Robert Cromie Builds a Chicago Media Career on Love of People
Building on his love of people, Robert Cromie wrote for the Chicago Tribune and created two television shows and a radio show about books and authors.
Robert Cromie covered World War II for The Chicago Tribune, reporting the action of the Pacific Theater and marching through Europe with General George Patton’s Army. Returning from World War II service, Cromie became a sportswriter before he switched to reporting and writing about books. He became famous for his Chicago Tribune columns about books and interviews with fellow writers and graduated to television and radio programs. WGN television broadcast "Cromie’s Circle" from 1969 to 1980 and WTTW television broadcast "Cromie’s Book Beat" nationwide from 1964 to 1980. As a reporter, he was enchanted with people and their life stories and he despised injustices and revealed them through vivid newspaper stories.
Cromie often entered a battlefield by asking whether there were any soldiers from Chicago or Illinois, present, and he often helped carry wounded soldiers to safety. In 1944, flak overcame the B-26 bomber Cromie rode in and it crash landed in England. Without hesitating, he stepped aboard another bomber headed for another raid. Like Ernie Pyle, Cromie interviewed individual soldiers and wrote their stories for the people back home.
On September 2, 1945, the press scrambled for places on the Battleship Missouri for the signing of the document ending the war. General MacArthur presided, wearing the gold-braided cap he had worn at Corregidor. General Wainwright who had surrendered and remained a Japanese prisoner was there, emaciated but happy. Robert Cromie covered the Japanese surrender.
Robert Cromie, Chicago Tribune War Correspondent and Sports Reporter
According to his son Richard Cromie, Robert Cromie rarely talked about his war experiences, because he enjoyed his present adventures more than his past experiences. "He wasn’t seeking excitement, just the story and the story he often told was that of the average man, the everyday heroes."
Early in his life Robert Cromie decided that he wanted to be a writer. Born February 28, 1909, in Detroit, Michigan, he grew up in Detroit and Birmingham, Michigan. He graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio where he majored in Spanish and History. In 1936, he joined the staff of the Chicago Tribune and six years later became the Tribune war correspondent. From 1942 to 1946, he worked as a Chicago Tribune war correspondent.
When Cromie returned to the United Sates, he began a sports writing stint for the Tribune, covering sports ranging from boxing, basketball, curling and golf. Cromie was also an avid Chicago White Sox fan and was always on the lookout for ways to help his team. In 1978, while he was Chicago Tribune book critic, Bob Cromie discovered Robert Britt Burns, a former Major League Baseball pitcher from 1978-1985. Burns had pitched for Huffman High School in Birmingham, Alabama, from 1975 to 1977 and when he graduated he held the state record for career victories, 35 wins and two losses. Cromie’s influence helped bring Burns to Chicago to pitch for the Chicago White Sox.
Cromie also loved golf and continually threatened to retire from his broadcasting and writing so he could devote more time to his game. No matter how much he threatened to give up everything for golf, he always showed up on time for his book interviews and managed to write several of his own books.
Robert Cromie Writes a Liberal Column For The Conservative Chicago Tribune
In 1969, Robert Cromie began writing a column for the Chicago Tribune that made him the first staff writer to write from a liberal perspective for a newspaper renowned for its conservative leanings. He earned the respect for his colleagues for his liberal leanings and they agreed that Robert Cromie always cheered for the underdog.
His colleagues described Cromie as affable and disheveled, but dedicated, sensitive, and always focused on people and their stories. He enjoyed meeting and interviewing people more than sitting behind his desk. "Interviewing people was the best thing he did," Polly Goodwin, a children’s book editor who worked with Cromie at the Tribune said. "He was so good with people. He would talk to them and get something out of them. He wasn’t an office person." His journalistic style was vigorous but always sensitive.
His colleagues described his desk as more of a depository than a work area, with stacks of books and piles of paper balanced precariously all over its flat surfaces. A photographer once climbed atop a ladder to document Robert Cromie’s desk.
During nearly forty years as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, Robert Cromie also hosted a nationally syndicated radio show about books and two television shows – "Cromie Circle" on WGN and "Book Beat" on WTTW. He earned an impressive list of writing and broadcast awards. He retired from the Chicago Tribune in 1974, but not from writing and broadcasting.
Robert Cromie’s Radio and Television Book Shows
After a rescue that Robert Cromiie himself called "a cliffhanger rescue worthy of Pearl White," the silent movie heroine of ‘The Perils of Pauline,’ his radio show, "About Books and Writers" survived a grave threat to its survival. After about six years on WBEZ National Public Radio, "About Books and Writers" was supposed to be off the air at the end of March 1986. The show with 148 subscribing stations, was number two in popularity, surpassed only by Garrison Keillor’s "The Prairie Home Companion." The problem was the ongoing problem with public radio and television-funding.
