Ferdinand Waldo Demara
Encyclopedia
Ferdinand Waldo Demara, Jr. (December 21, 1921 – June 7, 1982), known as "the Great Impostor", masqueraded as many people from monk
s to surgeon
s to prison wardens. He was the subject of a movie, The Great Impostor
, in which he was played by Tony Curtis
.
During Demara's "careers", he was, among other things, a ship's doctor, a civil engineer
, a sheriff's deputy
, an assistant prison warden, a doctor of applied psychology
, a hospital orderly, a lawyer
, a child-care expert, a Benedictine
monk, a Trappist
monk, an editor, a cancer researcher, and a teacher. One teaching job led to six months in prison. He never seemed to get (or seek) much monetary gain in what he was doing – just temporary respectability.
Many of Demara's unsuspecting employers, under other circumstances, would have been satisfied with Demara as an employee. Demara was said to possess a true photographic memory
and was widely reputed to have an extraordinary IQ. He was apparently able to memorize necessary techniques from textbooks and worked on two cardinal rules: The burden of proof is on the accuser and When in danger, attack. He described his own motivation as "Rascality, pure rascality".
in 1921, at 40 Texas Avenue in the lower southwest Tower Hill Neighborhood. His father, Ferdinand Waldo Demara, Sr. was born in Rhode Island and worked in Lawrence's old Theatre District as a motion picture operator. In those days, his father did financially well and they lived on Jackson St in Lawrence, an upper class district with many larger-size, finer homes. However it was his uncle, Napoleon Louis Demara, Sr. who owned those theatres, where Fred's father, Ferdinand, Sr. was an active union member. At some point during the earlier stages of the 1930's depression, Fred's father lost virtually all he had and the family moved to poorer districts in the city. This angered the young man.
He ran away from home at the age of sixteen to join Cistercian monks in Rhode Island, where he stayed for several years. He joined the U.S. Army in 1941.
After his release he assumed a fake identity and studied law at night at Northeastern University, then joined the Brothers of Christian Instruction in Maine, a Roman Catholic order.
While at the Brothers of Christian Instruction, he became acquainted with a young doctor named Joseph C. Cyr.
That led to his most famous exploit, in which he masqueraded as Dr. Cyr, working as a trauma surgeon aboard HMCS Cayuga
, a Royal Canadian Navy
destroyer, during the Korean War
. He managed to improvise successful major surgeries and fend off infection with generous amounts of penicillin
. His most notable surgical practices were performed on some sixteen Korean combat casualties who were loaded onto the Cayuga. All eyes turned to Demara, the only "surgeon" on board, as it became obvious that several of the casualties would require major surgery or certainly die. After ordering personnel to transport these variously injured patients into the ship's operating room and prep them for surgery, Demara disappeared to his room with a textbook on general surgery and proceeded to speed-read the various surgeries he was now forced to perform, including major chest surgery. None of the casualties died as a result of Demara's surgeries. Apparently, the removal of a bullet from a wounded man ended up in Canadian newspapers. One person reading the reports was the mother of the real Dr. Joseph Cyr; her son at the time of "his" service in Korea was actually practicing medicine in Grand Falls
, New Brunswick
. When news of the impostor reached the Cayuga, still on duty off Korea, Captain James Plomer at first refused to believe Demara was not a doctor (and not Joseph Cyr). The Canadian Navy chose not to press charges, and Demara returned to the United States.
), Demara came up with the idea of making the religious teaching order more prominent by founding a college in Alfred, Maine
. Demara proceeded on his own and actually got the college chartered by the state. He then promptly left that religious order in 1951 when 1) the Christian Brothers of Instruction offended him by not naming him as rector or chancellor of the new college and 2) chose what Demara considered was a terrible name for the college. The college Demara founded, LaMennais College in Alfred, Maine, existed from 1951 (when Demara left) through 1959 when it moved to Canton, Ohio
and in 1960 changed its name to Walsh College (now Walsh University
). Internet searches show a number of noted persons ultimately graduated from LaMennais College before it moved to Ohio.
