dinner with george

“There is something disorienting about the fact that George Plimpton exists. In life, as a rule, it’s reasonable to assume that the kind of people who were personal friends of Ernest Hemingway are not the sort of people to have done the voices for The Simpsons; ornithologists do not spar in the ring with Muhammad Ali; the editors of influential literary journals do not play quarterback in professional American football. Plimpton, however, boasts all six qualifications – although he is not the type to boast, which is why it’s only later that you learn about his cameo role in ER, for example, or his honorary position as the fireworks commissioner of New York, or the fact that he was in such close proximity to the assassination of Robert Kennedy that he managed to get his hands around the gunman’s neck. ”
Hemingway, Mailer and Me
I think George Plimpton is one of the most fascinating people around–the kind of person I would love to have dinner with. But one thing this funny little intro doesn’t mention is the (rather comical) claims that the Paris Reviewwas funded by the CIA as a front to spy on left-wing European intellectuals.
I tell you. Imagine sipping a cocktail across from that guy.