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Curtis Benton talks —
by
Qarol Knox
IN A cosy, charming little bunga■ low in Hollywood, Curtis Benton sits over a typewriter six days a week and taps out fiction. He is a quiet man, given to study and meditation. His years rest easily on his placid brow and his graying hair lends a dignity to the man. And to really know him, and understand his fine character, you would have to see him at work in his garden of gladioli.
There you have a fair picture of the man who is rapidly becoming known as one of the finest fight broadcasters in the country. For Curtis Benton has another hobby beside the raising of fine flowers — he is a lover of the ring, a fight fan of the first water.
• Each Friday night Benton climbs high in the rafters to a special booth above the ring at the Hollywood Legion stadium. KNX is the station through which the fights are broadcast.
A powerful pair of German field glasses, so designed as to be worn as spectacles, aid Benton in making out every detail. His mouth is close to the microphone; but his eyes never leave the ring.
"I form a mental frame around the two pair of gloves of the fighters," he explains. "I don't watch their feet, their faces or their bodies. I watch their hands. Then, when one connects, I really see the
SEES ALLKNOWS ALL
blow. My glasses, a powerful pair of Sport Oculars, are so strong I can spot a fly walking across the canvas floor of the ring. By having them actually attached to my head, I have perfect freedom."
• Benton is one of the few sports broadcasters who never tries to fake interest in his broadcasts. His announcement and descriptions are cold blooded and accurate. Unless he actually feels enthusiasm, he doesn't allow a note of it to creep into his voice. As a result, he is looked upon as being thoroughly reliable.
An outstanding feature of Curtis Benton's broadcasting, is the rapidity with which he talks. And, though he never skips a punch and misses no action, his enunciation remains perfect no matter what the speed of his voice. He attains this result by never permitting his excitement to get away with him; by remaining calm when he feels like yelling and cheering. It's a cold blooded business, he says.
Benton the man is even more interesting than Benton the broadcaster. His conversation jumps
with lightning like rapidity from fights to flowers, from anecdotes to literature. In the middle of a discussion as to the best treatment for aphis, he will suddenly be reminded of a story he wants to tell you about the time he saw Ace Hudkins lift a haymaker to Johnny Adams' jaw.
He'll interrupt his own monologue on the charm of the Renaissance and the technical difference between the Dutch and German schools of color work, to explain why a right cross to the chin is more effective in a fast close match than a left body punch followed by a short right to the side of the head.
• "Fighters today are just as good as they ever were," he will tell you. "They're a little more clever boxers, and more careful of their faces. But they offer more interesting matches. The really clever boxers make the most interesting fights to put on the air. It calls for elaborate description, gives the reaction of a fast, quick moving match. Sluggers are often interesting to (Continued on Page 33'
— as He Watches it.