. According to his biographer, Demara's past became known and his position untenable when an inmate found a copy of Life with an article about the impostor.
He continued to use new aliases but as a result of his self-generated publicity, impersonation was harder to accomplish than before. In 1960, as a publicity stunt, Demara was given a small acting role in the horror film The Hypnotic Eye
. He appears briefly in the film as a (genuine) hospital surgeon. Ironically, the impostor who fooled so many people in real life reveals a total lack of acting ability in this brief role. By this point, Demara's girth was so notable that he could not avoid attracting attention. Demara had already been considerably overweight during his impersonation of Cyr.
in downtown Los Angeles. In 1967 Demara received a Graduate Certificate in Bible from Multnomah Bible College
in Portland, Oregon
.
Demara had various friendships with a wide variety of notable people during his life. This included a close relationship with actor Steve McQueen
, to whom Demara delivered last rites in November 1980.
When Demara's past exploits and infamy were discovered in the late 1970s, he was almost dismissed from the Good Samaritan Hospital of Orange County in Anaheim, California
where he worked as a visiting chaplain. Chief of Staff Dr. Philip S. Cifarelli
, who had developed a close personal friendship with Demara, personally vouched for him and Demara was allowed to remain as Chaplain. Demara was a very active and appreciated minister, serving a variety of patients in the hospital. Few of those with whom he interacted at the hospital knew of his colorful past. Due to limited financial resources and his friendships with Cifarelli and Dr. Jerry Nilsson, Demara was allowed to live in the hospital until his death, even after illness forced him to stop working for them in 1980. Dr Nilsson was one of the major owners of Good Samaritan Hospital of Orange County.
Demara died on June 7, 1982 at the age of 60 due to heart failure and complications from his diabetic condition which required both of his legs to be amputated. According to his obituary in the New York Times, he had been living in Orange County, California
, for eight years. He died at the home of Dr Jerry Nilsson in Anaheim, California. The home was called the "Stone House", by its owners.
; the book was a New York Times bestseller and adapted into a 1961 film by the same name starring Tony Curtis
as Demara. A second book by Crichton, The Rascal and the Road, recounted Demara and Crichton's experiences together as Crichton conducted research for "The Great Impostor".
Other direct or indirect references to Demara include:
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s to surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
s to prison wardens. He was the subject of a movie, The Great Impostor
The Great Impostor
The Great Impostor is a 1961 movie based on the true story of an impostor named Ferdinand Waldo Demara.Loosely based on Robert Crichton's 1959 biography of the same name, it stars Tony Curtis in the title role, directed by Robert Mulligan....
, in which he was played by Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
.
During Demara's "careers", he was, among other things, a ship's doctor, a civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
, a sheriff's deputy
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
, an assistant prison warden, a doctor of applied psychology
Applied psychology
The basic premise of applied psychology is the use of psychological principles and theories to overcome problems in other areas, such as mental health, business management, education, health, product design, ergonomics, and law...
, a hospital orderly, a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, a child-care expert, a Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monk, a Trappist
TRAPPIST
TRAPPIST is Belgian robotic telescope in Chile which came online in 2010, and is an acronym for TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope, so named in homage to Trappist beer produced in the Belgian region. Situated high in the Chilean mountains at La Silla Observatory, it is actually...
monk, an editor, a cancer researcher, and a teacher. One teaching job led to six months in prison. He never seemed to get (or seek) much monetary gain in what he was doing – just temporary respectability.
Many of Demara's unsuspecting employers, under other circumstances, would have been satisfied with Demara as an employee. Demara was said to possess a true photographic memory
Eidetic memory
Eidetic , commonly referred to as photographic memory, is a medical term, popularly defined as the ability to recall images, sounds, or objects in memory with extreme precision and in abundant volume. The word eidetic, referring to extraordinarily detailed and vivid recall not limited to, but...
and was widely reputed to have an extraordinary IQ. He was apparently able to memorize necessary techniques from textbooks and worked on two cardinal rules: The burden of proof is on the accuser and When in danger, attack. He described his own motivation as "Rascality, pure rascality".
