Max von Gerlach (born Max Stork Gerlach; October 12, 1885 – October 18, 1958) was an acquaintance of American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald in New York. Gerlach was an officer in the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I who became a gentleman bootlegger and lived like a millionaire in New York. Flaunting his wealth as a bootlegger, Gerlach threw lavish parties, never wore the same shirt twice, used the phrase "old sport", claimed to be educated at Oxford University, and fostered myths about himself; including that he was a relation of the German Kaiser. These details about Gerlach inspired Fitzgerald in his creation of Jay Gatsby, the titular character of The Great Gatsby.