Ferdinand Waldo Demara, professionally known as Fred W. Demara, was a charismatic and intellectually gifted individual who assumed various identities to expedite his progression through life and secure positions or careers. Throughout his life, he successfully adopted personas, which allowed him to become a Canadian Navy Surgeon, a civil engineer designing a bridge, 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. Eventually, he concluded his life as a hospital chaplain, operating under his genuine name.
Articles about his remarkable life appeared in prominent publications, including Time Magazine and Life magazine, as well as other newspapers and journals. Robert Crichton wrote two books about Demara, with one, "The Great Imposter" (1959),being adapted into a film, starring Tony Curtis, although the story was fictionalized for the big screen. Demara's notoriety led to him securing a role in the movie "The Hypnotic Eye", despite his inability to excel as an actor on film.
During one of his many "careers", he gained widespread recognition as a successful Navy Surgeon, saving 13 soldiers, which ultimately led to the exposure of his impersonation. In another notable instance, in 1951, he founded LaMennais College in Alfred, Maine, which continued to thrive for eight years after his departure, eventually becoming Walsh University in Canton, Ohio in 1959.
