I know a guy who is basically anonymous but has spent his adult life starting companies. He's past 70 now and he looks mid 50s and is working at a new company he started 5 years ago. He's been in the center of at least 3 financial revolutions in the last 40 years and he's basically going to keep going at full speed until the day he drops dead. That sounds like just about the coolest thing I can imagine.

The most obvious one to me is Hugh Hefner . I would have loved to have had his life for obvious reasons.

A couple others are Frank Abignale . I think the balls he showed and the stunts he pulled were genius.

Also Arthur Frommer of the Frommer's series. Who wouldn't want to spend their whole lives on a working vacation?

Simen Agdestein was a striker for the Norwegian national (association) football team at the same time he was one of the world's top 20 chess players.

Bernard Moitessier does have nearly as great a range, but he made waves as a social activist and is one of the patron saints of 20th century sailing, as far as I can tell.

I don't know what this says about me, but this doesn't even sound that interesting to me.

While I would hardly call him "awesome," Hitler's transformation from wannabe artist to war vet to vagrant to living embodiment of Germany is pretty fascinating.

Almost anyone who rises from humble beginnings to great power can fall under whatever category Hitler is in (Mao, Stalin, et al). Castro went from minor league basesball player to El Presidente, but also not "awesome".

Right. McNamara was one of the most arrogant and abysmal U.S. public servants of the post-WW2 era.

Oscar Goodman (former mob lawyer and current Las Vegas mayor) has led an extremely interesting life.

Although the Segway is incredibly dorky, I think that it would be extremely fun to be a wildly successul, modern day inventor like Dean Kamen.

Dean Kamen

He's younger than me, but Jack Johnson has been doing great so far. Professional surfer who got hurt and became world famous musician instead.

the first person i thought of when i saw the thread title was orson welles.

when he was 16 he moved to dublin, and convinced the people at the gate,probably ireland's most respected theatre,that he was a well known (and much older) broadway actor.he bluffed his way into a several parts in their productions which were met with great acclaim.

when he moved back to america,he took over a theatre group in harlem and directed an all black version of macbeth in what was one of the most acclaimed perfomances of the play.

then he got into radio,which he was hugely successful in,even aside from the famous "war of the worlds" stunt.

then at the age of 23 he wrote,directed,produced and starred in citizen kane,to this day universally considered of the best films in the history of the art form.

he went on to become of the most popular film stars in history,as well as continuing to direct and broadcast.(my favourite movie opening of all time is "touch of evil",you can see it here on youtube,you need to skip the first minute or so which is the text that precedes the film on DVD.)
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=0nn1VO1HIPk

although his later works were far from commercial successes,he continued to be involved in a wide range of interesting projects in various mediums until his death.

i also think that his last film,"f for fake" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F_for_Fake ) is one of the most interesting and original films i have ever seen,and in it welles seemed to have invented a new genre,somewhere between documentary,essay and fiction,which sadly died with him.

on top of that he seems to have been one of the most interesting conversationalists in history.

check out this interview from parkinson,a british chat show:
http://www.dailymotion.com/Tomsutpen...interview-1974

i recently watched a much lenghtier interview he did with the bbc shortly before his death,its about two and a half hours long but is absolutely fascinating.

its all up on youtube,the first part is here

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=_1Ni0c5-a5c.

oh,and he was married to rita hayworth.

Fitzroy Maclean

His book, Eastern Approaches tells his story

He was in the British Diplomatic service out of university, posted to Paris, and transferred to the Soviet Union.
Cliffnotes: Junior diplomatic envoy in Paris and Moscow, surreptitiously sees the farthest reaches of the Soviet Empire while being pursued by the forerunner to the KGB; runs for parliament so he can quit the diplomatic service to enlist, wins a spot as an MP; enlists and ends up in the SAS; pulls off raids and kidnappings in Persian, fights Nazis in North Africa; learns to Parachute and drops into Yugoslavia to fight with Tito; retires as an MP.

Jacques Cousteau

He only had great adventure in one category, but as a ocean lover this guy was the king.

Ben Franklin is my all-time hero. Gifted writer, scientist, inventor, politician, womanizer.

You forgot businessman.

Audie Murphy -- most decorated US soldier of WWII becomes Hollywood movie star.

Ronald Reagan -- Actor, Governor, President.

Jose Capablanca -- world chess champion, Cuban ambassador

One of my relatives had an awesome life:

Ezekiel Evans -- pioneer who literally built 2 cities in Nebraska.
during 2 major snowstorms in the late 1800's, his was the only
cattle herd to survive because of his barns and hay stores.

From his herd, then, the rest of the city owed their lives,
and their livelihood for years to come. Twice!

His son, Charlie Evans, was a gambler, successful hotel
owner, race horse entrepreneur, bootlegger and even a US Senator.

The first name that comes to mind is Forrest Gump.

Also:
Ernesto "El Che" Guevara

Stephen Hawking

Eldrick has had a pretty cool life

Along a different line... Hef has had a pretty interesting life, one most guys would love to have. Although never really a political figure... the attitude of his magazine changed the attitude of the country quite a bit.

Throw in the fact that he has nailed more smokin hot tail than most guys could even dream of... I think that quallies as an interesting life.

Sad to see him turn into a cartoon of himself with that horrible TV show.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Von_Neumann

I like all the guys mentioned up to this point, and I'm interested in the fact that there is a wide range of people. But I always drawn to the unbelievably brilliant for some reason...

I don't agree with Steven Hawking. Yeah it would be great to be so smart, but would it? If you are annoyed by idiots on a daily basis now (which many of you and me say we are) imagine being as smart as him. "What do you mean you don't understand the theory of relativity!!?!! Do I have to draw it in crayon?!?!

Also the whole being in a wheelchair for most of your life. If I could be anyone in the world, I def would choose someone who can at least walk. No, this answer is def wrong.

Meh, the man was destined to live like 6 months (on his early 20's I think, I may be wrong), and now he's one of the great minds of the 20th century.

You can change him for Richard Feynman

This is a little closer to home, and perhaps pales in comparison to some of the great human beings mentioned in this thread, but EDF's very own mazungu, Adsman , seems to have led one hell of a life. What I like about him, too, is that his adventures don't seem to have come from having been blessed with any abnormal skillset, like a sports star, or child prodigy...he just seems like a normal guy who lives by the seat of his pants, and casts himself into one adventure after another. Any one of his awesome stories are "once-in-a-lifetime"-type adventures, and yet he seems to jam in a few every month. Keep it up! (and keep writing about them here!)

this guy has a pretty interesting life, banging women, saving the world, driving fancy cars and shooting up bad guys.


on a more serious note, audie murphy would be a nomination. He is the most decorated soldier of WW2, and become a famous moviestar after the war:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001559/

There is no evidence that Castro ever played organized baseball at a high level, much less minor leagues, fyi.

KJS

These are all okay, but I prefer real lives: