Sobel, Bernard
BERNARD SOBEL
Photo from Lafayette Journal-Courier 31 Oct 1953 p 32
Well, I will say I thoroughly enjoyed researching this man who was born in 1887 in Attica. Bernard Sobel, best known as a publicist, as well as an American playwright. He helped make Eddie Cantor, Will Rogers, Len Errol as well as Vivienne Segal, Billie Burke (who married Florenz Ziegfeld); and thousands of others. He went to Purdue where he earned a Bachelor of Science, but the University of Chicago awarded him the degree of Dr. of Philosophy and he holds a Master of Arts from the U of Wisconsin, at the time of Rian James’ article in the Brooklyn NY Daily Eagle 22 Nov 1931, he was the only press agent in the whole wide world to have three college degrees. In his second year at Purdue, he taught some school psychology but he really desired to teach French. Well one day he got his chance when the Wabash overflowed and the bridge went with it. The regular French instructor couldn’t get across so Sobel was able to teach French awhile. He said sheepishly that his greatest thrill of his lifetime “was standing by and watching that bridge being carried away.”
At Purdue he belonged to Sigma Delta Chi, an honorary newspaper frat. He studied violin and one summer played in a Spanish Coloratura, earning his money in that way. By accident, he became a press agent as he was asked to herald a senior class play – he did, having written the advance publicity, presided over the show and written the critique. Afterwards, he started writing reviews for those coming to Lafayette to perform. Oscar Siegel, the baritone tried to convince him to go to NY to write but he took a professorship in Drama at the University of Indiana instead. His first job had been on the Morning Journal in Lafayette and his first real recognition was when he wrote a one-act play titled The Spider Web that was produced by the then famous Hull House Players in Chicago. On his summer break, he did go to NY and secured a two-week job with The Theater Magazine earning $25 for each of those two weeks. His fame jumped fairly quickly as a writer on theater. Earl Carroll hired him when he built his first theater but was publicist for others, including Ziegfelds.
He had a bit of a twist for about anyone he interviewed or reviewed. Perfect example was that when he wrote about Lillian Lorraine, he told a simple little yarn about her doing her own washing – it broke her into every paper in America, so to speak (well the important ones that would boost her career anyway).
Next, he did what he was meant to do I believe – became a free lance press agent.
He loved blondes and was always surrounded by them. The above article noted that “he has known, associated and worked with more beautiful women than any individual in the world, and he was still single.
June Cameron in the Pittsburg Press 20 years later (18 Oct 1953 p 83) wrote about Bernard. She gave a bit of a tale on him, as well, saying that he was first captured by the theater at the age of 7 when he saw a circus for the first time. From that day on, he was determined he would make himself some part of the show-world. In his autobiographical piece, Broadway Heartbeat, she said that he reminisces about the great and near-great for whom he worked. She felt the best part was when he wrote about the Ziegfeld era. He wrote other theatrical type books, as well.
The best article I read about Bernard Sobel was written in the Indianapolis Star (26 March 1964 p 9) by New Yorker, Jane Allison upon his death when he passed away at the age of 76. She discussed the impressive obituaries in the New York and other papers but then she told what Sobel thought of himself highlighting his feelings toward his life. He told of a hurricane blasted cyclone that trudged into Attica when he was being birthed and “the cyclone baby,” occurred. He, with jittery features and general apprehensiveness that have made me easily ludicrous throughout a lifetime.” I did get a giggle after having said that the next note was “So that is how the tall, donnish, snapping black-eyed Lafayette native really saw himself.” Other than that slight booboo, it was a great article.
He never married and his sister Lorraine lived with him and cared for him while he wrote and wrote. She praised him greatly as when she was a cub reporter, he gave her an interview and took her to dinner with Lerner & Lowe of My Fair Lady. He’d even call her and give her ideas for columns. Telling of his estate, he left it to Lorraine but he also left a large sum of money to the Ziegfeld Club (which he began by the way) so that they could have a large dinner party on him. She finished the article by saying that two young Hoosier newspaper folks were honored in Manhattan – Barbara Yuncker from Greencastle honored at a Front Page Dinner Dance for the distinguished reporting for her NY Post series on how to select a doctor and Richard Madden, an IU-educated Hoosier took a Page One award for his sideline legislator series for the Herald Trib. And still in the journalistic field, DePauw graduates Kay Augburn and Jenny Ross have just taken jobs here. Kay is with the New Yorker magazine and Jenny is with the Wall Street Journal!
Note: Although born in Attica, Sobel did grow-up in Lafayette where his father, Nathan Sobel began a small cigar factory naming his first cigar the “Lafayette.” - Lafayette Journal Courier 21 Aug 1933 – the J-C was good about keeping everyone informed of what this “Lafayettian” was doing!