Early life and adulthood
Demara, known locally as "Fred", was born in Lawrence, MassachusettsLawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 76,377. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are...
in 1921, at 40 Texas Avenue in the lower southwest Tower Hill Neighborhood. His father, Ferdinand Waldo Demara, Sr. was born in Rhode Island and worked in Lawrence's old Theatre District as a motion picture operator. In those days, his father did financially well and they lived on Jackson St in Lawrence, an upper class district with many larger-size, finer homes. However it was his uncle, Napoleon Louis Demara, Sr. who owned those theatres, where Fred's father, Ferdinand, Sr. was an active union member. At some point during the earlier stages of the 1930's depression, Fred's father lost virtually all he had and the family moved to poorer districts in the city. This angered the young man.
He ran away from home at the age of sixteen to join Cistercian monks in Rhode Island, where he stayed for several years. He joined the U.S. Army in 1941.
Impersonations
The following year Demara began his new lives by borrowing the name of Anthony Ignolia, an army buddy, and went AWOL. After two more tries in monasteries he joined the Navy. He did not reach the position he wanted, faked his suicide and borrowed another name, Robert Linton French, and became a religiously-oriented psychologist. He taught psychology in a Pennsylvania college, served as an orderly in a Los Angeles sanitarium, as an instructor in St. Martin's College in the state of Washington. The FBI caught him eventually and he served 18 months in prison for desertion.After his release he assumed a fake identity and studied law at night at Northeastern University, then joined the Brothers of Christian Instruction in Maine, a Roman Catholic order.
While at the Brothers of Christian Instruction, he became acquainted with a young doctor named Joseph C. Cyr.
That led to his most famous exploit, in which he masqueraded as Dr. Cyr, working as a trauma surgeon aboard HMCS Cayuga
HMCS Cayuga (R04)
HMCS Cayuga R04/218 was a Tribal class destroyer built in the Halifax Shipyards, Halifax, Nova Scotia and served in the Royal Canadian Navy.-History:...
, a Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
destroyer, during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. He managed to improvise successful major surgeries and fend off infection with generous amounts of penicillin
Penicillin
Penicillin is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi. They include penicillin G, procaine penicillin, benzathine penicillin, and penicillin V....
. His most notable surgical practices were performed on some sixteen Korean combat casualties who were loaded onto the Cayuga. All eyes turned to Demara, the only "surgeon" on board, as it became obvious that several of the casualties would require major surgery or certainly die. After ordering personnel to transport these variously injured patients into the ship's operating room and prep them for surgery, Demara disappeared to his room with a textbook on general surgery and proceeded to speed-read the various surgeries he was now forced to perform, including major chest surgery. None of the casualties died as a result of Demara's surgeries. Apparently, the removal of a bullet from a wounded man ended up in Canadian newspapers. One person reading the reports was the mother of the real Dr. Joseph Cyr; her son at the time of "his" service in Korea was actually practicing medicine in Grand Falls
Grand Falls, New Brunswick
Grand Falls is a Canadian town located in Victoria County, New Brunswick.Situated on the Saint John River, the town derives its name from a waterfall created by a series of rock ledges over which the river drops 23 metres.-Geography:Grand Falls is located in the valley of the St...
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
. When news of the impostor reached the Cayuga, still on duty off Korea, Captain James Plomer at first refused to believe Demara was not a doctor (and not Joseph Cyr). The Canadian Navy chose not to press charges, and Demara returned to the United States.
Philosophy behind Demara's impersonations
Demara told his biographer that he was successful in his roles because he expanded into a vacuum where no other person existed to fill the void. It is best explained by the following excerpt from the biography:- He had come to two beliefs. One was that in any organization there is always a lot of loose, unused power lying about which can be picked up without alienating anyone.
- The second rule is, if you want power and want to expand, never encroach on anyone else's domain; open up new ones.
- "I call it 'Expanding into the power vacuum'" Demara proudly explains. "It works this way. If you come into a new situation (there's a nice word for it) don't join some other professor's committee and try to make your mark by moving up in that committee. You'll, one, have a long haul and two, make an enemy."
