Home
Search transcripts:    Advanced Search
Notable New     Yorkers
Select     Notable New Yorker

Andrew HeiskellAndrew Heiskell
Photo Gallery
Transcript

Session:         Page of 824

Q:

What was Billings' relationship with [Henry] Luce like?

Heiskell:

Well, Harry used to come down and go over things with John. John was always deferential to Harry. I guess he was, among other things, not just a perfect commander but he was also a perfect soldier. In relation to Harry, he did pretty much what Harry wanted him to do, and rarely got in to arguments with him, at least not in my presence.

Q:

Were the two men close?

Heiskell:

I don't think that John was really close to anybody. Harry was such a strange mixture of people all rolled up in one that I'm not really sure he was ever close to anybody. Also, you know, when you're the boss you tend to avoid intimate friendships with people on the staff. It's an awful lot simpler if you do. Favoritism is avoided. All those kind of problems. “The boss likes so and so, but doesn't like so and so”. You're just creating a lot of problems for yourself.

Q:

Did he hold strong political views?

Heiskell:

No.

Q:

Billings.





© 2006 Columbia University Libraries | Oral History Research Office | Rights and Permissions | Help