By the Spring of 1960 the Castro Regime in Cuba began to show its true colors: imprisoning editors and reporters; nationalizing all foreign companies, outlawing private property and killing political rivals. The steady stream of refugees into Miami began in earnest – but despite all this a number of Americans still believed that there was some good to be seen in the new Cuba:
“[Tonight Show host] Jack Paar spoke up for Castro, but Ed Sullivan turned against him. Joe Louis is a Fidel fan, but Jackie Robinson refused an invitation to Havana. Ernest Hemingway considers Castro a colleague in beards and admires him greatly, but Tennessee Williams no longer does.Former President Harry Truman thinks Fidel should gat a shave and a new suit; Adlai Stevenson says he ought to get more sleep.”
The journalist who penned this article lived with Castro and his brothers in arms during the revolution – he once had the highest regard for the man; but during the summer of 1960 he was beginning to figure out who this Cuban really was.
Pictured below are a handful of celebrities who were hoodwinked by Cuba’s “Maximum Leader”: Ernest Hemingway, Maureen O’Hare, Alec Guinness and Boxer Joe Louis.
