Who’s Ultimately Who in ‘Who’s Who’

Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime.

And, departing, leave behind us

Footprints on the sands of time.

--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I bet you didn’t know that Mike Antonovich has such big feet. The Who’s Who Historical Society, which chose Longfellow’s rhyme as a prologue in the 1994 edition of “Who’s Who in California,” figures the Los Angeles County supervisor for a size 38. Now, maybe he won’t leave such big prints in the sands of time, but that’s how many lines appear under the “Who’s Who” entry for “ANTONOVICH, MICHAEL D.”

How big is a 38?

Consider that, by this measure, “REAGAN, RONALD WILSON” is merely a size 19--only half that of Antonovich. (“REAGAN, NANCY,” incidentally, is a size 30, which should raise fresh questions about who was really running America back then.)

And how does Mike Antonovich compare to his colleagues on the Board of Supervisors?

Deane Dana is a size 17. As for Ed Edelman, Gloria Molina and Yvonne Braithwaite Burke, well, there’s some sad news. The liberal majority of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, it seems, consists entirely of non-entities. They don’t rate a single line.

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Edelman, Molina and Burke shouldn’t take it too hard. They aren’t the only Californians of note ignored by “Who’s Who in California.”

A quick check revealed that although former Gov. Edmund (Pat) Brown is listed, Jerry and Kathleen are mentioned merely as his children. And speaking of Browns, the Assembly Speaker named Willie has no mention at all. Likewise, there is nothing concerning Senate Majority Leader David Roberti.

By now you may be wondering why it is that “Who’s Who” would list such Republicans as Antonovich and Dana while ignoring Democrats of equal or greater significance. Curious, I looked up Richard Riordan, or Dick Riordan to his friends. Perhaps you’ve heard of him. He’s the Republican who last year was elected mayor of Los Angeles. Perhaps you’ve heard of Los Angeles. It is California’s most populous city.

Dick Riordan? “Who’s Who in California” has never heard of him.

But “RIORDAN, CAROL CAMPBELL,” that’s a different story. She’s got 21 lines. She’s a “university television producer, entertainment and media consultant” who is affiliated with San Diego State University. You learn something new every day.

These omissions aren’t limited to the world of politics.

Let’s say you want to bone up for a meeting with MCA/Universal honcho Lew Wasserman, one of the most powerful men in Hollywood. To prepare, you reach for “Who’s Who” and look him up.

Let’s see . . . Here’s a Ware, a Warne, three Warners, two Warrens and, finally, Wasserman. But no. This is “WASSERMAN, BRUCE ARLEN.” He’s a dentist in San Mateo.

Or how about Michael Eisner, the Walt Disney Co. chairman? There’s no Eisner at all. The closest you’ll come is a fellow named Eisemann, a math professor in San Diego.

I looked up a few other names that any book titled “Who’s Who in California” should have. It was nice to see that California’s senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, both made the cut. But like fellow Democrat gubernatorial candidate Kathleen Brown, Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi didn’t make it. Former Mayor Tom Bradley is mentioned, but not former Mayor Sam Yorty. Hollywood, I figured, would be well represented. Looking up Steven Spielberg, I stumbled across studio executive Dawn Steel. Never did find Spielberg.

All of this seems a bit dubious from a publisher that in 1992 boasts that “ ‘Who’s Who in California’ is today recognized as the most reliable biographical reference work on Californians of achievement.” You can take their word for it.

This “Who’s Who”--and there are others, by different publishers--raises more questions.

“A question that occurs over and over again is ‘How was I selected to appear’ or ‘What does it take to be included,’ ” the publisher wrote in the foreword to the 1991 edition. “The only criteria we use in choosing candidates are achievement and/or position. Ultimate selection is based on reference value and demonstrated merit. In any event no biographee is admitted to these pages based merely on desire, wealth or social standing.”

Somehow, this didn’t reassure me. I mean no disrespect to Carol Riordan and Bruce Wasserman, but I suspect their namesakes may have greater “reference value.” Perhaps the criteria were changed for the 1994 edition, which offers no explanation about its methodology.

I wanted to call up Edna L. Barrett, who is listed as executive director and editor, to ask her about the book’s oversights and, especially, the financial aspects of this “Who’s Who.”

Cynics may suspect this to be the equivalent of the classified section of the vanity press, but I don’t think so. Many years ago, an honor-student friend of mine received such an invitation to appear in a book called “Who’s Who Among America’s High School Students,” or something like that. Goodness knows how many proud parents spend good money buying that book. I want to ask Edna Barrett who buys “Who’s Who.” My sincere hope is the “biographees” are the primary market and libraries don’t spend public money on a work that is, to put it kindly, lacking.

Unfortunately, “Who’s Who in California” doesn’t include the address of the Who’s Who Historical Society, which seems kind of strange. Perhaps this is another oversight.

On the other hand, if I were responsible for this book, I wouldn’t want to make it easy for anybody to track my footprints on the sands of time.