He got the idea because his sister was making a stab at selling Tupperware but was not successful...he needed some extra cash and had a brainstorm. Part of the Aunt Barbara persona is modeled after his own Aunt Barbara. And let me tell you, this guy is a scream. You can check out the YouTube videos to see all the different outfits and makeup, but last night Aunt Barbara wore a yellow checkered knee length dress with the Tupperware logo on it...it could have been crafted from tote bags or table coverings that I recall from my sales career that ended about ten years ago. Engaging kitsch which the average Long Island mom could find charming...and hilarious.
Henceforth I shall refer to Aunt Barbara as a she, in character. Before the demo began, she put her arm around the hostess (who dwarfed her by at least a foot) and applauded her for holding a raffle for the benefit of cancer research...and then went on to say that we should buy a chance on all the lovely prizes because the hostess earned the money to buy the prizes by pole dancing at a local club. "Please, girls, help us get her off the pole!" The entire time, she said the most outrageous things. She asked who the soccer/lacrosse/football moms were, and then she pointed out that the insulated tumbler could hold a can of beer inside it...which you could use to wash down your Vicodin or Pamprin which can be neatly stored in the compartment at bottom.
Pamprin? Those of us over 40 got all the jokes. She said she was doing Tupperware to pay off her balances on her charge cards: Gertz, Korvettes, Caldor, Times Square Stores, etc. Only someone in my age group or older would remember those long-departed department stores on Long Island. She was wearing a Gimbels employee name tag that said "Barbara" -- maybe her own aunt used to work there? All the little touches made the schtick more of a riot.
Another reason to love it: Aunt Barbara is the top selling Tupperware representative in the Northeastern United States. What began as a part time endeavor to make a few bucks has turned into a $100,000 a year second job -- Suchan works five nights a week for Tupperware in addition to his day job. He'd be great at open mike night at a local comedy club too, but he doesn't really need to do that: he has his own traveling sound system. Good thing he does: people were crammed into my friend's house last night to the point where there were two extra groups of folding chairs in the living room, people sitting on the stairs, and people standing just inside the front door who couldn't get near the living room. He has several months of appointments on the calendar at any given time; this one was booked in January.
Here's one Aunt Barbara video clip but there are dozens more. Check it out! See why women are coming out in droves to hear her tell them to buy the "plastic crap."
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