
It was wonderful. He also said, quote during one point,
as I was playing, I remember thinking what a great
place this is. I mean, is America a great place?
Or what? Berry can do crazy things that are completely
untoward and still get away with it. So let's just
(14:54):
call them. They're all fun. We're going to take a
quick rake for award from our sponsor, and then we'll
be back to talk about Barry's stunt, not in the
sports world, but at the Emmy's. Welcome back to criminal lya. Okay,
(15:19):
let's talk about why Barry needed to apologize to entertain her,
Betty Thomas. This is one of Barry's non sports related pranks.
He brazenly accepted Betty Thomas's Emmy. This was not a
small prank either. It's not like running onto the basketball
court at halftime. Betty Thomas to give you some context,
(15:41):
started her acting career alongside Bill Murray, Harold Ramos, and
John Belushi on stage every night at Second City. She
has started hit TV shows. She moved into directing, eventually
giving us such hits as The Brady Bunch Movie and
Dr Doolittle, and her two thousand nine film Alvin and
the Chipmunks. The Squeak Wol became the first female directed
(16:01):
picture to gross more than two hundred million dollars. It
makes her one of the most successful directors of all Tommy,
I'm so sorry, squeak one. So this is the first
time you encountered the Squeaks as an animation person. I
(16:24):
knew all about the well Alvan, I got that, but
the Squeak well, I just um, I can go now.
I think she definitely has Hollywood credit. But for our purposes,
we're talking about the time earlier in her career when
Betty landed a role as police officer Lucy Bates on
Hill Street Blues. So this show actually ran between nine
(16:48):
seven and Betty received during that time seven yeah, I said,
seven Emmy nominations for her work as Outstanding Supporting Actress.
But it was this year she took Home and Emmy.
That's the five season of the show, and that's also
the same year that Barry interrupted it. Yeah, she basically
got nominated every single year for that one. So there's
(17:11):
Barry at the thirty seven Annual Emmy Awards in the
Pasadena Civic Auditorium, dressed all up in a rented tuxedo
with a pink tie and cumberbund He said, quote, I
was a little tanned. I looked, Barry, Hollywood. I'm going
to interrupt you for a second that if anyone actually
wants to google that, there is a photo of Barry
at the lectern in his pink tie and cumberbund um
(17:34):
accepting this award. It's very blurry like someone took a
screen capture of it, but it exists and it's he was.
He was lightly tanned. He later explained that he had
gotten into the event with a three hundred dollar ticket
that he purchased pretending he was with the media, and
with that ticket he ended up in a third row
(17:55):
aisle seat. Berry, over the course of the evening, met
several celebrity is, including this story about actor Robert Stack.
I told him, Barry said, I was here to accept
an Emmy, and I asked him what it was like
to work with some of his friends. Barry then continued,
he didn't say much. He acted like he knew who
I was, but I knew he didn't. So when Betty's
(18:19):
name was announced, it was Barry who straight to the
lectern and whispered to the presenter, who happened to be
the actor Peter Graves, that he would be accepting the
statue on Betty's behalf. But everyone, including Peter, was confused
by this, and then it happened, Much to the surprise
of everyone on stage and at the event, Barry went
(18:39):
ahead and accepted the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in
a Drama Series, explaining in his short speech that Betty
Thomas was unavailable to do so herself. But here's the thing.
Betty was there in the audience. She got up to
try to get her award, and by the time she
reached the stage, Barry was already wrapping up his acceptance
speech with a thing you to sportscaster Dick Chap. Chap,
(19:02):
you'll recall, was the first person to put Barry on
television as Sportsman of the Week back in ninety nine,
after being ushered off stage. Barry recalls that when he
was backstage, Betty seemed and we quote Barry startled and
he said to her, I'm sorry, I'm the impostor. He
(19:23):
later said that there was no specific reason that he
had targeted Betty. Quote. I never met Betty Thomas and
I've never seen Hill Street Blues. But when I got
up there, I said I had just talked to Betty yesterday,
and then I took the award. His act Actually wasn't
the first time someone crashed the Emmys, or actually any
award show. Robert Opple made history when he streaked across
(19:44):
the stage during the forty Academy Awards. In of all
that he had done, this was the biggest trouble that
Barry got himself into. He is quoted as saying he
was quote going to try to work something out, and
he pretty much did just that. He was questioned and
booked by Pasadena police, and according to Barry, quote they
(20:04):
got a little pushy for a while. He always spent
an hour or two in jail before he posted the
hundred and fifty dollar bond, and on his way out,
he signed autographs for some of the officers that gives
you an indication of the level of celebrity that he
had achieved at this point for this impostor business. Absolutely
there Later, though, Barry did acknowledge that Betty Thomas deserved
(20:26):
an apology from him and that he we quote did
not want to take the thunder away from anyone. I
guess I deserved it, right. I mean, you take an
award from somebody on Hill Street blues, I guess you
should be thrown in jail. And when asked about that
hour that he was locked up, Berry replied, well, for starters,
I was the only guy dressed in a tuxedo, and
(20:47):
then there was the fact that I was conscious, you know,
not drunk about that. Emmy prank Berry continued, quote what
I thought I was doing, what I hoped I was doing,
was accepting an award for someone who I didn't think
was there based on her slow reaction of getting up.
