Barry Bremen, a businessman from Michigan and unrepentant impostor who fielded pop flies at the 1986 MLB All-Star Game, shot warm-up layups at the 1979 NBA All-Star Game, and leaped on stage to accept Betty Thomas’ Emmy Award in 1985, has passed away. He was 64.
Bremen and his wife Margo resided in Scottsdale, Arizona, where Barry Bremen passed away on June 30 from cancer.
Barry Bremen First Gained Notoriety for His Gate-Crashing Antics in the Late 1970s, Mostly at Athletic Events
He was shagging balls in the outfield at the Houston Astrodome before the 1986 All-Star game when he drew the attention of then-Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda while wearing a New York Mets uniform.
The game’s National League coach, Lasorda, told The Times, “I realized something was up when he couldn’t go to his right.” He claimed to be “living his fantasy,” and I responded that “getting his [rear] off the field” was my goal.
He has previously participated in All-Star games. He had snuck onto the field in 1979 wearing New York Yankee pinstripes. Bremen’s antics weren’t confined to athletic venues, as he also appeared on the sidelines of a National Football League game while costumed as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, impersonated the San Diego Chicken mascot, and participated in practice rounds at professional golf tournaments.
Betty Thomas, who played Lucy Bates on “Hill Street Blues,” went to the Pasadena Civic Auditorium stage to accept the award when she was informed that she had won the Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a dramatic series. Bremen, claiming that Thomas couldn’t be present in person, beat her to the podium and stole the golden statue from host Peter Graves. But she was, leading to Bremen’s arrest and subsequent fine.
Barry Bremen, a dedicated amateur athlete who was born in 1947, operated a prosperous merchandising company in a Detroit suburb.
At the 1979 NBA All-Star game at the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit, he pulled one of his earliest practical jokes. He picked up a uniform that fit his 6-foot-3-inch frame and joined the pros on the basketball court as they warmed up.
Barry Bremen Won Over Many Professional Players with His Charm
He told the Associated Press in 1997 that “they always have a good time pulling anything off against the establishment.” That is the reason it has been so effective.
Because he didn’t want to be confused for the actual crazy who go onto sports fields for publicity or worse, Bremen claimed he “retired” from gate-crashing in 1997. Security breaches were fundamentally altered by the 1993 knife attack in Germany on tennis player Monica Seles.
Bremen is survived by his wife of 42 years, three children, two sisters, and three grandchildren.
His more well-known antics include sneaking onto the stage to accept an Emmy in 1985 for Betty Thomas of “Hill Street Blues” before she could approach the microphone and being chased off the field by Lasorda, the Los Angeles Dodgers manager at the time, during warm-ups for the 1986 All-Star game.
“More than a man, he’s a force,” Rabbi Tamara Kolton remarked during the memorial service in Michigan, which was recorded and made available online by the Ira Kaufman Chapel. The world needs more forces like Barry because he “reminds us of the part of us that yearns to do something a bit unusual, a little extraordinary, and a lot of fun.”
Bremen, a father of three and an avid amateur athlete, had a prosperous retail company in the Bloomfield Hills neighborhood of Detroit. Friends claim that in 1978 while watching a Detroit Pistons game, he started his profession as the Great Impostor. In the waning minutes of his team’s annihilation of the pitiful Pistons, he nonchalantly moved near the visiting Kansas City Kings bench and stole the warm-up suit of a King’s benchwarmer.
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A few months later, Barry Bremen’s 6-foot-3-inch physique wore the get-up once more during the NBA All-Star game. After a couple of clunkers and an air ball, players began feeding him the ball. His dedication, enthusiasm for the game, and charm made him popular among many professional players.
Bremen told The Associated Press in 1997 that “they always have a fantastic time pulling anything off against the establishment.” That is the reason it has been so effective.
Before the 1979 All-Star game in Seattle, Barry Bremen snagged flies while wearing a New York Yankees uniform. He also dressed as an umpire and appeared at home plate before a 1980 World Series game between the Phillies and Royals in Philadelphia. At the 1985 U.S. Open in Oakland Hills, Michigan, Bremen played a practice round with Fred Couples and Curtis Strange.
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