Barry Bremen | |
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Born | Barry Bremen[1] June 30, 1947 |
Died | June 30, 2011 | (aged 64)
Occupation | Insurance salesman/marketing executive/novelty goods salesman |
Years active | 1979โ1986 |
Known for | Prolific sports impersonations |
Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
Title | The Great Imposter |
Spouse | Margo |
Children | at least 40[2] |
Barry Bremen (June 30, 1947[3] โ June 30, 2011)[1] was a West Bloomfield, Michigan, insurance[4] and novelty goods salesman[1] and marketing executive[3] known in the sports world as The Great Imposter. From the period 1979 to 1986, the 6'4",[5] "lean"[6] Bremen posed as a Major League Baseball umpire in the World Series, a player in a Major League Baseball All-Star Game, a player in a National Basketball Association All-Star Game, a referee in the National Football League, a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, and a professional golfer. He also posed as an Emmy Award accepter.
Bremen was a self-proclaimed jock who regularly played touch football, basketball, and softball. His wife Margo, in a 1980 People magazine profile of the imposter, said Bremen was "fulfilling a grand fantasy to be in the limelight. He feels if you have no guts you have no glory in your life." His advice to other impostors: "Don't do it. It's against the law. Stay away. This is my act."[5]
He is known to be the biological donor father of at least 40 children.[7]