The Great Imposter

“Everybody lies.”  That may be true, for in the last few years there have sure been some public whoppers. I've been trying to understand why there isn't a greater demand for truth.  Bernie Madoff ripped off his investors for decades.  One can easily understand why he lied: by doing so he enabled a lavish lifestyle and was adulated by thousands.  A more important question is: why did so many people believe him?

Where was the outrage?  Sure, some of us objected.  But not enough.  We will not be told the truth unless we demand it … or will we?

Maybe it's all just what we want to hear …

Enter Ferdinand Waldo Demara …

One of history’s most amusing conmen was Ferdinand Waldo Demara. Demara was so adept at what he did he earned the title of the "Great Imposter" and his antics eventually spawned a movie by the same name in the 1960’s starring actor Tony Curtis which was based on a book written by Robert Crichton. Who is this guy you ask? Demara grew up in Lawrence, Massachusetts leaving home at age fifteen. Many feel that he was probably a genius because his scams were carried through with impeccably devised truths. By using stolen letterheads he was able to acquire a multitude of college records. He was a skillful forger who could assume the names and credentials or whoever he wanted to be at any given time. The amazing thing about “Fred” however was his capability to perform any of the work associated with his alleged degrees. Demara also had a knack for disappearing when the heat was turned on and a situation became too risky.

 As Dr. Joseph C. Cyr, he successfully performed duties as a full functioning surgeon while aboard a Canadian Navy Destroyer where he was fondly known as a “miracle doctor.” Parading under the guise of Dr. Robert Linton French, he easily gained a position as a college dean and later as Dr. Cecil B. Hamann, he was admitted to a Boston law school. His longest stints were held in monasteries and Catholic orders as part of the brotherhood. It is believed that under the guise of different personas, Demara was most likely accepted into more religious orders than anyone else in America. As one Ben Jones, Demara also had a successful career as an assistant warden/psychologist at Huntsville State Prison. The law finally caught up with Demara after a stint as a high school teacher in New England after friends recognized him in a photo that appeared in the January 1952 issue of Life magazine that ran a story on the Great Imposter. When brought before the judge, Demara swore to live a clean life and he did. He spent the rest of his days as an ordained minister under his rightful name. Demara died in 1982 at age 60.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5gO21naKFo