I have been lately binge-watching old What's My Line episodes, and have also read again Mr. Cerf's autobiography, "At Random" which is a hilarious, wonderful read.

Did any DL eldergays ever meet or have any dealing with him? If so, what was he like?

by Anonymous

reply 12

May 5, 2020 10:34 PM

When Arlene Francis's son, Peter, and Bennett's son, Chirstopher, graduated from college they became roommates. Peter went on to be president of a small college in California. Chris was later the head of New Jersey's Department of Education. Strictly roommates, neither was gay.

by Anonymous

reply 1

May 4, 2020 10:53 PM

I had a book I would check out from the library when I was young called “Bennett Cerf’s Houseful of Laughter” that was an odd anthology of short stories, essays and comedic poetry. I loved it so much it would expire and I would immediately renew it. It introduced me to the work of Ogden Nash, who I also love.

by Anonymous

reply 2

May 4, 2020 11:04 PM

That’s an odd tangent, r1.

by Anonymous

reply 3

May 4, 2020 11:14 PM

Not really so odd a tangent. I remember seeing Peter and Christopher on several episodes of What's My Line when they were teenagers. They were cute, and clearly great friends. I always wondered about them. (BTW, the Christopher Cerf who was head of the NJ Dept. of Ed. was a different man with the same name.)

I've heard rumors about Bennett Cerf's sex life down through the years. I don't know if anything I've heard is true, but I'd like to think it was. He was a gay man, whether he was homosexual or not!

by Anonymous

reply 4

May 4, 2020 11:23 PM

Cerf was fine on the show, but in interviews I've seen of him, he's not really so likable. He comes across as an East-coast snob.

by Anonymous

reply 5

May 4, 2020 11:44 PM

Cerf was friends with both John O'Hara and Cardinal Spellman and introduced the two. Apparently they became good friends after that!

by Anonymous

reply 6

May 5, 2020 10:15 PM

Bennett had a brief first marriage to actress Sylvia Sidney.

His second wife, Phyllis, was a former starlet and Ginger Roger's cousin. She co-authored books with Dr. Seuss, but their association ended in a bitter legal battle. After Bennett's death, Phyllis married former NYC mayor Robert Wagner.

by Anonymous

reply 7

May 5, 2020 10:21 PM

Bennett Cerf--ne of founders of Random House Publishing--I imagine Bennett got very rich. I'm old so I watched the show when it was on regular TV with my parents --Bennett has one of those mid-Atlantic accents but he must have had parents with very strong NY accents, so he had a strange accent. Even as a young kid I knew it was sort of an upper class accent though--not sure how I knew that. My parents were from NY without strong accents, but I grew up in LA. I always liked Bennett when I watched as a child. I have no idea why--so he must have been very charming. I didn't like any of the others on the show, come to think of it--John Daly was really pretentious, Arlene was a phony (and in the American theatah) and Dorothy had that really small chin and wasn't nice. Somehow it was a fun show to watch, even as a kid.

by Anonymous

reply 9

May 5, 2020 10:25 PM

r8 Thank you for the correction.

by Anonymous

reply 10

May 5, 2020 10:28 PM

Watch carefully when the contestant is a young, beautiful, buxom woman. Bennett's end of the panel's table rises an inch or two. Without fail.

by Anonymous

reply 11

May 5, 2020 10:31 PM

R3, here’s another. The writer Deborah Eisenberg named a character in one of her short stories “Cerf”. (IIRC, I think he was a lifeguard at the YMCA).

She also dedicated the book to her longtime companion, Wally Shawn.

by Anonymous

reply 12

May 5, 2020 10:34 PM