The incorrect information being circulated: “Around midnight, after a three-city tour of Texas last month, the Vice President came wandering back to the press compartment of Air Force Two. Sliding in behind a table with the two reporters covering him that day, he picked slices of fruit from their plates and spent two hours swapping opinions about movies and telling stories about old chums like Erich Segal, who, Gore said, used Al and Tipper as models for the uptight preppy and his free-spirited girlfriend in Love Story; and Gore’s Harvard roommate Tommy Lee Jones, who played the roommate of the Gore-like character in the movie version of Segal’s book.” (Time, 12/15/97)

“Vice President Al Gore acknowledged Sunday a ‘miscommunication’ on his part in leading reporters to believe he and his wife were the model for the 1970s romance novel ‘Love Story’.”

“The author, Erich Segal, told The New York Times he was ‘befuddled’ by the comments in the first place. He said he called Gore, and the vice president said it was a misunderstanding.”
(Sources: The Des Moines Register, 12/15/97; Gore concedes ‘miscommunication’ about ‘Love Story’ role)

Hold it. The real information: An article the Tennessean quoted Erich Segal, the author of “Love Story” incorrectly. The Tennessean quoted Segal as saying that “Love Story” was based on both the Gores. Segal claims that he was misquoted in that article, and explained in the 12/14/97 issue of the New York Times, that the male lead, Oliver Barrett IV, was modeled after Gore and Gore’s Harvard roommate, actor Tommy Lee Jones.