”I spent the first 50 years of my life being the son of a famous father and I`m now spending the last 50 as the father of famous children,” says Jack Hemingway, the eldest son of Ernest Hemingway and the father of actresses Margaux and Mariel. He`s being modest. In his own right he is a world-renowned outdoorsman, fisherman and conservationist. He tells of his exploits in
”Misadventures of a Fly Fisherman: My Life With and Without Papa” (Taylor Publishing Co.).
Q–Why is it so difficult for so many people to be the son–or daughter
–of a famous person?
A–I don`t know because in my case it wasn`t. My father was my hero, both for the physical things he could do and for the values he taught me, about honesty and standing up for what you believe in. I never felt like I was living in his shadow.
Q–The public has this larger-than-life image of your father as the macho sportsman, drinker and lover. Is it true?
A–Yes, partly. He was a physically imposing presence–6 feet tall and very broad in the shoulders–and an imposing intellectual presence as well. Whenever he was in a group, he dominated it. He drank a great deal in the days when drinking and being able to hold your liquor were seen as a manly pastime. As for as his reputation as a lover, I never witnessed any of those adventures.
Q–What is your favorite story about your father?
A–When I was a very little boy, I was with him in Key West and I had a nurse whom I just hated. She used to threaten me with a live crab. Well, we had a fight, and I spat at her. My stepmother, Pauline, got out the hairbrush. Papa took it and said he would do the spanking himself. He took me into the bathroom and took down his pants and started whacking himself with the brush. I started to scream in horror at what he was doing. Everyone thought I was being beaten to death, but he never laid a hand on me.
Q–Is it a compliment to your father that you`ve chosen to excel in some of the same fields he valued so highly?
A–At the time of his death and the few years before, I was just starting to pull myself together and make a reasonably good living after years of dismal failure. I think he would be delighted to know that I`ve stuck to one thing and have done it well. For years my nickname was ”Bum.”
Q–What was your father`s attitude toward women?
A–Omnivorous. Actually, he put them on a ped-
estal and taught me to do the same. There were two women who had been famous beauties, the Dolly sisters, and he introduced me to them when they were well into their 70s. He said, ”You must treat them like the great beauties they once were.”
