John Barmon
John Barmon
Title: Realtor, Coldwell Banker
Age: Over 50
Experience: 15-plus years
John Barmon has made a name for himself in the Cambridge real estate market, but he may be better known as Spaulding Smails, the memorable character he played in the iconic 1980s comedy classic “Caddyshack.” Barmon is still asked occasionally asked to make public appearances, but these days he’s more focused on helping buyers find their dream home in a astrong seller’s market. Barmon has seen the Cambridge real estate market at both extremes and predicts 2016 will be a more year balanced.
Q: I have to ask: do you golf?
A: Very badly, but that’s okay; nobody expects Spaulding to be a scratch golfer. I’m very practiced at being very bad at it. That’s what makes it fun.
Q: Are you often recognized by clients or potential clients?
A: Rarely, unless they Google me. I’ve never been one of those people who gets recognized a lot. Often, after someone meets me and Googles me and the “Caddyshack” stuff comes up, they’ll say, “That was my Dad’s favorite movie.” One interesting thing about the film is that it was handed down through generations, from father to son to, now, grandson. This year is the 35th anniversary and before you know it, it’ll be the 50th anniversary. It’s fun. People get a kick out of it.
Q: Do people ever hire you because of your role in the film?
A: I still get emails through the company website and letters from fans, but I can’t actually connect an actual closing to being contacted for the movie. I get invited to a lot of events, from backyard BBQ’s to golf tournaments and things like that. I’ve always prided myself on being a very competent, hardworking agent. I really enjoy the business and once that is the goal, the rest takes care of itself, regardless of what the market is doing.
Q: What are your memories of making the film?
A: I was really a big fan of Ted [Knight], who I had a lot of scenes with. He was just a real professional. Ted didn’t like me at first. You know that scene where Ted is talking to Michael O’Keefe, who played Danny Noonan, about something and I’m in the background whacking a ball? [Director] Harold [Ramis] would do this a lot. He would say, “I hate this scene, go do something in the background” without telling the main actors. So Ted didn’t know why I was hitting a wiffleball behind him and he thought I was trying to upstage him. You can imagine a junior actor having someone like Ted Knight mad at you, but he was a professional, a real gentleman. Then we became really good friends and stayed in touch after the film until he passed away. I also participate in a charity gold fundraiser that the Murray brothers put on in Florida every year.
Q: How did you go from the movies to real estate?
A: I went back to Seattle University after shooting the film and of course none of my friends believed me that I shot a film with big stars like Ted Knight, Rodney Dangerfield, Chevy Chase and Bill Murray.
Then I completed my degree and came back to New York. By that time the trail had gone very cold. The film was not as popular in the theaters as it is today. It didn’t get popular until it came out on VHS and cable TV, where more people could see it.
I spent a few years in Maine and managed the Widowmaker bar at Sugarloaf. Then I went to graduate school at Boston College. I’d always been in the hospitality industry as a bartender or manager. I worked for The Lyons Group for a few years, but I got tired of getting home at 4 a.m. every day. I got my real estate license in 1997 and worked for a small company and came to Coldwell Banker in 2000.
Q: What about your acting experience prepared you to be successful in real estate?
A: I’ve always been a ham. I don’t have the need to be loved, though. I think the ability to put on a game face for whatever happens, no matter how you’re feeling. Whether it’s an open house, an interview or a showing, that’s probably what acting taught me. That, and no matter what, the show must go on.
Q: What is something most people don’t know about the film?
A: In the original script, the film was all about Danny Noonan. The film was shot out of sequence because Bill Murray could only be there for about a week. Most of the gopher stuff was done post-production in Hollywood, so none of us knew the gopher was going to be as big a part of it as it was.
Barmon’s Five Favorite Films:
- “Blade Runner”
- “It’s a Wonderful Life”
- “To Kill a Mockingbird”
- “Alien”
- “The Exorcist”
