Cerf later presented the book to Columbia University. TV BANTER . . . with Joanne Madden Many won't admit it. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. They were married in 1935 after a lengthy and spectacular cross country courtship, but the union lasted. , " " " '". TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. 720 [14]. We never begrudged him this. Our agent, frantic, said, I insist that you open that bag and search it. The inspector looked at him as though he was an absolute lunatic, and said, Its too hot., I think theres something in there thats contraband, our agent said, and I insist that it be searched., So, furiously, the fellow had to open the suitcase. How Bennett Cerf got James Joyce's Ulysses into the US - IrishCentral.com He admired her "sincerity" and "brillian[ce]", and the two became lifelong friends. would be printing "a few books at random.". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Some European wag - maybe French? Best known as publisher and founder of Random House. Cronkite refused to allow his personal beliefs to affect his job of reporting accurate news. In order to get all the evidence into the trial, everything had to be contained in an edition of Ulysses. What Shows Have Been Renewed or Canceled? Sean OCasey had submitted The Drums of Father Ned; or, A Mickrocosm of Ireland. 1960 (Knopf) (Pantheon), "Everyman's Library", . It has sold more than 600,000 copies. After Bennett Cerf died in 1971, Phyllis Cerf assumed the ownership of the townhouse and continued to live there after she remarried former Mayor Robert F. Wagner in 1975. Dr. Seuss Wrote 'Green Eggs and Ham' on a Bet Bennett runs Random House as a conservative branch of show business, Mr. Epstein conceded a few years ago. Burning fossil fuels for energy rel, Honour Nursing Professionals and Support American Farming Heritage with The Nightingale Project & True North 2022, The Nightingale Project and True North 2022: Celebrating Nurses and Preserving American Farming Heritage If we lose our case, you keep the fifteen hundred. One of Mr. Cerf's biggest projects was The Random House Dictionary of the Eng lish Language, a 2.059 page volume issued in 1966 after a decade of preparation costing $3million. Ginger was a first cousin to Bennett's wife, Phyllis Fraser. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. 2003, " '", , -80 . It is hard to imagine the chutzpah of McQuaid ordering a playwright of OCaseys esteem to make structural alterationsbut that was the Catholic Ireland of 1958. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Cerf, who died in 1971, left behind a wonderful memoir of his years running Random House called At Random. Published many giants of 20th century American literature, including William Faulkner, James Michener, and Ayn Rand. Cerf began appearing weekly on What's My Line? When I met him, Joyce was just over fifty, wrote Cerf. Named his publishing company "Random House" because he thought they What do they care? The publisher married twice. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Mrs. Cerf became an editor of children's books at Random House. And the agent said Aha! as he produced our copy of Ulysses. I revel in it.. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. The book has had an enormous sale; it is one of the leading Modern Library and Vintage Giants and sells thousands of copies every year. After seizure, the United States attorney Published James Joyce's Ulysses in the US after winning landmark Supreme Court obscenity case. He was so enraged that as a further protest he refused to allow his plays to be performed anywhere in the Republic of Ireland.. Click to reveal The plane landed and the general wasn't there. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". 19401971 /, Manhattan, New York, United States They were married in New York In 1940 with Mayor Fi orello H. La Guardia officiat ing. Notable New Yorkers - Columbia University I loved it from the start because, as I've told you again and again, I have a streak of pure ham in me and this appealed to every part of it. There was a long bench in front of it, and Nora grabbed one end and Joyce the otherboth pulling in opposite directions. It was then that Bennett Cerf, the man who got Ulysses into America, asked a pointed question. He was unusually vituperative when he talked about the incident, wrote Bair in her Beckett biography, and he used it to illustrate his theory that the Catholic Church, toward which he had long been hostile, and the British government were responsible for the surprising number of great writers who had appeared in the short time since the nineteenth century. Joseph, Missouri, U.S.died July 17, 2009, New York, New York), American journalist and pioneer of television news programming who became known as "the most trusted man in America." He was the longtime anchor of the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite (1962-81), for which he reported on many of the most historic Published many giants of 20th century American literature, including William Faulkner, James Michener, and Ayn Rand. See the debate between Cerf and Briscoe here at the 11:40 mark: CERF: Mr. Briscoe, can I ask you a question? Bennett Cerf Intelligent, Thinking, Rights 8 Copy quote I can't say this too often - that a little humor can make life worth living. How