14

DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE end the Legal Chronicle

Ladies and Gentlemen, Meet Mr. Fadiman

By MELVIN SPIEGEL

EDITOR'S NOTE: Here is the story of the man often referred to as one
of the most prolific and brilliant on the airlkoday—Clifton Fadiman,
whose personality charms the vast radio audience of "Information
Please" every Tuesday night.

It's hard to persuade most
listeners to the radio that the
"Information Please" program
isn't rehearsed. At least, they say
Fadiman, who after all does have
the questions in advance, can
figure out his bright remarks be-
fore the curtain rises. But no.
For the truth of the matter is
that Clifton "Kip" Fadiman
spends less time on 'Information
Please" than he does on almost
any of his numerous other ac-
tivities. He doesn't even have a
hand in deciding which questions
shall be used and which shall
not. That's done by a permanent
staff, members of which also do
all the research necessary to de-
termine the validity of the ques-
tions and the correctness of the
given answers. An hour before
the show goes on the air, Fadi-
man checks over the questions,
which have been typed in con-
venient card form, merely to
familiarize himselw with their
order and importance. He makes
no attempt to dope out advance
witticisms. He couldn't if he
wanted to, in most cases, for
what he says must depend on
what Messrs. Kieran, Levant and
Adams say first.
Doubting Thomases would have
their doubts resolved if they
could spend 15 or 20 minutes
with the man. For Clifton "Kip"
Fadiman doesn't need advance
notice. His mind is geared to fast
action. In fact, "Kip" Fadiman
is probably the brightest young
man on the air today.
To start at the beginning, let's
get that nickname straight. It
seems that when Fadiman was
a mere babe, he was highly sus-
ceptible to hiccoughs, and when
he hiccoughed, he made a sound
like "kip-kip-kip". His worried
but amused parents started call-
ing him "Kip" forthwith, and
"Kip" he has been ever since to
his intimates. For Kieran, Adams
and Levant are definitely Fadi-
man's friends despite the cutting
wit with which he weekly bad-
gers them. True enough, he takes
an impish pleasure in besting
them at what is, after all, their
own game, but that's in the
book of rules. They're supposed
to be fast thinkers, and they're
just that. They're supposed to be
smart—and, well, if you have
heard the program you can an-
swer that.
Clifton Fadiman was born in
New York City on May 15. 1904.
He was educated for many years
at the expense of the state and
later attended, at intervals, Co-
lumbia University, which he
claims he used largely as a
business office and his main activ-
ities during this period entailed
the getting of a livelhood. He
talked himself into his first job

ABSOLUTE

when he was 15 years old; he
started a newspaper when he was
still in high school, and he never
made less than $1,000 a year
while working his way through
college, Phi Beta Kappa and cum
laude at that.
In short, Clifton has always
been a bright and busy young
man. Today he still prefers to
be known as a businessman. And
in sober truth, that's what he is:

Clifton Fadiman

a big man in the word business.
Words are Fadiman's stock in
trade—words oral or written,
words light, hpumorous, face-
tious, or heavy, ponderous and
full of grave import. He delivers
his product in any form, in any
one of four languages, and in
any length from 100 words to
100,000.
When he was a student at
Columbia University, Fadiman
held an incredible variety of
jobs. He was a writer, a mail-
sorter in a branch post office, an
assistant in the university li-
brary. He hired himself out at
five dollars an hour as a tutor
to various well-to-do dullards of
his acquaintance. He sold maga-
zine subscriptions and wrote
book reviews. During the sum-
mer vacations he managed a
bookshop and gave lectures on
various exotic phases in the field
of belles-lettres. He finally left
school for a year to join the
staff of a New York publishing
house. But while there was ample
opportunity in the lower brackets,
there wasn't much room at the
top, and so Mr. Fadiman went
back to college.
When he took his second fling
at the book world, after a period

as assistant professor of English,
he found the gates more nearly
ajar, and in almost less time
than it takes to tell the tale, he
was editor-in-chief for Simon
and Schuster. He has not lacked
gainful employment since that
day.
He joined the staff of the
ultra-sophisticated New Yorker
magazine in 1934 and he still
carries on at that stand, review-
ing sometimes as many as 25 or
30 books a week. He writes, on
occasion, for such magazines as
Stage, Harper's Bazaar and
Vogue. He is at the moment
writing an authoritative tome on
his favorite subject: cheese. A
cheese-lover of the near-fanatic
type, Fadiman has for years been
compiling notes on the 700 hun-
dred known varieties of cheeses,
and when his book is published
it promises to be the last word
on the subject—the very last.
Radio rather awes Mr. Fadi-
man in its potent university, and
he finds it thoroughly exciting.
He does not consider that the in-
dustry would collapse if he or
"Information Please" should be
taken off the air, but he does in-
sist that the program has had
one highly beneficial effect on
broadcasting in general: it has
proved that the United States
listening public can absorb, and
like, a so-called "highbrow" pro-
gram. When "Information Please"
was first proposed, radio big-
shots moaned bitterly against it.
Nobody would listen to such
stuff, they said. On his part in
forcing that knowledge on pro-
gram sponsors, Fadiman is justly
proud. There is even a little won-
der in his own voice when he
says that the "Information
Please" audience ranges in age
from 9 to 70.
This isn't his first venture in
radio. Nor will it be his last, if
he can help it. He is working
out a plan whereby he will pro-
duce some of his own shows. At
present this is only in its ele-
mentary stages, but before very
long we will be hearing more
about it.
Fadiman would not accept a
similar job, because, he says, he
doesn't want to be "typed" as a
quiz-master. More than anything
else, he'd like to do a master-of-
ceremonies job on a variety pro-
gram. He'd like to be an actor,
too, and he thinks it would be a
lot of fun to do some writing in
Hollywood, but at present there
is no rush about it. After all, the
man's only 36. When you're 36,
healthy, wealthy, wise and hap-
pily married, there shouldn't be
much rush about anything.
The year before last Clifton
traveled between 30,000 and
40,000 miles lecturing. This year
because of his broadcasts his
mileage record will not be so
large, but still it will take some
of his time. Whatever time is
left will be shared among cheese,
tennis, ping-pong and bicycling.
Of his bicycling Clifton is rather
proud. Not so very long ago he

July 26, 1940

Dropsie College, Philadelphia

bicycled the length of Long
Island (some 145 miles) in a day
and a half. Although this is no
record, he considers it "pretty
good for an old man."
For his co-workers on the
"Wise Men's Hour," Fadiman has
a genuine high regard. As a
thoroughly well-informed gentle-
man himself, he appreciates the
almost incredible range of John
Kieran's knowledge, and he con-
siders F. P. A. one of the gentlest
and kindest men alive, despite
that worthy's rather dour ex-
terior.
He considers General Hugh
Johnson to have been the best
guest expert ever to appear on
the program. He wouldn't name
the worst.

(('opyright, 1940, 5. A.

S.)

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