The Wow Factor
"Does he make your skirt fly up?"
If you haven't heard the gentle rustling of outer-garments across America, you must not be one of the two million viewers who tune in regularly to watch Barry Weiss bring his Blue Note panache to A&E's blue collar hit Storage Wars.
With a combination of laid-back charm, witty one liners, classic cars, and trendy threads, Weiss has a legion of Facebook fans who don't want to meet the guy - they want to get him to the altar.
Weiss recently told radio host Christopher Gabriel that his purpose on the show was to "annoy and disrupt". To many female fans, his purpose is clearly to put the "yeoooowwwww" in "Meow".
With his new fame, the personal appearances and output of personal information has been surprisingly sparse.
Internet rumors of a radio talk show or his own TV series have not been verified.
He has copped to working in the produce business, producing two offspring, and remaining a life-long resident of Los Angeles.
Weiss also gives credit to his friend (and the former executive producer of the show) Thom Beers with launching him into the job of a lifetime.
A recent episode of Storage Wars recently became the highest rated tv episode in the history of the network, according to a news release posted on the network website.
Packed and Stacked and All That
Genius casting is no doubt responsible for much of the show's success.
The real charm is perhaps the small-town, middle-America wholesomeness of a group of regular Joe's, (minus Weiss of course), coming together for the purpose of making a living (refreshingly, without much aid from electronic gadgetry), busting each other's chops, and helping each other out when the opportunity presents itself.
Throw in a little Middle Eastern marketplace bartering, the chance to see small business owners scrambling to best their competition, and the weekly search to find the treasure of a lifetime are also huge factors in the show's success.
Then there is the hair. You can't forget the hair!
Yep!
Weiss certainly has all the toys a big boy needs, but there is certainly no discounting that much of his appeal is his own personality.
Take away the custom cars, the famous friends, the early retirement and what do you really have?
Good looks, charming repartee, the ability to spin a great yarn, and that sexy, sexy voice which is emotional caviar (or perhaps catnip?) for the feminine soul.
Guys like him too!
Perhaps his only flaw might be his penchant for frequently invoking stripper and hooker references for a cheap laugh. (Or even more unsettling, the unromantic notion that his frequent comment "I'm keeping this for my own collection" might indicate a personal living space in need of intervention from the team behind the other hit reality show Hoarders.)
It's a good thing he has the hair to gloss over any possible chinks in the armor. Did anyone mention the hair?
So Many Women Can't Be Wrong
Freudian thought implies that women who constantly touch their hair are silently expressing a need for attention, showing outward signs of insecurity, or projecting sexual frustration.
Female fans everywhere understand that when Weiss rakes his hand through his hair (a la Tyrone Power), he is clearing sending subliminal messages that evoke images of bouffant hair, vintage beaded cocktail dresses, drinks that go down smooth and cool, the sounds of throaty laughter, and Sinatra crooning the background.
Teresa Wentz - Teresa Wentz holds a Master of Media Arts degree from the University of South Carolina. She has worked in various fields in the film ...