to Distinguish Between Viable and Non-Viable Tomato Seeds for Successful Planting. I wonder, he mused, if you'd be so anxi ous to marry my Rosalie if I didn't have a penny? I think I'd love her twice as much, vowed the suitor fervently. So many editors are only editors because they haven't made it as writers. ), Read More: Bloomsday is James Joyce's St. Patrick's Day for summer. At that point, before Cerf can reply, moderator John Charles Daly says, Here, here! and the television controversy is over. Arlene Francis, 93, of "What's My Line?' dies BRISCOE: Well, first of all, you are again, as I experienced last year, accepting statements as facts and you are asking questions on things that dont really comply with the facts. Two sons, Christopher, of 146 East 62d Street, and Jonathan, of 118 East 80th Street, divided the residue left after gifts totaling about $25,000 to 21 individuals. When he died suddenly in 1971 his wife and sons took on the task of completing the book using the . S. J. Perelman's 1945 feuilleton "No Dearth of Mirth, Fill Out the Coupon", describes Perelman's fictionalized encounter with a jokebook publisher named Barnaby Chirp. 5 Why is Walter Cronkite the most trusted man in America? , [8], . Bennett Cerf, one of the coun trys foremost book publishers, died late Friday night at his estate in Mount Kisco, N. Y. What are the physical state of oxygen at room temperature? In 1932, Random House had the rights to publish the book in the United States, and they arranged for a test case to challenge the implicit ban so as to publish the work without fear of prosecution. We published Ulysses in January 1934, with Woolseys landmark decision in itand it is still included in our edition. In 1977, Random House, the company that Cerf had co-founded, posthumously published his autobiography, which he had titled At Random: The Reminiscences of Bennett Cerf. So when the case came up, that was the copy in evidence.. On Bloomsday, its always enlightening to remember what James Joyce went through to get Ulyssesthe ultimate dirty bookpublished. Raised in New York City, Cerf attended Townsend Harris High School, the same public school as composer Richard Rodgers, publisher Richard Simon, and playwright Howard Dietz; and he spent his teenage years at 790 Riverside Drive, an apartment building in Washington Heights that was home to two other friends who became prominent as adults, Howard Dietz and the Hearst newspapers financial editor Merryle Rukeyser. [9] Cerf was also inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa in 1967 at Florida Southern College. That would include all the reviews and comments by some of the literary stars of the day including Ford Madox Ford, Edmund Wilson, and Ezra Pound. When he came to publish a book about the Federal Bureau of Investi gation, its agents, without tell ing him until afterward, inves tigated his career, apparently lest he harbored what in the F.B.I. As a publisher nobody knew who I was. Edited compilations of humor and joke books. Vastly expanded from its original 109 titles, it now includes 400 books. Dietz stopped her cold with, "Don't give me any of that crap, Miss Crawford. Mr. Cert's multiple activities, cultural and otherwise, brought him about $375,000 a year. BENNETT CERF, the late cofounder and for many years head of Random House, was my friend, but that was no particular distinction because he had thousands of them. Early Random House books included a Kentillustrated Candido and a lavishly print ed Adventures of Tom Saw yer. But by 1933 the Depres sion put an end to the market for such luxuries, and Random House turned to trade books by acquiring the rights to Eu gene O'Neill's plays and the works of Robinson Jeffers. Critical reviews of the book were pasted into a special copy, which was duly imported and seized by U.S. Customs. It was his integrity and commitment to fair reporting which established him as the most trusted man in America. It used as its logo a little house drawn by Cerf's friend Rockwell Kent. Birthday: May 25, 1898 Date of Death: August 27, 1971 Age at Death: 73 Live Live Death Statistics Worldwide and The United States Bennett Cerf - Biography [1], Cerf was born on May 25, 1898, in Manhattan, New York, to a Jewish family of Alsatian and German origin. 1947 , "Random House Dictionary of the English Language" ( ). Bennett Cerf | Dorothy Kilgallen I could tell you stories about him by the hour.. He published Atlas Shrugged, written by Ayn Rand. There is this theatre festival for our coastal tourist season, and the theatre festival council were considering taking on two plays, the two you mentioned. Within about six weeks, I was a national figure. He was the one who picked Joan Crawford for her name. Cerf had caught Briscoe in outright lies and half-truths. [10] In 1951, he began appearing weekly on What's My Line?, where he stayed for 16 years, until the show ended its run on CBS, in 1967. He was later president of the New York-based publishing firm. To ensure success, select medium-sized seeds for planting. After the book was seized and more legal wrangling, the trial was on. on Nov. 9, 1942; accepted by Random House for publication two days later, and chosen as a . He began his career with a commitment to journalism as well. We have to watch every editor on that. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Follow him at www.dermotmcevoy.com. