Editing Ferdinand Waldo Demara (section)

=== Minor fame ===
After this episode, he sold his tale to ''[[Life (magazine)|LIFE]]''<ref name= tale /> and worked in short-term jobs, since he had become widely known. However, he returned to his old tricks, obtained fake credentials, and got a job at a prison in [[Huntsville, Texas|Huntsville]], [[Texas]]. According to his biographer, Demara's past became known and his position untenable when an inmate found a 1952 copy of ''LIFE'' with an article about the impostor. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' ran a full page article on Demara in February 1957.

On November 5, 1959, Demara appeared on the surrealistic game show hosted by [[Ernie Kovacs]], ''[[Take a Good Look (TV series)|Take a Good Look]]''. The object was for one of the three celebrity panelists to guess his identity. One week later, on November 12, 1959, he appeared on an episode of the TV quiz show ''[[You Bet Your Life]]'', with Groucho Marx.  Demara recounted his exploits and said the $1,000 he earned on the program was going to be donated to the "Feed and Clothe Fred Demara Fund".<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/33Rz5yYCeks Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20160229142521/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33Rz5yYCeks Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite serial| url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33Rz5yYCeks&index=89&list=PLHaioNpr_GDbvsTj_taM-jO6C1658N1PC | series= [[You Bet Your Life]] |number= 59-08 |title= Ferdinand Demara, 'The Great Imposter' | interviewer= Groucho Marx | first1= Carmen| last1= Phillips| first2= Ferdinand| last2= Demara|date= November 12, 1959| at= 6:48| via= YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Demara continued to use new aliases but, as a result of his self-generated publicity, it became much harder to accomplish impersonations. In 1960, as a publicity stunt, Demara was given a small acting role in the horror film ''[[The Hypnotic Eye]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title="The Hypnotic Eye." AFI Catalog.|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/53182|access-date=2023-08-11}}</ref> He appears briefly in the film portraying a legitimate hospital surgeon. 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 Joseph C. Cyr.