On June 13, 1963, comedian Milton Berle was performing in a Houston, Texas nightclub when he decided to introduce astronaut Lt. Commander Jerry Clayton to his audience.
Perhaps you have never heard of an astronaut named Jerry Clayton. You are not alone. Neither had the four other astronauts or the NASA public affairs officer who were also seated in the audience that night. They quickly pointed out that Clayton was an imposter.
28-year-old Jerry G. Tees was arrested and charged with impersonating an officer for credit purposes since he had obtained credit at a cafe. Bail was set at $5,000, which is approximately $40,000 today.
It turns out that Tees had been impersonating an astronaut for about a month and used it to his advantage. He was given food and drink, taken on fishing trips, and was offered cars, boats, and jobs. Over the previous ten years, he had impersonated other military officers, doctors, and businessmen.
He was quoted as saying, “I don’t know why I do it.” He added, “I just live in a dream world, I guess.”
Why on earth are astronauts in the audience of someone who “decides “ to pretend to be an Astronaut..?!? Very very weird and quest and no one else seems to wonder???? Hmmmm, I smell something.
Was Tees drunk? Was this some kind of ploy? Why on earth on the exactly night astronauts are in the audience does this guy “pretend “ to be one? Who are the detectives in this joke? I would love there names as well as the “astronauts “ in the audience. Who are all these clowns making these harsh judgments on someone without ANY investigation or common sense whatsoever. JOKE!!!!