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". It always takes him some time to get down from the cross.". The two went out for drinks one night and . Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Jessica Mitford took the pub lisher to task in The Atlantic of July, 1970. She was 93. The cause of death was not immediately. Soon after Cronkite took over from his predecessor Douglas Edwards, the then 15-minute broadcast was expanded to 30 minutes, making it the first half-hour nightly news show on American network television. Enter Bennett Cerf. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Shields, who fought in the GPO in 1916, How you can learn Gaelic literature and culture online with a top Irish university, The story behind Ireland's favorite song, The Cranberries "Zombie", How the Irish (and Welsh) invented romantic love. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Cerf died from natural causes in Mount Kisco, on August 27, 1971, aged 73. His father was co-founder of Random House, publisher, editor and TV panelist Bennett Cerf. There is plenty of gossip and rather surprisingly, he goes on about not liking Dorothy Kilgallen. The office then sued under the Tariff Act of 1930, which allowed a district attorney to bring an action against obscene literature. This groundbreaking compilation of jokes, gags, stories, puns, and wit became recognized, in time, as the essence of Bennett Cerf and his humor. He may be reached at dermotmcevoy50@gmail.com. Genealogy profile for Bennett Cerf Genealogy for Bennett Alfred Cerf (1898 - 1971) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. Cerf takes it from there: Since that copy had to be the one that would be used as evidence, we got somebody to take it over to Europe and bring it back on the Aquitania, and had our agent down at the dock when it landed. Which was true. Join IrishCentrals Book Club on Facebook and enjoy our book-loving community. Cerf died in Mount Kisco, New York, on August 27, 1971, at the age of 73. During his time on What's My Line?, Cerf received an honorary degree from the University of Puget Sound. Cerf claimed that of all the awards he had received in his life, he was "genuinely proud of" those bestowed on him by humor magazines The Yale Record and The Harvard Lampoon. Their temptation is always to rewrite books because they think that they can do it better. Volunteered for the U.S. Army in World War I. Dont you think this is indefensible? Two years later, on his 27th birth day, Mr. Cerf bought the Mod ern Library, a series of reprint ed classics that Mr. Liveright had set up in 1918. I have to remind peo ple I'm a publisher, he once said as he was being sought out for his autograph. In it, he tells wonderful stories about his authors, ranging from Ayn Rand to John OHara, to Eugene ONeill and William Faulkner. 45.124.87.102 from Columbia's School of Journalism and began writing for The New York Herald Tribune. They received $1,000 each. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Bennett Cerf. A second book, Shake Well Before Using, was published in 1949. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. (One can only imagine what McQuaid thought of that title!) When his audience looked puzzled, he continued: "Il nous ailes en culer a la gloire," which he translated immediately as "They have buggered us into glory!". Read More: James Joyce quotes on love and life in honor of Bloomsday, It was Becketts turn next. - sneered about Truman and MacArthur something to the effect of, As Georges Clemenceau said, "War is too important to be left to the generals. Bennett's mater nal grandfather was a wholesale tobacco distributor who be queathed him a trust fund of $100,000, which came to him when he was 16 and an honors graduate of Townsend Harris High School, the public high school. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7c0a2be32b5a04f8 j Bora ln IN Bom, May 25 1898 - Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States, Aug 27 1971 - Mount Kisco, Westchester, New York, United States, Gustave Cerf, Fredericka Cerf (born Wise), Helen Brown Cerf (born Nichols), Sylvia Cerf (born Sidney), May 25 1898 - New York, (Manhattan), New York, USA, Aug 27 1977 - Mount Kisco, Westchester, New York, USA, Aug 27 1971 - Mount Kisco, Westchester County, New York, USA, Sophia "sylvia" Sidney (Adopted) (born Kosow), 1910 - Manhattan Ward 12, New York, New York, USA, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States, Mount Kisco, New York City, New York, United States, ANU Museum of the Jewish People (formerly Beit Hatfutsot) Exhibit Project, Jewish Publishers, Printers, and Book Dealers, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bennett_Cerf. You can keep up-to-date on all our Bloomsday coverage and other literary news atIrishCentral's special books page here. Son of Gustave Cerf and Frederika Wise In addition to his widow, Mr. Cerf leaves two sons by his second marriage, Christo pher Bennett and Jonathan Fraser. I revel in it. (More on Cerf and his live on-air confrontation with Robert Briscoe on censorship later. Bennett Cerf Drive, just outside the City of Westminster in Carroll County, Maryland, is named after him. / The com pany moved to 201 East 50th Street, where Mr. Cerf had a more functional, if less grand, office. His wife