Charlie Boice beams after winning the 2015 "Papa" Hemingway Look-Alike Contest at Sloppy Joe's Bar in Key West, Fla. (Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau)
A man in Florida with a bangin' white beard won this year's "Papa" Hemingway Look-Alike Contest. It was the contender's 15th try at the highly coveted title.
Charlie Boice of Palm Beach Gardens, a retired air traffic controller, took home the Hemingway lookalike prize Saturday night at Sloppy Joe's Bar. Ernest Hemingway hung out and drank there during his Key West residency in the 1930s. A panel of white-bearded previous winners chose Boice, 56, who says he shares Hemingway's passion for marlin fishing.
Boice finally won the contest after 15 attempts, beating out 121 other entrants following two preliminary rounds, semi-finals and two final rounds. There's no cash prize, but that hasn't stopped the contest from going on for 35 years. It's part of the subtropical Florida Keys island's annual Hemingway Days festival that ended Sunday, July 26.
In this Saturday, July 25, 2015 photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, Charlie Boice, center, is congratulated by previous victors after winning the 2015 "Papa" Hemingway Look-Alike Contest at Sloppy Joe's Bar in Key West, Fla. Boice finally won the contest after trying for 15 years, beating out 121 other entrants following two preliminary rounds, a semi-final and two final rounds. The competition was a facet of the island's annual Hemingway Days festival that ends Sunday, July 26. Planting a playful snook on Boice is Wally Cox, left, the 2014 winner. (Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau)
Ernest Hemingway Look-Alikes kick off the annual "Running of the Bulls" Saturday, July 25, 2015, in Key West, Fla. The whimsical and much safer answer to the event's namesake in Pamplona, Spain, was staged as a facet of the island city's annual Hemingway Days festival that ends Sunday, July 26. Hemingway lived and wrote in Key West throughout the 1930s. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY (Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau/HO)
Five finalists in the 2015 "Papa" Hemingway Look-Alike Contest congratulate each other on the stage at Sloppy Joe's Bar in this handout photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau in Key West, Florida, July 25, 2015. Dave Hemingway (L to R), Charlie Boice, Richard Filip, Frank Kramer and Michael Groover pose for a photo. The competition is a facet of the island's annual Hemingway Days festival. REUTERS/Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau
