Hemingway Look-Alike Winner Chosen in Key West
Story: Hemingway Look-Alike Winner Chosen in Key West
Locator Super: Key West, Fla.
Video: Video to match this story can be downloaded from the Florida Keys News Bureau's FTP server (details below) and is available via Google Link here. B-roll of Ernest Hemingway look-alikes competing in final round of contest, SOTs with contest winner David “Bat” Masterson are at 01:50-02:28. B-roll of Masterson is at 00:05-00:44; Sunday birthday celebration is 02:29-02:45; Paula Deen is 01:02-01:05
TRT: 02:45
Filename: HemingwayWinnerKeyWest.mp4
Video Source: Florida Keys News Bureau
KEY WEST, Fla. — A 71-year-old white-bearded Florida man has won the 2024 Hemingway Look-Alike Contest, a highlight of Key West's annual Hemingway Days festival that ended Sunday -- the 125th anniversary of Ernest Hemingway’s July 21 birth – with a birthday cake celebration at Sloppy Joe’s Bar.
David “Bat” Masterson, a retired helicopter pilot from Daytona Beach, triumphed over 121 other entrants in the three-round contest that concluded Saturday night at Sloppy Joe’s. The bar was a frequent hangout for renowned author Ernest Hemingway, who lived and wrote in Key West for most of the 1930s.
“Like Hemingway, I have a thirst for life and a quest for adventure,” said Masterson, who earned the victory on his 10th attempt. “I like to fly and ride motorcycles and jump out of airplanes and that sort of stuff.
“And Hemingway was a very adventurous man, and I admire him for that,” he said.
The Look-Alike Contest finals followed preliminary rounds Thursday and Friday. Many entrants wore casual sportsman’s garb or thick fisherman’s sweaters, attempting to emulate the rugged "Papa" persona that Hemingway adopted in his later years.
Saturday night, competitors including Leslaw Jedrysko of Nowy Targ, Poland, paraded across Sloppy Joe’s stage and took turns speaking as hordes of spectators waved signs and applauded their favorites.
Masterson wowed the judges — all previous contest winners — by singing a themed parody of the Garth Brooks hit “Friends in Low Places.”
The new “Papa” said he writes a little bit and shares several other traits with Hemingway.
“I grew up hunting and fishing,” Masterson said. “My father was a lot like Hemingway's father. He taught me all about the outdoors and about fishing and hunting, and taking care and being a good steward of our environment.”
In the rowdy crowd at Sloppy Joe’s was celebrity chef Paula Deen, whose husband Michael Groover won a look-alike title in 2018.
Hemingway Days salutes the vigorous Key West lifestyle and literary talent of the author who wrote classics including "For Whom the Bell Tolls” and "To Have and Have Not" during his years on the island.
Festival events included a quirky "Running of the Bulls" spoof, readings and presentations, and the Key West Marlin Tournament that recalls Hemingway's passion for Florida Keys fishing.
###
FTP Information
Host: ftp://216.194.165.19
UserID: floridakeys@news.fla-keys.com
Password: islands
Folder: News Video
Filename: HemingwayWinnerKeyWest.mp4
It is best to access and download files from the FTP site using a dedicated FTP software package such as Fetch.