The problem also seemed to be an ongoing problem for Robert Cromie who had two television shows, "Book Beat: and "The Cromie Circle," cancelled for budgetary reasons. He had resigned himself to the cancellation of "About Books and Writers."
"I’ve been on the air consistently for more than 20 years. That’s a long run. It has to come to an end sometime. I’m just pleased that it’s lasted this long," he said in a newspaper interview. "Besides, I’m a little lazy and I get annoyed when I have to tape the show on nice days during the golf season."
Robert Cromie, Skilled Interviewer
Edward Morris, Robert Cromie’s producer, wasn’t going to let the 77-year-old Cromie permanently retire to the gold course without a fight. Although Cromie appeared to be resigned to the cancellation of "About Books and Writers," Morris said that Cromie’s commitment to the show was just as strong as his own, attested to by the quality of the show.
Exercising his influence as chairman of the television department at Columbia College in Chicago, Edward Morris found rescue close at hand. Mike Alexandroff, president of Columbia, agreed to provide the funding needed, about $10,500 annually, on an indefinite basis. Morris said that he couldn’t allow Cromie to disappear from the radio as he had disappeared from television. He said that Cromie was the best interviewer of authors around and "it would be a terrible waste for a man with his talent not to be heard."
The authors who had been guests on Cromie’s shows agreed, although Cromie himself insisted that he had no special skills for the job. "I read the book, I show up on time and talk to the author," he said.
Edward Morris also originated "Book Beat" in 1964 which Robert Cromie broadcast over WTTW-TV Channel 11 from 1964 until 1980. Cromie won a Peabody Award for Excellence for "Book Beat." Famous authors that he interviewed on "Book Beat" included Anais Nin, Robert Traver, Saul Bellow, and Evan Hunter. Cromie was also host of "Cromie’s Circle" on WGN-TV Channel 9 from 1969 to 1980.
As an author, Robert Cromie explored many different subjects. His book titles included The Little People, A Short History of Chicago, The Great Chicago Fire, Dillinger: A Short and Violent Life, and Chicago: A Celebration and Illinois Trivia. He also wrote for several national magazines, including the Saturday Evening Post.
Robert Cromie died at his home in Grayslake, Illinois on May 22, 1999, at age 90. His wife, Alice, three sons Richard, Michael, and James and daughter Barbara Custer survived him, as well as 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
"The thing about Bob was that he was a decent man," commented his friend and photographer Archie Lieberman, who collaborated on several books with Robert Cromie. "Part of that feeling was that he hated injustice and loved humanity – all kinds…Everybody he touched was influenced by him."
References
Baseball Digest.July 1981, Vol. 40, No. 7
New York Magazine. January 5, 1970
Cromie, Robert. The Great Chicago Fire. Thomas Nelson, 1994.
Cromie, Robert. A Short History of Chicago. Lexicos, 1984.
Nord, David Paul. "Read All About It." Chicago History(Summer 2002)
Wrigley Field: The Unauthorized Biography, Stuart Shea, George Castle, 2004.
Chicago Tribune, May 24, 1999. Diane Struzzi. Robert Cromie, 90, Longtime Tribune Reporter.
Building on his love of people, Robert Cromie wrote for the Chicago Tribune and created two television shows and a radio show about books and authors.
Robert Cromie covered World War II for The Chicago Tribune, reporting the action of the Pacific Theater and marching through Europe with General George Patton’s Army. Returning from World War II service, Cromie became a sportswriter before he switched to reporting and writing about books. He became famous for his Chicago Tribune columns about books and interviews with fellow writers and graduated to television and radio programs. WGN television broadcast "Cromie’s Circle" from 1969 to 1980 and WTTW television broadcast "Cromie’s Book Beat" nationwide from 1964 to 1980. As a reporter, he was enchanted with people and their life stories and he despised injustices and revealed them through vivid newspaper stories.
Cromie often entered a battlefield by asking whether there were any soldiers from Chicago or Illinois, present, and he often helped carry wounded soldiers to safety. In 1944, flak overcame the B-26 bomber Cromie rode in and it crash landed in England. Without hesitating, he stepped aboard another bomber headed for another raid. Like Ernie Pyle, Cromie interviewed individual soldiers and wrote their stories for the people back home.
