Born in Connecticut in 1939, John Stubbings earned three degrees at the University of Virginia; bachelor, masters, and doctorate.

 

             His first career choice was education, and he later became assistant superintendent of schools in Alexandria, Virginia. After moving to the Outer Banks of North Carolina in 1978, John went into the retail business for seven years, then enjoyed a long career as owner of the top real estate firm in the Outer Banks. 

 

             He retired in 2009, and now enjoys life with the “love of his life.”  He and Bev Shields live in Manteo, North Carolina, and are enjoying a little travel, some gardening, do-it-yourself house projects, children, and grandchildren, and a 1950 Ford pickup, which “needs a little work.”

 

             John started spending time in Key West when his ex-significant other opened a Duval Street retail business in 1988. But it was a fortunate chance meeting that led to his participation in the look-alike frenzy.

 

             “A crazy friend of mine from Ocean City, Maryland, came down in March 1997 to celebrate his birthday. We were at the Hog’s Breath during Spring Break and had consumed way too much malt beverage when we ran into a guy with a white beard.”

 

             “Nice beard, fella,” John complimented.

 

             “Thanks,” the man answered. “You’ve got a nice beard, too. You ought to be in the Hemingway Look-Alike Contest.”

 

             “You should, too,” John told the stranger, who bore the same remarkable resemblance to Ernest Hemingway.

 

             “I can’t,” the man replied. “I’m a judge. Once you win, you can’t enter the contest again.”

 

             His new friend turned out to be Jack Waterbury, the 1987 winner of the famed look-alike competition.

 

             Buoyed by the advice, John entered the event that same summer. He quickly learned the rules, regulations, and ropes of turning wannabe status into Papahood.

 

             “It’s very much like a college fraternity, where the judges are the fraternity,” he said. “About 15-17 members show up every year as judges. There are 150 guys trying to get into that fraternity. But instead of inducting 30-40 new members, they only take one every year. It’s kind of an exclusive fraternity.”

 

             John offered up some savvy advice to wannabes:  “You can’t want it too badly, because it shows, and it just doesn’t lead to success. I was more relaxed about it in 2004 than ever before. My attitude was if it happens, it happens; if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. That was the first year I took this attitude.”

 

             Winning in his eighth year of trying, Stubbings recalls his reaction. “You get your name called, and you breathe this big sigh of relief.”

 

             The avalanche of publicity that followed his victory stunned the newest Papa.  A computer-whiz friend searched the Internet and found hundreds of websites that mentioned the Hemingway Look-Alike Society and Stubbings. His friend downloaded clippings from Viet Nam to Virginia―and created a three-foot by four-foot collage.

 

             “All those years standing up on the stage looking down at the judges as they looked up at me,” he marvels with Papa pride, “and now I’m sitting down with the judges looking up at the contestants!”

 

HEMINGWAY LOOK-ALIKE SOCIETY

John Stubbings - Papa 2004