The Greatest Presence on all TV?

Meet Barry Weiss.

Now say goodbye to Barry Weiss. That’s because Barry, the greatest “Hollywood guy” this side of Alan Arkin’s character in in Argo, is reportedly leaving the show he graced and dominated .

The show is Storage Wars. And in the the few episodes I’ve seen of Storage Wars — a mash up of Antiques Roadshow, Pawn Stars and every yard sale junky’s imagination — Barry Weiss owned the screen. Everyone else, no matter if they had just scored $10K of merchandise from $1K bid, was just a bit player compared to Barry.

He would ride up in antique cars. He oozed money and charm and the fakery that comes when someone is oozing money and charm. He was handsome. He spent money and made bids with no rhyme or reason. (Maybe because he was funded by producers, according to reports.) He had the omnipresent L.A. shades-and-a-smile salesman shtick that, for me, was utterly magnetic. A man radiating b.s. in all directions and loving it. And while the show is now facing charges of being faked (is anyone surprised?) I think this aura of fradulence just adds to Barry’s glory. Here was a guy just having fun, acting big, but not just acting, because he was, in that L.A. way, big. Which is to say, it turns out he did have money of his own.

Look at the picture below. He’s from central casting, right? But he’s not an actor. He is or was a successful produce trader.

I hope he does go into acting. Because, right now, he is my favorite Reality TV star of all time, leaping over Stacy London (the Mother Theresa of Fashion) and Michael Kors (the funniest man in fashion), dwarfing some of the truly talented on Project Runway, and even beating General Larry Platt, the “Pants on the Ground” guy on American Idol.

I give you America’s Under-appreciated Screen God: