Ritz, Charles C.

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Charles C. Ritz (August 1, 1891 – July 11, 1976) was a hotelier and fly fishing specialist.

Charles Ritz was the son of César Ritz and Marie-Louise Beck. He did not know his itinerant father well who died when Charles was sixteen. He emigrated to the United States in 1916 where he became a soldier with the United States armed forces.

He went back to America in 1918 after the death of his father and he learned to fish in the torrents of the American West. His first marriage was to Elisabeth Pierce. He returned to France in the 1930s. His experience with fly fishing made him one of the foremost specialists on the subject. He invented the parabolic fly-rod which is still in use to this day and which was commercially produced by Abu-Garcia. He was also a keen publicist for the High speed - high line style of fly casting (HSHL). He founded the "Fario Club", which was the most select fishing club in the world from the 50's to the 70's.

Appointed President of the Ritz Hotel chain in 1953, he tried to introduce his progressive ideas when he opened le bar Vendôme and the l’Espadon restaurant but found himself hampered by the board of directors. He remarried in 1971 and retired from the hotel presidency in 1976, three months before his death.

He is buried in Père Lachaise alongside his first wife.

Source: Wikipedia / famoushotels archives