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A fascinating biography of Reverend William Leroy Stidger (1885-1949), the early twentieth-century preacher who brought modern marketing and publicity tactics to his crusade to save souls.
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click here to read a recent article about the book in the Litchfield County Times
How I Came to Write This Book
by Jack Hyland
Part way into my labors on Evangelism's First Modern Media Star, Reverend Bill Stidger completed, I was talking to Brendan Gill -the distinguished writer and critic of The New Yorker- who expressed interest in reading my chapter on Elmer Gantry since he had known Sinclair Lewis at Yale. I gave him what I had written and then heard nothing from him for some time. One day, out of the blue, a letter arrived. Brendan apologized for his delay, saying, " My deadline met, I took your manuscript home with me late yesterday afternoon and read it with great pleasure last evening. It proved to be a happy reward for my stern self-discipline as an author: an excellent piece of work in itself and one that promises to be, as a finished whole, a remarkable accomplishment . . . I look forward to reading more of the manuscript and to the publication of the book." Brendan's boost lifted my spirits again and again in the coming months, especially when a particular section I was working on became tough going. My inspiration to write, however, had earlier origins.
When I was quite young, my grandfather, the subject of this biography, would read to me from a book of verses which he had written. I particularly remember a poem entitled "The Child and The Book."
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Its opening lines were: "He who gives a child a book gives that child a sweeping look; through its pages, down the ages, gives that child a ship to sail, where the far adventures hail." From then on books and "far adventures" were always linked in my mind.
My mother read and wrote almost as avidly as her father; the postman would frequently show up with a parcel of books that my grandfather-Bill-had finished and sent on. For my mother, there was an almost indistinguishable boundary between the world of everyday life and the world of the imagination. And, when my mother would write a poem or a story, she would ask me to comment, drawing me along in the excitement of her activities. It was in this way that I discovered the thrill of reading and writing.
I have always written, written, written: poems, short stories and essays. As events happened, my life quite closely traced that of my grandfather's, for when my father died I was twelve and the eldest, just as Bill had been the eldest of his brother and sisters and nine when his mother died. The forces which directed him were set in motion the moment it was clear, with his mother gone, that he had to get serious about his life. I date the crucial change in my own life to a similar moment in August, 1950, when my mother walked across a beach to tell me that my father had been found dead at forty-three. From then on, I was in a hurry to "get somewhere," which translated into the need to excel, to succeed, which, for me, meant going into the world of banking. Somewhere, though the muse waited.
A moment came, six years ago, on a fall weekend at Kenyon College when my son, Jonathan, in his first year, went off with some buddies to play power frisbee, and I ducked into the library. Out of idle curiosity I selected a biography on Sinclair Lewis because his vocal and public fight with Bill over Elmer Gantry was the stuff of family legend. |
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The author, Jack Hyland, Bill Stidger's grandson |
There, in Mark Shorer's splendid biography, was the battle portrayed, but it-perhaps understandably-was slanted in Lewis's favor, as seen through the eyes of the Rev. Birkhead, a rival of Bill's. To my wounded astonishment, Shorer went so far as to call Bill a "boor." Those were fighting words; the glove had been thrown down, and I decided to find out the truth of that statement. So began the project that has its first stopping point in this completed story of Bill Stidger's extraordinary life.
Below is a list of some of the remarkable accomplishments of Bill Stidger's earthly tenure:
Wrote and published 52 books including two on his experiences in the First World War, a biography of Henry Ford, a biography of Edwin Markham and a biography of the Roosevelts, as well as thousands of articles and letters.
Had a national radio program for three years called "Getting the Most Out of Life," in 1937-39, and was referred to by The New Yorker as the highest paid preacher in the world.
Revolutionized preaching and enhanced his position as a social activist by using modern marketing techniques.
Invented an electrified revolving cross in 1913 to put on his first church with the result that, as The New Yorker said, "It packed 'em in."
Closed down the infamous Barbary Coast in San Francisco in 1915 driving the pimps and prostitutes from the parlor houses, saloons, cribs and cow-yards.
Drove an ambulance through mine fields, exploding shells and poison gas on the front lines in World War I. Slugged a derogatory, hostile officer earning himself the nickname of "Gyp the Blood."
Confronted the Japanese Government on their brutal aggression in China and Korea in the early 1920's and was refused entry onto Japanese soil for his well-publicized criticism.
Became the official spokesman for Henry Ford, then the wealthiest and the most powerful man in the world.
Forced the Mayor of Detroit from office for running the most corrupt and dangerous city in the country during Prohibition.
Challenged Sinclair Lewis to write a book on the ministry, a challenge that led to Lewis writing Elmer Gantry. Its publication created a furor and the book was banned in many cities. Bill Stidger had let it be known that Lewis would be writing about him, which led many to think he was the model for Gantry (which, in part, he was). A battle royale ensued between the two men, conducted in the press and from the pulpit, which neither of them won.
Asked to meet Adolph Hitler in 1935 to dispel the rumors that the German Fuhrer was physically incapacitated and mentally unstable.
Was a teacher and educator at the leading Methodist school of theology (Boston University) and for twenty years taught students on dynamic preaching methods. He changed many students' lives, and they, in turn, carried his message to more than 50 million people.
Conducted the radio campaign for Roosevelt's re-election in 1936 and was a frequent guest in FDR's White House for the informal, exclusive Sunday night dinners where, among other things, Eleanor scrambled the eggs.
Friend of Luther Burbank, Jack Dempsey, William Allen White, Will Rogers, Fred Stone, Branch Rickey and Cecil B. deMille. Ethel Barrymore, the reigning first woman of the American stage, insisted on keeping her appointment at his church despite her having a raging temperature of 104, because she did not want to let such a good friend down.
Profiled in The New Yorker and Time.
A man whose infectious enthusiasm and belief in the ability of each person to find the best that was within them changed the course of countless lives.
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