Q & A: BEYOND DAD'S SHADOW; LOCAL WRITER MOVES PAST BEING `FURIOUS'.Byline: Brett Pauly Daily News Staff Writer Being the son of the world's most famous angler and American West storyteller wasn't as glorious as outsiders might have thought. Such is the case of Loren Grey, 82, of Woodland Hills, whose father, Zane, became a household name after his best-known book, ``Riders of the Purple Sage For the western music group, see Riders of the Purple Sage (band) For the psychedelic country rock band, see New Riders of the Purple Sage Riders of the Purple Sage is Zane Grey's best-known novel. ,'' was published in 1918. The elder Grey had 10 titles on the best-seller list between 1910 and 1930 and drew a wide outdoors audience for his fishing exploits, including his monumental catch of a 1,036-pound Australian tiger shark tiger shark Potentially dangerous shark (Galeocerdo cuvieri, family Carcharhinidae), found worldwide in warm oceans, from the shoreline to the open sea. Up to 18 ft (5. - the first official world-record fish topping the 1,000-pound benchmark caught on rod and reel. His salty experiences were the bases for numerous magazine articles and books, including such titles as ``Tales of Swordfish swordfish, large food and game fish, Xiphias gladius, of the warmer Atlantic and Pacific waters, related to the sailfish. It is named for its sharp, broad, elongated upper jaw, which it uses to flail and pierce its prey of smaller fish, rising beneath a school and Tuna'' and ``An American Angler American Angler is a magazine dedicated to the subject of fly fishing, with an emphasis on cold water fisheries, published six times a year. It bills itself as a "how to, where to" magazine focusing on technical fly-fishing informational articles and explorations of new fishing in Australia.'' But Zane Grey Noun 1. Zane Grey - United States writer of western adventure novels (1875-1939) Grey (1872-1939) cast a long shadow, and his son became lost in it as Loren Grey chronicles in this candid interview with the Daily News. DN: How has your father's celebrity affected your career? LG: ``I had a terrible time with it early on. He was rich, handsome and had women chasing him. How do you compete with that? That was a problem. We got along very well, but his image was so difficult to deal with. It destroyed my brother. He finally died an alcoholic 20 years ago. ``When I got out of the service (Navy, serving as a lieutenant junior grade in World War II) I saw a couple of counselors. That's how I decided to become a psychologist (eventually teaching and counseling at Cal State Northridge's School of Education for 30 years). I tried to go into an entirely different field. That's how I got out from under his image. Now I can treat him as a person and not be angry about him; I was furious for years.'' DN: Is it a blessing or a curse living in Zane's shadow? LG: ``I felt is was a curse in the early days. I don't think I'd call it one or the other today. I respect his ability as a writer and I think he was a force for good in a lot of ways, because he influenced people to think of themselves in the image of our pioneer ancestors - independent, courageous and giving.'' DN: How is carrying on the Grey heritage? LG: ``I promote it because it's important, and I get part of my living from it. We (Zane Grey Inc., of which Loren is the president) sell his books, audiocassettes, T-shirts and tackle and are working on movie deals. We're trying to diversify.'' DN: A century from now, what would you hope people remember about your father? LG: ``That he was a great environmentalist environmentalist a person with an interest and knowledge about the interaction of humans and animals with the environment. , and that he saw the dangers of overfishing Overfishing occurs when fishing activities reduce fish stocks below an acceptable level. This can occur in any body of water from a pond to the oceans. More precise biological and bioeconomic terms define 'acceptable level'. and polluting pol·lute tr.v. pol·lut·ed, pol·lut·ing, pol·lutes 1. To make unfit for or harmful to living things, especially by the addition of waste matter. See Synonyms at contaminate. 2. the land. And that he also felt that essentially man was good and he believed in the triumph of good over evil. His books were really morality plays morality play, form of medieval drama that developed in the late 14th cent. and flourished through the 16th cent. The characters in the morality were personifications of good and evil usually involved in a struggle for a man's soul. and I think 100 years from now people will still recognize that. He also wrote the most beautiful descriptions of the prairies, the mountains and the desserts, and perhaps they will still be of value in a century.'' DN: How would you like to be remembered? LG: ``To be truthful, I'd like to be remembered for my new book, `Alfred Adler Alfred Adler (February 7 1870 – May 28 1937) was an Austrian medical doctor and psychologist, founder of the school of individual psychology. Adler co-founded psychoanalysis with Sigmund Freud and a small group of Freud's colleagues. , The Forgotten Prophet: A Vision for the 21st Century' (Greenwood; due out in March or April). Adler was an Austrian psychiatrist and an associate of (Sigmund) Freud who died in 1937. He was considered 100 years ahead of his time. ``It's the first comprehensive book on Adlerian Theory that's written for the layman LAYMAN, eccl. law. One who is not an ecclesiastic nor a clergyman. . His theory is based on the idea that we strive for significance, strive to be recognized as a worthwhile person and that all of our difficulties involve mistakes in the perception of how others think about us. ``I'd rather be remembered for that than for being Zane Grey's son.'' DN: If there was any one thing that Zane taught you, what do you cherish most? LG: ``To be try to your own muse. To keep writing and persevering per·se·vere intr.v. per·se·vered, per·se·ver·ing, per·se·veres To persist in or remain constant to a purpose, idea, or task in the face of obstacles or discouragement. and keep going. ``Even on his fishing trips, he would write for an hour in the morning, and if the weather was bad he stayed in his tent and wrote all day. He wrote aboard steamers. He never ate lunch. He shut himself in his cabin and wrote all day - 10 to 20 days at a time.'' ZANE GREY LEGACY What: Loren Grey will be appearing at the Zane Grey memorabilia display during opening day of the 53rd annual Fred Hall
Frederick "Fred" Lee Hall (July 24 1916 - March 18 1970) was a Republican lawyer and politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of Kansas, 1951-55 and thirty-third Governor Fishing Tackle and Boat Show in Long Beach. The exhibit will feature rods, reels and lures signed by their creator, Zane Grey, and two of his unpublished manuscripts. When: 2 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. Where: Long Beach Convention Center, 300 E. Ocean Ave. Admission: $9 for adults, free for children 12 and younger. What else: The Fred Hall show runs through March 8. Show hours are 2 to 10 p.m. Wednesday through March 6, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. March 7 and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 8. Information: (562) 436-3636. CAPTION(S): Photo, Box PHOTO (Color) Loren Grey of Woodland Hills hopes to be known for his own writing and not that of his father, Zane. Myung J. Chun/Daily News BOX: ZANE GREY LEGACY (see text) |
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