Session: 123456789101112131415161718192021         Page 865866867868869870871872873874875876877878879880881882883884885886887888889890891892893894895896897898899900901902902a903904905906907908909910911912913914915916917918919920921 of 1029

said, “If they want this deal, they're going to give us exactly what we want or--no soap!”

So they arranged for a Sunday meeting between the General and me at Gen. Sarnoff's house on Sixty-eighth Street. It's only a few blocks from my own home. It was a cold Sunday afternoon in December. There was a wonderful football game on TV that day. The Colts and the Packers were playing a championship game. I was indignant that I had to leave for this allimportant meeting when I was watching this football game. Incidentally, it was on CBS, not on NBC. I found the General waiting for me. Mrs. Sarnoff, who is a wonderful woman, was watching some unimportant American Football League game because it was on NBC. I said, “You're watching the wrong game.” She said, “I don't watch CBS.” She speaks with a great French accent. She said, “The only thing that I watch on CBS is you on “What's My Line?" So she was my ally all the way through.

After the General greeted me, he said, “You're being very stubborn and stupid, demanding this extra two one-hundredths of a per cent, which is just some whim of yours. I'm not going back to my stockholders. I've been back twice on account of you to say that you weren't satisfied. You are either going to take sixty one-hundredths or the deal is off.” I said, “Fine, General. Let's watch the end of the football game. We're missing a very important game. Let's turn it on. We'll still be able to catch the last quarter. He said, “You mean that you won't make the deal?" I said, “Of course not. I told you that I want sixty-two one-hundredths. Let's forget the whole