Dad's Hemingway

Author: A.E. Hocheiser
Publisher:
Publication Date: 1999-01-01
Features: On July 2, 1961, a man hailed by many critics as the greatest writer of the century, someone whose interest in life and adventure was as great as his genius, a recipient of both the Nobel Prize and the Pulitzer Prize, and a luckiest of soldiers; he had a home in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho to hunt in the winter; he had a suite in New York City; he had a specially equipped yacht to fish in the Gulf of Mexico; he had suites at the Ritz Hotel in Paris and the Gritti Palace in Venice for his use; he had a solid marriage, no serious illness, and friends all over the world——this man, whom everyone envied, took up a shotgun on that July day and aimed it at his own head, inventing suicide. How did this happen? Why? After Hemingway became famous, his personality grew eccentric, and he sometimes acted rudely. He had several friends whom he considered "unworthy" of his attention, but he always treasured Hocheiser's friendship. Hocheiser treated Hemingway with great respect; he was one of the few people qualified to call him "Dad." After becoming a freelance writer in 1950, he interacted more with the film and publishing industries in New York and became the "business agent" for the expatriate Hemingway in Cuba.