He then added, I guess I missed my mark. I
should have accepted for Jane Curtin. Jane Curtain was named
(21:11):
Best Actress that year in a comedy series that was
for the sitcom Katon Alley, but she was a no show.
So afterwards, Verry said of the whole affair, and this
is a quote from him. Let me put it this way.
From now on, I am going to strictly stay in sports.
The ball players are more receptive to these things than actors.
(21:32):
I don't know if you had taken a ball players
award accepted speech, they may have felt equally chagrined. But
we'll never know. So we're going to jump forward to
and that year, Barry told the Associated Press that he
was semi retired from his impostor days, mainly, as he said,
because he didn't want to be mistaken for the quote
(21:54):
real nuts who run onto sports fields for attention or worse.
He referenced the knife attack that had happened on tennis
star Monica Sellis in as an early game changer for
security breaches. Barry's son Adam, explained that his father did
all of these things because it made people smile, but
when asked to give advice to people who may also
(22:16):
want to try it out, Barry said, and we quote this,
don't do it. It's against the law. Stay away, and
then he joked, this is my act. You know. I
could see where people would want to do the copycat thing.
But I think he was mentally ready for the repercussions
when things went poorly, and not everybody would be agreed.
(22:38):
And all of this, of course went even deeper than that.
In two thousand five, when Barry was asked if he
planned to completely retire from his role as the Great impostor,
he replied, and we quote, you've heard of the Taser gun,
you've heard of nine eleven. They don't ask questions anymore.
And he's totally right. Security in a post nine eleven
world is not the same as it was in nineteen
(22:59):
seventy nine. It was far less intense then. Although sometimes
Barry was arrested, he never spent real time in jail.
That there was, you know, a couple hours on that
one night after taking the award. He was mostly just
verbally reprimanded and then find Today his escapades would be
seen differently. They would likely attract attention from far more
(23:19):
than sports fans, and quite possibly from organizations like homeland
security or the FBI. So also early two thousand's when
the Super Bowl was in Detroit in two thousand and six,
the Detroit News asked Barry what he had planned for
the big event, and his answer when he he whispered
into the phone, was I've been in the stadium for
(23:40):
four months. I brought enough food and water. I bought
the uniform of every team with a chance to go
into the playoffs. But he couldn't maintain that lie. He
was He was fifty eight at the time, and he
just started laughing, and he admitted that he actually was
planning to stay home comfortably, maybe playing golf and watching
the game on TV, a much more low key way
(24:02):
to do it. When he was asked what his wife
thought of all these pranks, Barry replied, she gets nervous.
It's an odd advocation. I am a little different. And
when asked what's next, Barry admitted, I have no idea.
Maybe Johnny Carson will ask me to be on his
show and they'll say, here's Johnny, and I'll come out,
Oh Barry, that would have been funny. So whether he
(24:25):
whether he'd chosen life as an impostor or not, the
way Barry lived his life demonstrated a joy and a
passion that many of us wish we two could have.
I do what I do for the fun of it.
He was quoted in a Detroit Free Press article that
and for the fantasy of just being able to participate
in these incredible events. There's no social significance. I feel
(24:47):
like that statement cannot be made today in the era
of social media and have any of the same resonance.
