IN SEARCH OF THE REAL GATSBY:

South Carolina investigator searching for more on the mysterious real-life Gatsby (PAGE IVEY, Oct 3, 2002, Associated Press)

Howard Comen spent a long, hot summer in New York on the trail of an elusive man - who's been dead for almost 45 years.

The Charleston-based private investigator is trying to unravel the mystery of 1920s socialite Max von Gerlach, or maybe his name was Max Stark Gerlach.

He may have been a German baron whose family fled Europe during World War I. He may have been a bootlegger who used a car dealership and society friends to hide his ill-gotten gains.

Gerlach's story - like those of so many of his Jazz Age peers - may have simply faded away with time. But, some experts say, Gerlach was immortalized by one of his contemporaries, F. Scott Fitzgerald, in "The Great Gatsby."

Though we're not as enamored of Gatsby as some, he is one of the most fascinating characters in American Literature. Posted by Orrin Judd at October 7, 2002 8:34 PM