Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Hemingway at 21




I recently heard an interesting story involving one of histories most famous sportsman: Ernest Hemingway was in New York City in 1931 and was squiring the girlfriend of notorious gangster "Legs" Diamond. He took this girl to "21" ...which at that time was the most elegant and popular Speakeasy in Manhattan. According to several independent and corroborated accounts, Ernest was caught shagging away with this young vixen on a set of stairs in a remote section of the underground kitchens. When word of this indiscretion reached the trigger happy criminal boyfriend, he was irate...and he wanted Hemingway killed. However, Diamond himself was shot in Albany, New York a few days later and never had a chance to execute his vendetta.Imagine, we might never have had a chance to read "For Whom the Bell Tolls" or "Old Man and the Sea" or "Across the River and into the Trees" simply because a liquored up sportsman/writer got a bit randy with the wrong wench. If Ernest had been clipped by Mr. Diamond, at least "The Sun Also Rises" had already been published.

1 comment:

K.S.Anthony said...

"Death is just another whore."

Old Man (or Young Man, I suppose) Hemingway had some brass balls. Legs probably would have had to have killed him twice.