Bennett Alfred Cerf (May 25, 1898 – August 27, 1971) was an American publisher, one of the founders of American publishing firm Random House. 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?
My philosophy is to try to bring joy into the world. Then you're being a good person. As I said, if you can leave people just a little bit happier after they leave you than they were when they met you, you are my idea of a valuable citizen. Especially today, anybody that can cheer people up a little and not indulge in this undermining handwringing that we're all doing.
2
To my mind, a bad editor is a frustrated writer himself. So many editors are only editors because they haven't made it as writers. Their temptation is always to rewrite books because they think that they can do it better. We have to watch every editor on that.
3
When Joan Crawford became a star, the first time they brought her to the [MGM] New York office, she was taken around the office and introduced to all the executives. She gave them all the icy star treatment, very uppety and condescending. When they came around to [Howard] Dietz, she tried the same tactics with him. Dietz stopped her cold with, "Don't give me any of that crap, Miss Crawford. I named you." Which was true. He was the one who picked Joan Crawford for her name.
4
[Howard] Dietz was a friend whom I grew up with and he's one of the funniest men I know. One day at MGM Louis Mayer complained that Dietz was leaving too early in the afternoons. Dietz countered, "But you have to remember, Mr. Mayer, I get in very late in the mornings."
5
[on What's My Line?] 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. Within about six weeks, I was a national figure. As a publisher nobody knew who I was. How many people do you think look at the name on the spine of a book that has been published? They don't know whether a book's published by Scribner's or Harper's or Doubleday or Random House. What do they care? They want to know what's in the book and who wrote it. What difference does it make who published it? Even when I started writing books, and some people came to know my name, they didn't know what I looked like. But after you've been on a national television show for a little while, a popular one like "What's My Line?" everybody recognizes you. Everywhere that I went, people would yell, "Hey, Bennett." Truck drivers would stop and yell. Every taxi driver would greet me by name, and I loved it. Anybody who says that he doesn't like it, I think is a liar.
6
Censor: A self-appointed snoophound who sticks his nose in other people's business.
In the 1950s and 1960s, he wrote a weekly column, 'The Cerf Board,' for 'This Week' magazine. 'This Week' was a color rotogravure magazine included in many local Sunday newspapers nationwide -- a forerunner of today's 'USA Today' magazine in Sunday papers.
3
Learned of the bombing of Pearl Harbor while he and his wife were playing bridge with Harry and Bernadine Scherman, the owners of the Book-of-the-Month Club.
4
Once worked for a Wall Street brokerage.
5
When his mother died in 1914, he inherited $125,000.
6
Honorary member of the Harvard Lampoon.
7
When he learned that all university students going to war (WW I) would be given full credit for any course they signed up for, he immediately signed up for all the subjects he was bad at.
8
Volunteered for the U.S. Army in World War I.
9
Graduated from Columbia University.
10
Random House's colophon (trademark image) was designed by celebrated artist Rockwell Kent, who originally sketched it on a cocktail napkin.
11
Named his publishing company "Random House" because he thought they would be printing "...a few books at random.".
Bennett was related to actress, dancer, and singer Ginger Rogers through marriage. Ginger was a first cousin to Bennett's wife, Phyllis Fraser.
15
Humorist and publisher, one of the founding editors of Random House Inc. He was later president of the New York-based publishing firm.
16
David Sarnoff, chairman of RCA when it owned NBC and Random House, urged Cerf to quit the CBS What's My Line? (1950) since it represented a conflict of interest. Cerf managed to change Sarnoff's mind, and continued to appear on the network show until its 1967 cancellation.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
A Face in the Crowd
1957
Bennett Cerf (uncredited)
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Twilight Zone
1961
TV Series based on an anecdote from "Famous Ghost Stories" by - 1 episode
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
The David Frost Show
1969-1970
TV Series
Himself
The Dick Cavett Show
1970
TV Series
Himself
The Mike Douglas Show
1962-1970
TV Series
Himself / Himself - Publisher
What's My Line?
1970
TV Series
Himself - Panelist
The Match Game
1963-1969
TV Series
Himself - Team Captain / Himself - Team Member
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1968-1969
TV Series
Himself - Guest
What's My Line?
1950-1967
TV Series
Himself - Panelist / Himself - Moderator
Get the Message
1964
TV Series
Himself
Front Page Challenge
1964
TV Series
Himself - Panelist
Alumni Fun
1964
TV Series
Himself
What's My Line
1956-1963
TV Series
Himself - Panellist / Himself . Panelist
The Jack Paar Tonight Show
1959-1962
TV Series
Himself
The Tonight Show
1962
TV Series
Himself - Writer / Publisher
Password All-Stars
1961-1962
TV Series
Himself - Celebrity Contestant
I've Got a Secret
1961
TV Series
Himself - 'What's My Line?' Panel
Person to Person
1958
TV Series documentary
Himself
The Mike Wallace Interview
1957
TV Series
Himself
The George Gobel Show
1956
TV Series
Himself
Answer Yes or No
1950
TV Series
Himself
Celebrity Time
1949
TV Series
Himself
We, the People
1949
TV Series
Himself
Critic at Large
1948
TV Series
Himself - Publisher
See What You Know
1946
TV Series
Himself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
TV's Funniest Game Show Moments
1984
TV Special
Himself
Won Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
1960
Star on the Walk of Fame
Walk of Fame
Television
On 8 February 1960. At 6407 Hollywood Blvd.
Known for movies
What's My Line? (1950-1967) as Himself - Panelist / Himself - Moderator
The Match Game (1963-1969) as Himself - Team Captain / Himself - Team Member
See What You Know (1946) as Himself
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1968-1969) as Himself - Guest
$600,000
