On Saturday, June 10, James L Greenwald, long time New Canaan resident, and author Linnie Larson Pickering will be at the Elm Street Book Store in New Canaan from 12:00 to 2:30 to discuss and sign copies of Ms Pickering’s just published oral history of Greenwald, Blue Sky.
“My first dream was to become a songwriter,” says Greenwald. Instead he embarked on a legendary 42-year career at Katz Communications, rising to Chairman and CEO, and where he still holds the title of Chairman Emeritus.
Greenwald’s candid, inspirational, entertaining and often hilarious oral history describes living life to the fullest: childhood and college days, first loves, jobs, marriages, sports, and the famous personalities who cross his path. Author Pickering vividly captures Greenwald’s passion for life, which embraces the enthusiasm of youth, devotion to the broadcasting industry, business acumen, poignant times, and the challenges of aging and declining health, including the stroke he suffered at age 84. His passion for life is contagious …and he still loves writing songs.

Linnie Larson Pickering grew up in San Francisco and graduated from the Hamlin School. She received her BA in English from The University of Pennsylvania and her master’s degree in social work from Columbia University, where she won the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement. She has been married to her college sweetheart forever, and they currently reside in Stamford, CT.

Excerpt:
“When I returned from serving in the Korean War and was looking for a job, the ad in the New York Times read, “Rep Salesman Wanted.” Since my job before enlisting had been with a textile company that put the colorful stripes on regimental ties, known in the industry as Rep ties, I quickly answered it, thinking I was going to be selling neckties. What better lead-in could I have?
Arriving at the employment agency, the interviewer asked why I wanted to be a rep salesman. ‘Selling neckties is what I have always wanted to do!’ I declared with great enthusiasm.
‘Get out of here,’ the interviewer said. ‘This is not a job about selling neckties. It is a job about selling broadcast time.’
I flashed an agency smile: ‘Selling broadcast time is what I have always wanted to do!’ ”
Thus began an amazing forty-two year career at the Katz Agency that made him a titan in the broadcasting industry and feel like the luckiest man alive – more excited and eager to go to work than anyone he ever knew.
“In my previous job with the textile firm, I had discovered that when I tried selling fabric, going to clients’ offices and displaying samples, I was not only embarrassed but often unsuccessful. By the time I got to Katz and was selling radio broadcast time, it was completely different. I was selling imagination. I was selling poetry. I was selling the intangible. It was like songwriting. It was like blue sky.”