"Within the hierarchy of the little men there is no man who can outlittle the minor executive in a large corporation who treats his authority as he treats a tight suit. In a tight suit, he is afraid to make a move. With his authority the minor executive takes the same precaution. There are thousands of these negative men in the places where minor executives conceal themselves in the labyrinths of the big corporations. They use the clam philosophy. If a clam never sticks its head out it is never overtaken by trouble. "-- TREADMILL TO OBLIVION by Fred Allen
Illustration of Allen by Al Hirschfeld, as if you couldn't tell.
Sorry to be late with this one, Mike. Fred Allen was a genius, head and shoulders above those who followed. He was a classmate of my Dad's at Boston's High School of Commerce, real name: John Florence Sullivan. Steve Allen, no relation, was another comedic genius who, like Fred, has never gotten the credit he deserves.
ReplyDeleteSmall World #1 - Wow! You dad went to school with Fred Allen?!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Allen was a genius. He's also largely forgotten.
Small World #2 - My great grandparents worked a vaudeville circuit with a team of entertainers that were headed by a husband and wife that were to have one child/ That child was Steve Allen.