Nora was a typical Irish ladygarrulous and friendly. The elder Cerf was a French Jew. Anybody who says that he doesn't like it, I think is a liar. Looking for Irish book recommendations or to meet with others who share your love for Irish literature? This censorship debate is somewhat reminiscent of what happened when OCasey submitted The Plough and the Stars to the Abbey Theatre in 1926. Bennett Cerf Expert Quiz: 22 Questions to test your expertise In 1959, Maco Magazine Corporation published what became known as "The Cream of the Master's Crop", a compilation of Cerf's jokes, gags, stories, puns, and wit. Mr. Cerf was president, a post he held until 1965, when he became chairman of the board. What happens to atoms during chemical reaction? He was chair juror of the Peabody Jurors Board from 1954 to the end of his first term in 1967, and published a weekly column, "The Cerf Board", in the Sunday supplement magazine This Week. His will reflected his involvement in the lively arts. Not to mention such unliterary types as Frank Si natra. Bennett Alfred Cerf was an American writer, publisher, and co-founder of the American publishing firm Random House. During his time on What's My Line?, Cerf received an honorary degree from the University of Puget Sound, and an honorary doctorate of letters in November 1965 from William Jewell College, in Liberty, Missouri. How many people do you think look at the name on the spine of a book that has been published? Bennett Cerf - Biography - IMDb 2 When was Walter Cronkites last broadcast? Cerf continued to appear occasionally on the Viacom syndicated version with Arlene Francis until his death. I named you." This began their publishing business, which in time they named Random House. (Meanwhile, I'll leave all these poor plebe bastards here to die torturous deaths"). He was, for exam ple, a defender of Loyalist Spain and visited that country dur ing the Civil War. Bennett Cerf, in full Bennett Alfred Cerf, (born May 25, 1898, New York, New York, U.S.died August 27, 1971, Mount Kisco, New York), American publisher and editor. Bennett Cerf, one of the coun try's foremost book publishers, died late Friday night at his estate in Mount Kisco, N. Y. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. took seven months before deciding whether to proceed further; although the assistant U.S. attorney assigned to assess the work's obscenity considered it a "literary masterpiece", he also felt it was obscene within the meaning of the law. 1935 . 1936 . / , Phyllis Fraserm. What kind of family did Bennett Cerf come from? Your IP: The will, dated Aug. 15, 1968, was filed for probate by the law firm of Weil, Gotshal and Manges. He then was named a vice-president of the publishing firm Boni & Liveright. In 1925, Cerf and Donald S. Klopfer formed a partnership to purchase the rights to the Modern Library from Boni & Liveright, and they went into business for themselves. Cerf was born on May 25, 1898, the son of a lithographer and tobacco heiress. approximately $6million "I SHALL RETURN! March 6 In the run-up to this celebration, IrishCentral is taking a look at books, recent news, and theories about James Joyce and his works. one of the guests was Robert Briscoe, the erstwhile Jewish Lord Mayor of Dublin. 19351936 These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. At least one of Mr. Cerf's endorsements was sharply crit icized in public, and that was his membership on the Guid ing Faculty of the Famous Writers School of Westport, Conn., a mailorder concern that purports to teach writing. Have you heard about the sultan who left a call for seven in the morning? It was one of the few, experiences that; made Mr. Cerf fume, even years later. Sometimes lost in the two-continent struggle, is how Ulysses finally got into the United States, thanks primarily to one Bennett Cerf, the intrepid publisher of Random House in New York. She's an express elevator, and doesn't stop on your floor.. To commemorate this special occasion, KarenO, a registered nurse with 35 years of experience, has started The Nightingale Project. Now his legacy of inspiring a love for reading continues, as his birthday, March 2, is hailed as National Education . The publisher, therefore, made an arrangement to import the book and to have a copy seized by the United States Customs Service when it arrived. game show, a staple on the CBS Network every Sunday night at 10:30 p.m. for 20 years. The show, in which pan elists attempted to guess the occupations of various guests, made Mr. Cerf a national celeb rity. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Cerf graduated from Townsend Harris High School in 1916, the same public school as publisher Richard Simon, author Herman Wouk, and playwright Howard Dietz. There is a extensive interview on you tube with Bennett Cerf discussing the old TV game show What's My Line and other panelists. Now it has nothing to do with the Church or with the censorship body forbidding these plays. From extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, and wildfires to the melting of polar ice caps and rising sea levels, it's clear that our planet is in trouble. Unrivaled Mac notes apps for fuss-free note-taking, 6 Actionable Tips for Improving Your Websites SEO, Copyright 2023 | WordPress Theme by MH Themes. His second wife was Helen Nichols, who, as a child