R.I.P. Dion Rich - World's Greatest Gate Crasher

[Jim Koepke]

You may not recognize the name or the man, but it is likely you have seen his image.

I saw him in New Orleans for the first Super Bowl after 9/11. The security was manic. Triple fencing. Armored vehicles. National Guardsmen.

“No way you sneak into this one,” I said.

“Watch me.”

I did. It took him six minutes.

There are plenty of good gate-crashers, but what made Dion the greatest was what he could pull off inside. At Super Bowl XII, he somehow finagled his way onto the Denver Broncos’ team bus from their hotel straight into the stadium. As the game clock expired, he and Dallas Cowboys Coach Tom Landry marched together triumphantly onto the field. Some of the players wanted to hoist Landry onto their shoulders, so Dion took the right leg. It’s a classic Super Bowl photo. Dion is the only one looking at the camera.

Dion Rich @ Super Bowl XII 1978.jpg

He has gate crashed many events including the Oscars. He had his picture taken with many celebrities.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...-appreciation/

The story is likely available from many other sources by searching on his name.

jtk

[Jason Roehl]

Sounds like his memorial will be a big ol’ bash. I wonder how many people will try to crash it?

[Andrew More]

Guessing he had enough charm to light up a small city.

[Bill Dufour]

My Uncle George, born 1910, used to crash weddings for the free snacks during the depression. He said he dressed in nice suit and you can not believe how thin they can slice the cheese and meats.
To keep it on topic these were in the Brazilian room in Tilden park in Berkeley Ca. The building was originally built by Brazil as demonstration of hardwood lumber from their country for the 1939 worlds fair. This was well before any concerns about deforesting or old growth trees. After the fair it was moved and rebuilt by WPA workers about five miles away. Pretty much the entire interior is unpainted exotic hardwoods.
Bill D