Barry Bremen, who just passed away from cancer, was a suburban Detroit toy salesman who spiced up his life by being a “professional impostor,” sneaking past security at sporting events and Hollywood ceremonies to become part of the show. From his New York Times obituary:

“By most accounts, Mr. Bremen’s exploits began in 1979, when he managed to sneak onto the floor during warm-ups before the N.B.A. All-Star Game in Detroit, wearing a pilfered team uniform.

Mr. Bremen, an athletic 6-foot-4, took several shots before being recognized as an intruder and ejected.

The same year, he slipped onto the sidelines during a football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins dressed in a custom-made Cowboys cheerleader outfit and a blond wig. (He had dieted and shaved his legs for this one.) The Cowboys kicked him out and sued him but later let the matter go.

In his more conventional life, he represented toy and novelty manufacturers in their dealings with retail stores while living in the Detroit suburbs with his wife and three children.

‘He was just this guy who sold novelties out of a cluttered office in suburban Detroit, and this was his way to be something different,’ said Neal Rubin, a Detroit News columnist who wrote several columns about Mr. Bremen and kept in touch. ‘He never hurt anybody. For Barry, it was all about the moment.’

The only stunt Mr. Bremen expressed some regrets about was his 1985 visit to the Emmy Awards, when he almost walked off with the best supporting actress statue awarded to Betty Thomas, who played Officer Lucille Bates on the police drama Hill Street Blues.“

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Barry Bremen accepts an Emmy:

Another impostor post:

• Brian MacKinnon went back to high school when he was 32.