- Demara's technique is to found your own committee.
- "That way there's no competition, no past standards to measure you by. How can anyone tell you aren't running a top outfit? And then there's no past laws or rules or precedents to hold you down or limit you. Make your own rules and interpretations. Nothing like it. Remember it, expand into the power vacuum!"
Founded a college
During one of his impersonations, as Brother John Payne of the Christian Brothers of Instruction (also known as Brothers of Christian InstructionBrothers of Christian Instruction
The Brothers of Christian Instruction also known as the De la Mennais Brothers is a Christian educational organization founded in 1819 by Gabriel Deshayes and Jean-Marie de la Mennais for the instruction of youth. Their aim remains that of their Founder :"to educate the young and to make Jesus...
), Demara came up with the idea of making the religious teaching order more prominent by founding a college in Alfred, Maine
Alfred, Maine
Alfred is a town in York County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 2,497. Alfred is the county seat of York County and home to part of the Massabesic Experimental Forest...
. Demara proceeded on his own and actually got the college chartered by the state. He then promptly left that religious order in 1951 when 1) the Christian Brothers of Instruction offended him by not naming him as rector or chancellor of the new college and 2) chose what Demara considered was a terrible name for the college. The college Demara founded, LaMennais College in Alfred, Maine, existed from 1951 (when Demara left) through 1959 when it moved to Canton, Ohio
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and in 1960 changed its name to Walsh College (now Walsh University
Walsh University
Walsh University is a private non-profit, 4-year, Roman Catholic university in North Canton, Ohio, USA. It was founded in 1960 by the Brothers of Christian Instruction, initially as a liberal arts college. Walsh College became Walsh University in 1993. The University offers more than 50 majors,...
). Internet searches show a number of noted persons ultimately graduated from LaMennais College before it moved to Ohio.
Minor fame
After this episode, he sold his tale to Life magazine and worked in short-term jobs, since he was now widely known. He resorted to drinking. Only after he returned to his old tricks and got fake credentials could he get another job at a prison in Huntsville, TexasHuntsville, Texas
Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. The population was 35,508 at the 2010 census. It is the center of the Huntsville micropolitan area....
. According to his biographer, Demara's past became known and his position untenable when an inmate found a copy of Life with an article about the impostor.
He continued to use new aliases but as a result of his self-generated publicity, impersonation was harder to accomplish than before. In 1960, as a publicity stunt, Demara was given a small acting role in the horror film The Hypnotic Eye
The Hypnotic Eye
The Hypnotic Eye is a horror film, released by Allied Artists on February 27, 1960, starring Jacques Bergerac, Allison Hayes, Merry Anders, Eric "Big Daddy" Nord, and Ferdinand Demara, billed as "Fred Demara".-Plot:...
. He appears briefly in the film as a (genuine) hospital surgeon. Ironically, the impostor who fooled so many people in real life reveals a total lack of acting ability in this brief role. By this point, Demara's girth was so notable that he could not avoid attracting attention. Demara had already been considerably overweight during his impersonation of Cyr.
Later life
In the early 60s Demara worked as a counselor at the Union Rescue MissionUnion Rescue Mission
The Union Rescue Mission is a private, Christian, homeless shelter in downtown Los Angeles's skid row. It is the largest, private, homeless shelter in the United States...
in downtown Los Angeles. In 1967 Demara received a Graduate Certificate in Bible from Multnomah Bible College
Multnomah Bible College and Biblical Seminary
Multnomah University is a Christian educational institution in Portland, Oregon, United States. Specializing in Biblical studies and theology, Multnomah University consists of an undergraduate liberal arts program at Multnomah Bible College, as well as a masters level program at Multnomah Biblical...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
.
Demara had various friendships with a wide variety of notable people during his life. This included a close relationship with actor Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
, to whom Demara delivered last rites in November 1980.
When Demara's past exploits and infamy were discovered in the late 1970s, he was almost dismissed from the Good Samaritan Hospital of Orange County in Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
where he worked as a visiting chaplain. Chief of Staff Dr. Philip S. Cifarelli
Philip S. Cifarelli
Philip S. Cifarelli, M.D., J.D. was an American physician and attorney in Orange County, California who established a legal medicine bioethics educational program at the Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California, formerly COMP.-Early life:Dr. Cifarelli was born in his parent's...
