Talk:Ferdinand Waldo Demara

Untitled
I've added some facts, based in part on the print copy I have of the New York Times obituary for Demara. It's cut from the page, so I don't have the date, but the dateline for the obituary itself is "Anaheim, Calif., June 8," 1982. I also added links to the CFB Esquimalt museum, which has a quote from a shipmate. I'd like to do more but am looking for a source on how Demara's Korean exploits reached Canada and then the real Dr. Cyr. The version still has a lot of guesses in it, with no attribution. OtherDave 21:51, 9 August 2005 (UTC)

I learned about Demara in high school -- he had been a member of the Brothers of Christian Instruction, who ran my school, prior to his exploits in the Canadian Navy. Brother Anthony St-Denis, FIC, who tended the apple orchard when I was at school, was the person who had to travel from Alfred, Maine to Canada to retrieve the truck Demara had stolen.

So naturally I have just ordered copies of both Crichton books, The Great Imposter and The Rascal and the Road (the latter is about Crichton's travels with Demara as the first book was being written and researched). Both are out of print. I will glean for facts to add to this page. OtherDave 20:46, August 12, 2005 (UTC)


 * Very few obits are published on the day the person actually died. There are google hits for 7 June 1982, so I think that's a far more likely death date.  But the birth date is a problem - I've found sources for 12 December 1921, 21 December 1921, 12 December 1922, and 21 December 1922.  --  JackofOz (talk) 14:00, 29 June 2008 (UTC)

Actually, the 1930 Census taken on April 11, 1930 shows Fred W. Demara as 8 years old, supporting the December, 1921 date. The actual date in December is not listed. Daviddaniel37 (talk) 21:16, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

NPOV
I put up the NPOV sign. The comments about the film about Demara and about Demara's role in a film both seem to make opinion judgements. Notthe9 04:32, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

Film
Unfortunately the article about the film "The Great Impostor" is just a stub now. Can anybody please complete it?--173.33.216.123 (talk) 23:00, 29 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Feel free to do so yourself, if the movie interests you. I saw it a while back and thought if was very funny, but I don't remember it well. ScottyBerg (talk) 19:56, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

Online References Found
I added link to downloadable library copy of biography and referenced Rascality quote to book. Before I leave page I will also add and reference Demara's philosophy of Expanding into a vacuum - in particular because that philosophy inspired my life, not as an impostor, but of always finding voids I could fill-in rather than competing with others for existing positions or projects. Not bad as the result of a 1960's class book reading assignment. 63.225.148.244 (talk) 14:09, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

Remarks by Acting Captain
On 7 January, the following text was added by 154.5.204.152: ''During the period April 1951/ July 52 I was the Acting Captain of HMCS Cayuga as directed by our Captain Cdr James Plomer. I can attest to all of the record listed here as to our Doctors capability and actions. He was for us the greatest. However when he was found out as a result of an attempt to achieve a medal for him in light of his deeds and credibility. His remark to me and one other officer on deck that 'He had hoped that we would return to Esquimalt and he would just disappear'' Very interesting indeed, but shouldn't be in the article, so I removed it. To prevent it from getting lost, I moved it here. PPP (talk) 01:09, 26 January 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20051025201105/http://www.navalandmilitarymuseum.org:80/resource_pages/chars/Demara.html to http://www.navalandmilitarymuseum.org/resource_pages/chars/Demara.html
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Timeline confusion
The section labeled "Minor fame" starts "After this episode,". The immediately preceding episode currently is the founding of the college in Maine with the Christian Brothers, but he seems to have escaped Maine without any notoriety. Did he sell his story to Life after being in Maine, or does this need to be rephrased to refer to the episode on board the Canadian naval ship? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.131.183.176 (talk) 21:16, 26 October 2019 (UTC)

This man invented among us in the 1960s
Lmao. Not so sure if all the claimed actions were real but close enough. 27.55.73.205 (talk) 00:32, 29 November 2021 (UTC)

Joseph C. Cyr source does not exist
The story of Joseph C. Cyr is probably made up. The source [4] is linking to "AMERICANA: Ferdinand the Bull Thrower" an article that has nothing to do with the Demara story. The original source is not present. 84.124.146.1 (talk) 00:42, 23 August 2022 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 16:53, 28 April 2023 (UTC)
 * Ferdinand Waldo Demara.jpg

Steve McQueen
I've added a citation for it to a reputable print source, but the anecdote about him administering last rites to McQueen seems a little dubious to me, especially since McQueen died in Mexico in 1980 and Demara seems to have spent the last 8 years of his life (1974-82?) in Orange County suffering from morbid obesity. Per$1$tenceofv1$1on (talk) 00:33, 11 August 2023 (UTC)Per$1$tenceofv1$1on