December 8th, 2015: Contender

[xoxoxoBruce]

If the Most Interesting Man in the World were not some ad-man's construct, I'd nominate Peter Freuchen...
except he died in 1957, and I imagine that would disqualify him.
Pictured here with his third wife, Dagmar Freuchen-Gale.

........

Big dude.

Standing six feet seven inches, Freuchen was an arctic explorer, journalist, author, and anthropologist.
He participated in several arctic journeys (including a 1000-mile dogsled trip across Greenland),
starred in an Oscar-winning film, wrote more than a dozen books (novels and nonfiction, including his
Famous Book of the Eskimos), had a peg leg (he lost his leg to frostbite in 1926; he amputated his
gangrenous toes himself), was involved in the Danish resistance against Germany, was imprisoned
and sentenced to death by the Nazis before escaping to Sweden, studied to be a doctor at university,
his first wife was Inuit and his second was a Danish margarine heiress, became friends with Jean Harlow
and Mae West, once escaped from a blizzard shelter by cutting his way out of it with a knife fashioned
from his own feces, and, last but certainly not least, won $64,000 on The $64,000 Question.

Link
Whew! Contender for sure.

[Gravdigr]

Dagmar.

Yeah, holler that one in the throes of passion...

[Griff]

You get one life. He didn't waste his.

[Gravdigr]

That is a bread fucking fact.

[Diaphone Jim]

My great-aunt gave me a copy of the newly released "Peter Freuchen's Book of the Seven Seas" when I was in high school. I was sure it was still in one of my bookcases, but I can't spot it this morning.
I did find Richard Halliburton's "Complete Book of Marvels" which I have had for the same almost 60 years.
Freuchen's book always sort of intimidated me, but Halliburton's was endlessly entertaining, though some said he was a shameless embellisher.
I wonder if they knew each other.

[xoxoxoBruce]

On the $64 dollar question show, Freuchen starts about 5 minutes in, he appears smart, snapping off answers rapid fire. But not overbearing or intimidating, almost humble.

[tombstone]

Great! I never met any other people who had read his books unless I introduced those books to them! I loved the bit about his first wife soaking her feet in the expensive perfume she was given! And the reindeer herders putting salt in their coffee "so it would taste like something!" What a pleasure to find him here!

[Griff]

.