Very different time. Barry unfortunately died of his off a
deeal cancer on June in Scottsdale, Arizona, know where he
was living with his wife, Margot. She once described him
and his outlook on life as quote, if you have
no guts, you have no glory in your life. After
(25:09):
his death, a lot of people spoke kind words about Barry,
and we're going to share some of those because he
was very clearly quite well loved. So let's start with
sports reporter and the son of Dick Schapp. So his
name is Jeremy Schapp, and he admitted that he admired
Berry's we quote absolute refusal to take no for an
(25:29):
answer and his ability to see padlocks and velvet ropes
not as obstructions but as provocations. Uh Neil Ruben, a
Detroit News columnist who wrote about Berry on several occasions,
remember he lived in Detroit for quite a while, had
kept in touch with him over the years, and said
quote he was just this guy who sold novelties out
of a cluttered office at suburban Detroit, and this was
(25:52):
his way to be something different. He never heard anybody
for Barry. It was all about the moment. Let's end
with this quote from Rabbi Tamara Colton, who officiated Barry's
memorial service. She called him quote more than a man,
he's a force. He's a force to remember the part
of us that yearns to do something a little different,
(26:13):
a little extraordinary, a lot of fun. What the world
needs is more forces like Barry. And we actually have
two more stories about Barry, but we couldn't confirm them. Uh,
they are still really really great stories, but just remember
that they're apocryphal and they're part of his allure, but
we don't know if they're true. Right. They came up
and maybe maybe one source that we ran into. But
(26:36):
one of them is that Barry once sang a song
on stage with Harry Tapin, but after two songs, the
singer wondered who that guy was. It says a lot
about shape spirit of like I don't know what's happening,
but I'm booked for this gig and I'm gonna do it. However,
they're trying to do it. I'm just gonna keep singing.
(26:58):
The other story is about the time when Barry addressed
a gathering of police chiefs. Quote. I pretended to be
someone else. I wore a polyester suit, and I spoke
on the legalization of prostitution. Everyone just figured I was
from Los Angeles or Las Vegas. So I like to
think that the singing one may be true, but that
the second one doesn't sound as much like Barry to
(27:21):
me as the first one does. But I maybe the
very wrong get him in the right mood, right, He's
up for it, right. So, speaking of getting us in
the right mood, what's our mocktail this week? So this
one is one that I'm doing in honor of Barry,
(27:41):
and I'm calling Aoidevieve good name for him. I wanted
to make something that was very bright and fun and
had like a good crisp flavor. So you're gonna start
this involves muddling, one of my favorite things. I enjoy
it as well. You're gonna start with six to ten
mint leaves, depending on your love of mint. I go
heavy because I love them, and you're gonna muddle those.
(28:04):
A word of caution about muddling. People tend to like
pulverize their mint. No, No, you really just want to
press them enough that you kind of break the leaves
open lightly to let all of that yummy, yummy mint
essence out. But then after you've muddled your mint, you're
gonna throw three to four blueberries in there and also
smish them with your muddler. Again, you're not pulverizing, just
(28:24):
give them a good smush. On top of that, you're
going to add four ounces of passion fruit juice and
a half ounce of lime juice, and this should all
be in your cocktail shaker, and you're gonna give it
a good hard shake, because anything with juice multifies and
incorporates better when you give it a good shake. And
then you'll strain it over ice, so you don't want
(28:45):
the blueberries and the mint leaves to come with you. Uh,
And then you will top it off with a little
bit of soda. I like to garnish it with a
pretty sprig of like the end of your your mint
tendril where they have one of those nice clusters of leaves.
This is so delicious and refreshing. It's a little bit
tart but it's super duper yummy, and it does give
you a sense of joade vie so um for my
(29:08):
drinkers in the crowd, you may have noticed that this
share some DNA with a mohito. It certainly does. A
mohedo would also involved some muddled mint and some lime
juice or some citrus juice, and you would instead put
white rum and that so you can, if you want,
just add an ounce or an ounce and a half
(29:29):
of rum and uh, you know, spin that up and
you'll get kind of like a blueberry passioned fruit mohedo
out of the deal. Also very delicious and full of
joade vive. I bet, I bet it sounds like an
excellent drink. I have made several in the last couple
of days, both both with rumen without because they're really
really yummy. And I'm like, I got the juice on
an it's called testing shure, it's called testing testing andree
(29:55):
four or five, six, seven eight, And then I ran
out of juice. No I still have some left. Um.
I love, I love, I love, I love this drink.
It's one of my favorite markbils I've done so far. Excellent.
So hopefully if anybody else tries it, you will feel
similarly full of jois uh We We hope that you
(30:16):
are experiencing some choas or joy or however you wished
to say it these days, and we want to make
sure we thank you for spending this time with us.
We will see you right here again next week with
another impostor. Criminalia is a production of Shawonda land Audio
in partnership with I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
(30:37):
Shonda land Audio, please visit the I heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,
Hosts And Creators
Holly Frey
Maria Trimarchi
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