ADAMS, Franklin P.
Franklin Leopold Adams, Franklin Pierce Adams, Franklin P. Adams, "F.P.A."
15 November 1881 - 23 March 1960
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
American journalist, humorist, columnist & radio personality
Extended excerpt: [Reprint from Adams' newspaper column, “The Conning Tower”]
“Elections are won by men and women chiefly because most people vote against somebody, rather than for somebody. Not one in a thousand voters can tell you what the philosophy of any party is. What a candidate's philosophy is easier: Get elected, regardless.” (p. 206)
Source Note: The Nods and Becks book notes indicate that this cited line originally appeared in Beck's syndicated newspaper column “The Conning Tower” sometime between 1940-1941. (p. 204)
Source: Editor's Copy – Nods & Becks (1944|2nd Whittlesey House printing) Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) No. 5845287
“The trouble with this country is that there are too many politicians who believe, with conviction based on experience, that you can fool all of the people all of the time.”
~Franklin P. Adams, American journalist & humorist
Nods and Becks (1944) New York: Whittlesey House, 2nd printing, 1944, p. 74
Extended excerpt: None. Presented as a single aphorism. Reprint from Adams' newspaper column, “The Conning Tower”
Source Note: In Nods & Becks, Adams indicates that the cited paragraph originally appeared in his syndicated column, “The Conning Tower,” sometime between 1936-1937. (p. 72)
Source: Editor's Copy – Nods & Becks (1944|2nd Whittlesey House printing) Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) No. 5845287
“When the political columnists say ‘Every thinking man' they mean themselves, and when candidates appeal to ‘Every intelligent voter' they mean everybody who is going to vote for them.”
~Franklin P. Adams, American journalist & humorist
“Inside “Information, Please!” (1944) Nods and Becks New York: Whittlesey House, 2nd printing, 1944, p. 3
Extended excerpt: [Essay] “A careful historian – again meaning me (Note: When the political columnists say “Every thinking man” they mean themselves, and when candidates appeal to “Every intelligent voter” they mean everybody who is going to vote for them) – records preceding chapters.” (p. 3)
Source: Editor's Copy – Nods & Becks (1944|2nd Whittlesey House printing) Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) No. 5845287
“Years ago we discovered the exact point, the dead centre of middle age. It occurs when you are too young to take up golf and too old to rush up to the net.”
~Franklin P. Adams, American journalist & humorist
Nods and Becks (1944) New York: Whittlesey House, 2nd printing, 1944, p. 52
Extended excerpt: [Short excerpt from Adams' syndicated column, “The Conning Tower.” Adams notes in Nods and Becks that the original column was published sometime between 1934-1935.] “The Metropolitan Life's actuarial department says that the average of expectation has increased; and that the old man of the eighties is now middle-aged. We refuse to be fooled. Years ago we discovered the exact point, the dead center of middle age. It occurs when you are too young to take up golf and too old to rush up to the net.” (p. 52)
Source: Editor's Copy – Nods & Becks (1944|2nd Whittlesey House printing) Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) No. 5845287
Resources
Learn more about Franklin P. Adams | Here are a few good places to start:
- ‘Franklin Pierce Adams, 1881-1960' | Poetry Foundation – Brief profile and links to select poems: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/franklin-pierce-adams
- Something Else Again (1920) One of several collections of Adams' contributions to New York Tribune, Harper's Magazine, and other papers & journals; full text available online via Google books: https://books.google.com/books?id=cVchAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=franklin+pierce+adams
- ‘Poetry Man' | National Baseball Hall of Fame article by David Krell about Franklin Pierce Adams' most famous poem, “Baseball's Sad Lexicon.” Page includes photo of Adams shooting pool with Heywood Broun & poem text: https://baseballhall.org/discover-more/stories/short-stops/franklin-pierce-adams-sad-lexicon
- ‘Information Please film (very rare)' (c.1938-1948) RKO video footage of the radio show “Information Please,” with Franklin P. Adams as one of the panelists. Video quality is poor – but the audio is clear; posted December 2010 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXIvTqvhjTI
- ‘Franklin P. Adams, Columnist, 78, Dies' (24 March 1960) New York Times front-page obituary, pages 1 & 33; online via The New York Times archives [subscription service]: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1960/03/24/105187270.html?action=click&contentCollection=Archives&module=ArticleEndCTA®ion=ArchiveBody&pgtype=article&pageNumber=1
- Franklin P. Adams | Open Library – Adams texts available to borrow & read online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https://openlibrary.org/search?q=franklin+p.+adams&author_key=OL2187620A&mode=ebooks&has_fulltext=true
- Photo credit: ADAMS, Franklin P. (c.1940s) Profile photo [photographer not named] “Michigan Men” alumni feature, Michigan Ensian (University of Michigan yearbook) (1948) ed. Buck Dawson, Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, p. 56; online via WikiMedia: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Franklin_P._Adams.jpg
