I’ve been thinking recently about people who I admire and find inspiring in some way, but who I probably would not like if I knew them personally. I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising that there could be many in this category - tremendously talented people can still be jerks. It’s possible, perhaps even likely, that the traits that contribute to their talent also contribute to their being difficult people. This probably leads to the old saw about not meeting your heroes. I’ve never had that experience in actual life, but I strongly suspect it would be the case for a few. Some examples:
Ted Williams: The greatest hitter of all time IMHO, last player to hit .400 for the season, homered in his final at-bat. Also an expert fisherman and Marine Corps fighter pilot. Everything he did was at a super high level. They say he was the real-life John Wayne.
Also very strongly principled about a few things. He was one of the first celebrity backers of the Jimmy Fund, spent a lot of time visiting sick kids in the hospital and would never allow the media to cover it (on threat of stopping his visits and blaming whoever dared to write about it). And when the Red Sox became the last team to integrate he made their first black player (Pumpsie Green, who recently passed away) his warm-up partner so everyone would see the team’s superstar welcoming him. But for all of that, he seems to have been a very prickly guy. Terrible marriages, distant relationships with his kids. Opinionated to the point of being a jackass. Famously icy with the press and the fans in Boston where he played. For all that I find inspiring about Williams, I don’t think I would have liked him.
Jerry Lee Lewis: His musical talent is simply astonishing. Self-taught, he combined a boogie-woogie / barrel house piano style with gospel and really brought something new to rock and roll, even when there were predecessors like Little Richard who were similar. I am just mesmerized watching video of him because he seems so at ease. He plays so effortlessly, like he’s hardly paying attention and singing with that interesting Louisiana accent. He even passed on his playing style to his cousin Mickey Gilley when they were kids (I never knew they were related until recently). But again, his personal life has always been a complete mess and from what I’ve read he seems a highly unpleasant person.
Dwight Eisenhower: I used to have a lower opinion of him, but I’ve come to learn that Ike was quite the guy - both as a military man and as president. His leadership of the D-Day invasion is inspiring and instructive. He planned it carefully, set it in motion and then got out of the way and let his people run it without micromanagement. He was also prepared to take full responsibility if it failed. As president he quietly did a few important things and wasn’t a grandstander. He even warned us about the military industrial complex, which I still find incredible.
And the big “but”… Supposedly had a nasty temper and a number of other lousy personal habits.
Not so interested in hearing about people other posters have actually met and found lacking. I’m wondering if there are Dopers who knowingly admire and find inspiration in people they suspect would be unlikable.
Here’s a similar thread from quite a while ago, focusing on musicians.