Christopher Massimine, whose compulsive lying derailed a promising career with the Pioneer Theater Company, maintains that it is a mental illness that has dogged him since childhood.
in Salt Lake City after a local journalist reported that he had embellished his resume with untrue claims. He spoke to The New York Times to address what he described as a fundamental misunderstanding: These were not the lies of a calculating con artist, but of a mentally ill person who could not help himself.
Maggie remembers, with painful clarity, the day in 2018 when she realized the breadth and depth of her husband’s problem.He had attached a photograph of two men, a Sherpa and a fair-haired alpinist, with Himalayan peaks looming in the background. He had managed to sneak into China with the help of kind Buddhist monks, who led him as far as Everest Camp 2, he told her. “This is Tsomo,” he wrote. “He is awesome and if he comes to the USA you’ll love him.
Massimine grew up on a cul-de-sac in Somerset, New Jersey, the only child of a nurse and an auditor. His flair for theater emerged early — at 10, he wrangled the members of his Cub Scout troop into performing “A Knight’s Tale,” a play he wrote and scored. But it had not been good for the marriage. Now, Maggie understood that her husband’s work habits were not her only problem. They separated for a few months. Then she softened — maybe, she told herself, he was lying because she made him feel inadequate — and they got back together. He started therapy and went on an antidepressant medication.
Maggie was, frankly, dubious. But then he flew to Washington for two days, coming back with a medal and photos that appeared to show him at a White House podium. “I was like, ‘OK, I guess he really did get this award,’” she said. “Like, he came back, and he’s got an award.” Dr. Jordan W. Merrill, a psychiatrist who treated Massimine in Utah that year, recalled him as exceptionally fragile during the weeks that followed.
I am a subscriber, you put SLC Trib stories in my feed, and then I get this bs from the SLCTrib. Figure this out. Super irritating