Real Time With Clifford Irving

The Hoax author speaks... or does he?

Comments (0) By Scott Foundas Wednesday, Apr 4 2007

How did you end up on Ibiza in the first place?

I went to Europe when I was very young. I was 22; I wanted to write. I spent half my money in Paris in the first two weeks, hitchhiked down through France, over the Pyrenees, got on a boat and went to Ibiza. And when I saw Ibiza, it was like a dream come true, except I hadn’t dreamed of it. It was so beautiful and wonderful, and so cheap. For a Jewish kid from New York, it was like another side of the planet. I said, “This is for me. I’m going to stay here.” And I had a good life, although I was in my 20s, so that good life was tempered with all the angst that everyone has in their 20s: Who am I? Where am I going? But I stuck it out there and it finally became my home. The ’60s were so wonderful, and there were all kinds of crazy people on Ibiza. I loved all of that.

(Photo courtesy Clifford Irving)

More About

What are you working on now?

I’m writing a novel about the early life of Claude Monet and his struggles against poverty and the art establishment — it’s called Young Monet. When I come up against obstacles in that, I get back to writing a memoir about the first 20 years I lived in Europe, in the 1950s and ’60s. That’s called Rejoice, Young Man and it’s kind of a wild story. Looking back over my life, I’ve done a lot of things that were even riskier than the Hughes hoax.

Click here to read Ella Taylor's review of The Hoax Question or comment? Email askfilm@laweekly.com