Word: clubman
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Befuddled Blessedness. Structurally the book seems simple: a narrative about the struggle between suburban neighbors unabashedly named Hammer and Nailles. The latter, Eliot Nailles, is an apparently commonplace industrial chemist who now sells a spiffy mouthwash. A churchgoer, country clubman, volunteer fireman and commuter, Nailles, in most modern literary hands, might emerge as a figure of fun. Cheever loves him, however, and sees in his dominant character istics-passionate monogamy, joy in small things, and especially in his inarticulate love for his teen-age son Tony-a kind of befuddled blessedness. It is a quality not unlike Billy Budd...
Whitfield's brainchild was The Clubman's Club. It is designed to take advantage of Britain's stiff licensing regulations, which have led to a proliferation of "private" clubs. Gambling houses have to be licensed as clubs; so do any drinking places that stay open after 11 p.m. Anyone who joins Clubman's is provided with full membership in 400 not-so-choosy gambling, drinking, golf, tennis, striptease and other clubs, most of which charge a nominal yearly fee of $2.40 or more. Clubman's members, who pay $15 a year, receive little red booklets...
...Clubman's success has been low overhead. There is not much more to do than process memberships as they roll in, and a staff of six handles the work. Whitfield and Tanner spend only five hours a day on the job and devote the rest of the time to their homes, their wives and children. Their spartan personal office contains little more than two desks for the bosses. "It's just a place to sit," says Whitfield. "If we were all cluttered up, we couldn't be making money because we wouldn't have time...
Knocking on Doors. Since going public in 1967, Clubman's has increased its capitalization to $50 million. It has acquired an advertising agency, a vending-machine company, and a chain of betting shops that now number more than 100. The company has also spread into liquor sales and auto rentals; three weeks ago, it signed a conditional agreement to acquire Ace Industrial Holdings, an amusement-machine manufacturer that earned $1,400,000 before taxes in 1968. Last year, spurred by acquisitions, Clubman's revenues leaped from $1,100,000 to $37 million, while profits reached...
...daughter of hers when she made her own debut at 17-into show business. The daughter of a New York voice coach. Vivian Wessell began with a small part in a Lehar operetta, and ended her theatrical career some five years later after she met wealthy, well-born Boston Clubman Alexander Lynde Cochrane...