actress, had changed her name to Phyllis Fraser. Bennett Cerf Dies; Publisher, Writer - The New York Times His father, Gustave Cerf, was a lithographer; and his mother, Frederika Wise, was an heiress to a tobacco-distribution fortune. And it was found rather not to suit the requirements because there were certain items in it which they wanted to take out and which this producer refused to be allowed to be taken out, so therefore they had no alternative but to cancel any arrangements they were entering into. His first wife was Sylvia Sid ney, the actress. Half of the estate was bequeathed to Mr. Cerf's widow, Phyllis, who also received the Cerf houses at 132 East 62d Street and on Orchard Road, Mount Kisco, in Westchester County. He published Atlas Shrugged, written by Ayn Rand, though he vehemently disagreed with her philosophy of Objectivism. To my mind, a bad editor is a frustrated writer himself. 2013 " ". Cerf was known to America as one of the erudite panelists on the Whats My Line? A Mount Kisco street named Cerf Lane runs from Croton Avenue and is named after him. Tomato seeds come in all shapes and sizes, with some varieties havi, Take Action Now: How You Can Fight Climate Change and Protect Our Environment, The Effects of Climate Change on Our Environment He is known for his musical contributions to Sesame Street, for co-creating and co-producing the award-winning PBS literacy education television program Between the Lions, and for his humorous articles and books. Bennett Cerf - IMDb Until his death, Cerf continued to appear regularly on the CBS Films (now Viacom) syndicated version of What's My Line?, along with Arlene Francis. Only the most dedicated enthusiasts will be able to answer . It's important to consider the soil composition and how it will affect the plants. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Be sides, I like the publicity and I'm all dressed up in a dueling outfit in the ad.. Everyone has a streak of pure unadulterated ham, admitted Cerf in a New Yorker profile. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bennett_Cerf&oldid=1149092708, American book publishing company founders, Television personalities from New York City, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 10 April 2023, at 04:27. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". (September 17, 1940 - August 27, 1971) (his death, 2 children), (October 1, 1935 - April 9, 1936) (divorced), View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro. With fame, or at least atten tion, focused on him, the pub lisher appeared, usually with out fee, in advertisements en dorsing such products as Yu ban coffee, L & M cigarettes, Bostonian shoes and Schiapar elli's Snuff, an aftershave lo tion. Truck drivers would stop and yell. Nora took me downstairs and put me in a taxicab and apologized for the vulgar display, but of course, we were both laughingit was so ridiculous. Bennett Cerf, one of the coun try's foremost book publishers, died late Friday night at his estate in Mount Kisco, N. Y. One of these was his avid en gagement in nonpublishing ac tivities, chiefly What's My Line?, on which he started in 1951. Beckettat that time the newest and most innovative Irish playwright because of his transformational Waiting for Godotwas incensed and withdrew Krapps Last Tape from the festival. When was Walter Cronkites last broadcast? The publisher and co-founder of Random House Bennette Cerf was also known for his own compilations of jokes and puns, for regular personal appearances lecturing across the United States, and for his television appearances in the panel game show What's My Line?. There is plenty of gossip and rather surprisingly, he goes on about not liking Dorothy Kilgallen. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. He was 73 years old. Bennett was 73 years old at the time of death. " " . Bennett Alfred Cerf (1898 - 1971) - Genealogy Dietz countered, "But you have to remember, Mr. Mayer, I get in very late in the mornings.". The two bought the rights to the Modern Library from Boni & Liveright and went into business for themselves. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Bennett Cerf, the publisher and television personality who died last Friday at the age of 73, left an estate valued at more than $1million, according to his will, which was offered for probate in Manhattan Surrogate Court yesterday. But the most interesting story was about the mystery guest who wasn't. What happened to Bennett Cerf? - chroniclesdengen.com Every taxi driver would greet me by name, and I loved it. He was delighted with that; it was a lot more money then than it would be today. The Dublin Theatre Festival just banned plays by OCasey and Joyce, I believe. If I were this year as I was last year, chairman of the festival council I would have also have taken the same line as was done this year. Bennett Cerf on the Mystery Guest Who Wasn't Mr. Cerf, who was bored with brokerage, quit his job by telephone and went to see Hor ace Liveright, who offered him a vicepresidency at $50 a week in return for a $10,000 investment in the firm. 1940 . 1971 . 2007 , , 9 [11]. Morris Ernst has been getting royalties on Ulysses ever since, but he richly deserved them. His partner in the purchase was his best friend, Donald S. Klopfer, then 23.
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