, who had developed a close personal friendship with Demara, personally vouched for him and Demara was allowed to remain as Chaplain. Demara was a very active and appreciated minister, serving a variety of patients in the hospital. Few of those with whom he interacted at the hospital knew of his colorful past. Due to limited financial resources and his friendships with Cifarelli and Dr. Jerry Nilsson, Demara was allowed to live in the hospital until his death, even after illness forced him to stop working for them in 1980. Dr Nilsson was one of the major owners of Good Samaritan Hospital of Orange County.
Demara died on June 7, 1982 at the age of 60 due to heart failure and complications from his diabetic condition which required both of his legs to be amputated. According to his obituary in the New York Times, he had been living in Orange County, California
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
, for eight years. He died at the home of Dr Jerry Nilsson in Anaheim, California. The home was called the "Stone House", by its owners.
In media
Demara's story was recounted in the 1960 book, The Great Impostor, written by Robert Crichton and published by Random HouseRandom House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
; the book was a New York Times bestseller and adapted into a 1961 film by the same name starring Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
as Demara. A second book by Crichton, The Rascal and the Road, recounted Demara and Crichton's experiences together as Crichton conducted research for "The Great Impostor".
Other direct or indirect references to Demara include:
- The BandThe BandThe Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
recorded a song called "Ferdinand the Imposter". - The NBC drama The PretenderThe Pretender (TV series)The Pretender is an American television series that aired on NBC from 1996 to 2000. The series starred Michael T. Weiss as Jarod, a genius and former child prodigy with "the ability to become anyone he wants to be," i.e., to flawlessly impersonate anyone in virtually any line of work...
(1996–2000) was inspired by the life of Ferdinand Demara. Jarod (Michael T. WeissMichael T. WeissMichael Terry Weiss is an American actor best known for playing the title role in The Pretender.-Early life:Weiss was born in Chicago, Illinois. His father was a steel-industry executive and his mother was a homemaker. He has a sister, Jamie Sue Weiss, who became a make-up artist for television...
) is a child prodigyChild prodigyA child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...
who was abducted at a young age and raised in a think tankThink tankA think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
. In each episode, the character poses as a doctor, police officer, attorney, and various other figures in order to help those in trouble. - The Season 1, episode of MASHMash-Military:* Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, a United States Army medical unit serving in a combat area of operations-Entertainment:* MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors, by Richard Hooker** MASH , a 1970 dark comedy based on the novel...
, entitled "Dear Dad...Again", included a character impersonating a surgeon who was loosely based on Demara
Books
- Robert Crichton, The Great Impostor (Random House 1959), ISBN 0-394-42714-9.
- Robert Crichton, The Rascal and the Road (Simon & Schuster 1961), ISBN 1-199-39990-6
Films
- The Great ImpostorThe Great ImpostorThe Great Impostor is a 1961 movie based on the true story of an impostor named Ferdinand Waldo Demara.Loosely based on Robert Crichton's 1959 biography of the same name, it stars Tony Curtis in the title role, directed by Robert Mulligan....
(1960), a fictionalised version of his life starring Tony CurtisTony CurtisTony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
as Demara. - Jarod, the protagonist in the TV series The PretenderThe Pretender (TV series)The Pretender is an American television series that aired on NBC from 1996 to 2000. The series starred Michael T. Weiss as Jarod, a genius and former child prodigy with "the ability to become anyone he wants to be," i.e., to flawlessly impersonate anyone in virtually any line of work...
is inspired by (but not based on) Demara.
External links
- Archive.org downloadable library source of Robert Crichton's 1959 biography The Great Impostor
- Korean Veterans Association of Canada: The Case of the Spurious Sawbones
- CFB Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum article on Demara
- HMCS Cayuga history page
- Life Magazine Photos of Demara
- retired Commander Peter G. Chance in his book recalls Demara as Dr. Joseph Cyr