J
ARTHUR GODFREY'S
LESSON IN LIFE
He is not the "Old Redhead" any more;
the controversial star who celebrates his
57th birthday this week has been
mellowed and relaxed by his ordeal with cancer
By HERBERT KAMM
r
AT its annual dinner in New York last January,
the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
saluted Arthur Godfrey with a salvo of tributes
and presented him with a plaque for 30 years of
distinguished service to radio and television.
When the irrepressible redhead rose to acknowl
edge the honor, he found himself in the unusual
predicament of groping for words. Finally, as he
stood scratching his head in characteristic fashion,
he blurted: "Golly, do I really deserve all this?"
It was a rare and genuine moment of humility
for the battle-scarred veteran of the air waves.
Even the cynics in the audience were moved.
Godfrey has long been noted as a consummate
actor, a charmer who can turn on the guile and
turn it off as any occasion demands. But it was,
or so it seemed, a new and different Godfrey who
stood before this audience of peers, awkwardly
telling them that he was grateful for their esteem.
Since that January evening, a new and different
Godfrey has indeed emerged from the tough, some
times ruthless personality the public has come to
know the Godfrey who fired all of the "little
Godfreys" of his radio and TV shows until there
were none; the Godfrey who has battled and
taunted network and sponsor; the Godfrey who has
been something of an emperor.
The Arthur Godfrey of today is a more placid
Godfrey more gentle, more kindly, more under
standing. It is a Godfrey entirely in consonance
with another image a man who, less than a year
and a half ago, walked out of the shadow of death
after an operation for lung cancer.
As the famed entertainer approaches his 57th
birthday on August 31, he is a man happier
and at greater peace with himself than he has
ever been before.
"You know, life becomes a very simple proposi
tion when you don't know how long you're going to
be around," he told me in one of the few inter
views he has granted since his cancer ordeal.
"Things that used to seem important just aren't."
He is constantly aware of the "lucky break" he
got through survival, and he means to make him
self worthy of it.
"I got the break because of the great skill and
courage of my physicians and because so many
people prayed for it," he says. "I'll have to admit
that I didn't pray for it, because I never ask any
thing for myself. Besides, I've already had too
many breaks. I only ask to be worthy of whatever
is granted."
Paradoxical as it may seem, Godfrey is more
intent on keeping active since his operation, simply
because he feels it is the best way to demonstrate
his gratitude for being alive.
Each day is more precious to him, and he goes
about his work with an enthusiasm that awes
even his closest associates. He is seen only occa
sionally now on television, in which he had been a
fixture for 10 seasons. However, he is completely
occupied in radio, the medium that launched him
in October, 1929.
"I love this work. I love every minute of it,"
he says. "People have suggested that maybe it's
time I thought of retirement. Me retire? Not till
they put me away. To retire is to grow old, and I
don't want to grow old ever. I do want to live a
long time, because there is so much worth doing.
"My way of relaxing," he adds, "is not to do
nothing, but to do something else. I find it very
stimulating and restful at the same time."
Godfrey pointed out that, aside from his five-day-a-week
schedule on CBS radio, he devotes
many hours to his large Hereford ranch in Vir
ginia, riding and breeding horses, piloting his air
plane, and exploring progressive jazz which he has
recently grown interested in.
His day usually begins at 9 in the morning and
doesn't end until after 6 in the evening. He admits
being a perfectionist about his radio program but
describes his day as having "far less work and far
more fun" than it had when he was a regular both
on TV and radio. The reason: he feels closer to the
audience and the people he works with.
"It takes from four to five hours a day to put the
radio show together," he says. "Sometimes that
easygoing sound comes hard. It's like pulling
teeth if you're not in the right mood. You have to
sit and noodle with the boys in the band for hours
before the right feeling comes along. When it does,
as it usually does, it's nothing but fun.
"The show also gives me a chance to meet a lot
of people I might miss otherwise. Nearly every
day an important guest drops in and we chat. No
notes, no rigged questions, no rehearsal. Just an
hour of getting acquainted. It's great!"
Godfrey talks freely about cancer, from which
he has been declared "pathologically free."
"It may be some time before the researchers,
with all their diligence, find the cure or, even more
important, the preventive for cancer, but that
doesn't mean that we should go around being
afraid of it," he says. "The sooner cancer can be
discovered and diagnosed, the quicker it can be
removed surgically, and removal means the dif
ference between life and death for the patient if
accomplished in time. So, we must learn to live
with this cancer menace. We mustn't fear it.
"The doctors have told me to go in peace,"
Godfrey says. "That's what I'm trying to do in
everything I do."
E3JE3E32KK
COVER:
Piolo(;i(ipiLr Ozzie Sweet went up in a
helicopter to shoot today's dramnn'c cover
photo. Whether you're a nouice or a vet
eran at the sport, you'll enjoy "JO Ways to
Make Boating More Fun." It's on page 7.
Fa.mlly
WiseJiIr J
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