On the Loss of a Fellow Communicator
By Dave Orman
The recent passing of George Plimpton - the "everyman" of American letters and a companion to the likes of Ernest
Hemingway, John Kennedy and Norman Mailer - brought to
mind an illustrious moment in IABC history.
It's not a moment you would have seen mentioned in commentaries
on the death of the 73-year-old New York native. Those
stories focused on his patrician demeanor, his occasional
acting career, and most often the first-person experiences
he later wrote about in such books as "Paper Lion"
(an account of his days as a pre-season quarterback for
the Detroit Lions) and "Bogey Man" (the story
of his brief time on the pro golf tour).
No, the moment that involved IABC was his brief time -
two days, to be exact - as a business communicator. That
came in early 1979, after IABC leaders (and Plimpton himself)
accepted my proposal that he join the employee communication
staff of Los Angeles-based ARCO and, a few months later,
talk about his experience as the banquet speaker at IABC's
international conference in San Francisco.
To this day, I can quote the beginning of my introduction
of Plimpton before 1,800 diners - at that time the largest
crowd in IABC history:
"The idea of George Plimpton spending time as a business
communicator, and
then talking with us about it, conjured up a wonderful
image. Wouldn't it be wonderful, I thought, if the man
who had faced a hoard of onrushing NFL linemen, the man
who had teed it up before the eyes of the world's greatest
golf pros, the man who had waited for just the right time
to ring his chimes during "Mahler's Fourth Symphony" - wouldn't it be wonderful, I thought, if the man who
had done all that and more, would tell us that the most difficult thing he's ever had to do was
to get an article past some nervous vice president."
Rae Leaper surely remembers the event. The former Chevron
executive was the IABC president, and seated next to Plimpton
at the head table, looked forward to some fascinating
conversation given the circles he had traveled in. I was
on the other side, but Rae and I had talked before. Even
if she had wanted to talk much with me, I spent
most of the time reviewing my introduction notes. Plimpton,
on the other hand, was hardly there at all. Instead, he
spent much of his time headed toward the men's room. On
several occasions, then-executive director John Bailey
followed, just to make sure Plimpton didn't decide to
excuse himself, rather than relieve himself.
He didn't, of course, and his talk was one of the most
entertaining in IABC history. Plimpton may have boxed
with Archie Moore, pitched to Willie Mays and performed
as a circus trapeze artist. But for a generation of IABC
members, he will be remembered for the insights and entertainment
he provided one special June night in San Francisco. He
was, after all, one of us.
He had told me, for example, that the revered Paris
Review - for which he served as editor - was marking
its 25th anniversary. During the introduction, I noted
that most quarterly publications marking a 25th anniversary
would have 100 issues to show for it. I also revealed
that the Paris Review, during that time, had only
79. "I'm sure many of us in this room," I said,
"can relate to those mathematics."
Early in his comments he shared colleague Kurt Vonnegut's
idea for improving the lives of writers, which was "to
require everyone on welfare, before picking up their monthly
check, to hand in a book report." He recalled his
boxing experience with Archie Moore, telling us that he
wasn't looking forward to the experience because he suffered
from "something called sympathetic response, which
means if you're hit, you weep."
He also told the story of how the editors of the Harvard
Lampoon, as an initiation rite before he could join
the publication's staff, insisted he run in the Boston
Marathon. Plimpton explained that the editors did not
insist, however, that he run in the marathon from the
beginning, and that he was "prudent enough to enter
about a block and a half from the finish."
"I think it was there," he noted, "that
this whole idea of participatory journalism, with its
magnificent climax working for the AR-co, uh, Spark, began."
I asked Plimpton how he fills out that line on the U.S.
income tax form that asks for "occupation."
I used his answer when I concluded with, "Ladies
and gentlemen, it's my pleasure to present writer/editor
George Plimpton."
Dave Orman is a long-time IABC member and a former manager
of employee communications at ARCO.
Discuss this topic with other IABC members at: www.iabc.com/memberspeak.
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