As you can see, this man was on the cover of Time magazine. He was on television almost every week in the 50s/60s. He has a star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Does anyone recall Bennett Cerf? On my Facebook page, I list his book "At Random" as once of my favorites. Why? His life was fascinating.
Born in 1898, he was raised in New York City and hobnobbed with famous people from his school days. He started a publishing company with his friend in the 1920s which became the hugely successful Random House. He worked with Faulkner, Capote, Michener,and even Dr. Seuss.
His wit and use of puns was legendary and he published several books on humor.
He married Ginger Roger's cousin.
He appeared on the popular "What's my line?" TV show as panelist back in the days when wit and genius were seen on tv.
His biography "At Random" is a fascinating look into the life of this man and even though I am not that well acquainted with many of the famous authors and people that Cerf dealt with through the years, the many characters and personalities are an interesting read. You might have trouble finding this book as it is quite old now, but definitely worth looking for.
Cerf died in 1971 but when the Game Show Network started running old "What's My Line" shows, I wondered who this man Bennett Cerf was. They don't come much more interesting than this. Click here for an interview with Cerf.
