So As I Was Saying . . .

My Somewhat Eventful Life

Frank Mankiewicz, Joel Swerdlow

• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN: 9781250070647
• eBook ISBN: 9781466880979
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Political Biographies
• Index: Politics & International Relations

"I first met Robert Kennedy because I spoke Spanish. I spoke Spanish because the U.S. Army taught me that before sending me to France, Belgium, and Germany to fight Hitler's Army. This makes complete sense if you are familiar with military bureaucracy."
Such is the trademark wit of Frank Mankiewicz. With his dry sense of humor and self-deprecating humility—despite his many accomplishments—Frank's voice speaks from the pages of So as I was Saying... in a way that is both conversational and profound. Before he died in 2014 Frank's fascinating life took him from Beverly Hills to the battlefields of Europe; from the halls of power in Washington D.C. to the far corners of the world. A lifelong student of humanity and mentor to many, including presidents, Frank was a loving father, husband, and friend, and his legacy is will endure for generations.
Born into Hollywood royalty but determined to make his own way, Frank served in World War Two, wrote speeches for Robert Kennedy, ran a presidential campaign, carried messages to Fidel Castro, served as president of National Public Radio (helping create Morning Edition), and as regional director for the Peace Corps. Naturally such a long and interesting life gave rise to a myriad of opinions, and Frank was not afraid to share them. In this intriguing, insightful, and often humorous memoir, Frank recalls his favorite memories while sharing his opinions on everything from Zionism to smartphones. Imbued with the personality of one of the twentieth century's most gifted raconteurs, So As I Was Saying... invokes nostalgia for the past even as it gives hope for the future.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Notice
• Dedications
• Preface: A Portrait of Frank Mankiewicz
• Foreword: “If Your Last Name Is Mankiewicz” by Ben Mankiewicz
• Foreword: “Somebody’s Going to Offer You Something” by Josh Mankiewicz
• Introduction: Frank’s “Rosebud” by Joel L. Swerdlow, Ph.D.
• 1. In Which I Make a Birthday Visit to Robert F. Kennedy’s Grave, Compare Myself to Someone Named Fred Snodgrass, and Mention That Speaking Spanish Led Me to Robert F. Kennedy
• 2. In Which I Grow Up as a Mankiewicz in Hollywood, Return to Family Dinners—an Algonquin Round Table West, with F. Scott Fitzgerald and Harpo Marx—and Drive into the Hills with My High School Dates
• 3. In Which I Watch Orson Welles Rehearse Live Radio Broadcasts and Develop a Love for Radio That Later Shapes Much of Today’s NPR
• 4. In Which “in Three Months and for a Few Thousand Dollars” Herman Mankiewicz Creates Citizen Kane and We Learn the Secret of “Rosebud”
• 5. In Which I Dismiss My Oral History Interviews, Play with “Retronym”—a Word I Invented—and Resent an Attack on My Memory
• 6. In Which I Return to My Childhood, Discuss Mrs. Moore, My Seventh-Grade English Teacher, Recite Poetry by Memory, Remember Late-Night Arguments About Zionism, and Explain “Unrequited Hatred”
• 7. In Which I Discuss the Death of My Father and His Obituary Triggers a Search for Why He Was Hated by the Nazi Leader Joseph Goebbels
• 8. In Which Pearl Harbor Knocks Me Out of America First, James Joyce Enters My Life, as a World War II Infantryman I Learn Spanish, a Mess Sergeant Quotes Gilbert and Sullivan While Serving Broken Ping-Pong Balls, During the Battle of the Bulge I Receive Dry Socks from General Eisenhower, I Fall in Love with a Red Cross Volunteer, and Begin to Worry America Might Have Jumped the Shark
• 9. In Which I Call Death “the Lady in the Marketplace,” See Obituaries as Literature, Explain What Is Remembered Versus What Is Important, Continue to Quote James Joyce, and Seem to Be Writing My Own Obituary
• 10. In Which an Electoral Victory Makes Me a Local Political Boss, I Become a Hollywood Lawyer, and I Work for Indians in Pre-casino Days
• 11. In Which I Help Form the Peace Corps, Am Radicalized by What I See in Latin America, Train Volunteers to Be Community Organizers, Become a Chum of Donald Rumsfeld’s, Confront LBJ in the Oval Office, and Receive a Phone Call from Someone Claiming to Be Robert F. Kennedy
• 12. In Which I Am Certified by Robert F. Kennedy, I Assure Him That Debating Ronald Reagan Will Be “Easy,” We Visit the JFK Gravesite in Arlington, I Discuss My Favorite RFK Speech, and RFK Runs for President, Making Remarks That Still Haunt, Inspire, and Challenge Us
• 13. In Which I Address the Democratic National Convention While Police “Riot,” I Receive Advice from a Supreme Court Justice, a Dead Puppy Is Blamed for Watergate, George McGovern Winning in 1976 Seems Reasonable, and I Say Kind (Personal) Things About Ronald Reagan
• 14. In Which the Death of Daily Print Newspapers Makes Me Grumpy and I Bemoan the Loss of “Above the Fold,” “Jump,” and “Op-Ed”
• 15. In Which I Carry Messages and Cigars Between Henry Kissinger and Fidel Castro, Clarify Baseball’s New Designated Hitter Rule to Cuban Officials, and Discuss Freedom, JFK, and the “Splendid Marxist Message of Jaws” with Castro
• 16. In Which I Agree with Hunter S. Thompson About “Truth,” Critique American Journalism, and Initiate America’s Most Popular Radio News Program
• 17. In Which I Offer Public Relations Advice (“Tell the Truth, Tell It All, Tell It Now”), Explain Why Rich People Fighting over Money Make the Best Clients, and Show That “Commode” Means Different Things in Different Parts of the United States
• 18. In Which the Various Strands Seem to Come Together and My Story Ends—at Least for Now
• Acknowledgments
• About the Authors
• Also by Frank Mankiewicz and Joel L. Swerdlow, Ph.D.
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• Copyright