On September 2, 1945, the press scrambled for places on the Battleship Missouri for the signing of the document ending the war. General MacArthur presided, wearing the gold-braided cap he had worn at Corregidor. General Wainwright who had surrendered and remained a Japanese prisoner was there, emaciated but happy. Robert Cromie covered the Japanese surrender.
Robert Cromie, Chicago Tribune War Correspondent and Sports Reporter
According to his son Richard Cromie, Robert Cromie rarely talked about his war experiences, because he enjoyed his present adventures more than his past experiences. "He wasn’t seeking excitement, just the story and the story he often told was that of the average man, the everyday heroes."
Early in his life Robert Cromie decided that he wanted to be a writer. Born February 28, 1909, in Detroit, Michigan, he grew up in Detroit and Birmingham, Michigan. He graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio where he majored in Spanish and History. In 1936, he joined the staff of the Chicago Tribune and six years later became the Tribune war correspondent. From 1942 to 1946, he worked as a Chicago Tribune war correspondent.
When Cromie returned to the United Sates, he began a sports writing stint for the Tribune, covering sports ranging from boxing, basketball, curling and golf. Cromie was also an avid Chicago White Sox fan and was always on the lookout for ways to help his team. In 1978, while he was Chicago Tribune book critic, Bob Cromie discovered Robert Britt Burns, a former Major League Baseball pitcher from 1978-1985. Burns had pitched for Huffman High School in Birmingham, Alabama, from 1975 to 1977 and when he graduated he held the state record for career victories, 35 wins and two losses. Cromie’s influence helped bring Burns to Chicago to pitch for the Chicago White Sox.
Cromie also loved golf and continually threatened to retire from his broadcasting and writing so he could devote more time to his game. No matter how much he threatened to give up everything for golf, he always showed up on time for his book interviews and managed to write several of his own books.
Robert Cromie Writes a Liberal Column For The Conservative Chicago Tribune
In 1969, Robert Cromie began writing a column for the Chicago Tribune that made him the first staff writer to write from a liberal perspective for a newspaper renowned for its conservative leanings. He earned the respect for his colleagues for his liberal leanings and they agreed that Robert Cromie always cheered for the underdog.
His colleagues described Cromie as affable and disheveled, but dedicated, sensitive, and always focused on people and their stories. He enjoyed meeting and interviewing people more than sitting behind his desk. "Interviewing people was the best thing he did," Polly Goodwin, a children’s book editor who worked with Cromie at the Tribune said. "He was so good with people. He would talk to them and get something out of them. He wasn’t an office person." His journalistic style was vigorous but always sensitive.
His colleagues described his desk as more of a depository than a work area, with stacks of books and piles of paper balanced precariously all over its flat surfaces. A photographer once climbed atop a ladder to document Robert Cromie’s desk.
During nearly forty years as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, Robert Cromie also hosted a nationally syndicated radio show about books and two television shows – "Cromie Circle" on WGN and "Book Beat" on WTTW. He earned an impressive list of writing and broadcast awards. He retired from the Chicago Tribune in 1974, but not from writing and broadcasting.
Robert Cromie’s Radio and Television Book Shows
After a rescue that Robert Cromiie himself called "a cliffhanger rescue worthy of Pearl White," the silent movie heroine of ‘The Perils of Pauline,’ his radio show, "About Books and Writers" survived a grave threat to its survival. After about six years on WBEZ National Public Radio, "About Books and Writers" was supposed to be off the air at the end of March 1986. The show with 148 subscribing stations, was number two in popularity, surpassed only by Garrison Keillor’s "The Prairie Home Companion." The problem was the ongoing problem with public radio and television-funding.
The problem also seemed to be an ongoing problem for Robert Cromie who had two television shows, "Book Beat: and "The Cromie Circle," cancelled for budgetary reasons. He had resigned himself to the cancellation of "About Books and Writers."
"I’ve been on the air consistently for more than 20 years. That’s a long run. It has to come to an end sometime. I’m just pleased that it’s lasted this long," he said in a newspaper interview. "Besides, I’m a little lazy and I get annoyed when I have to tape the show on nice days during the golf season."
Robert Cromie, Skilled Interviewer
Edward Morris, Robert Cromie’s producer, wasn’t going to let the 77-year-old Cromie permanently retire to the gold course without a fight. Although Cromie appeared to be resigned to the cancellation of "About Books and Writers," Morris said that Cromie’s commitment to the show was just as strong as his own, attested to by the quality of the show.
Exercising his influence as chairman of the television department at Columbia College in Chicago, Edward Morris found rescue close at hand. Mike Alexandroff, president of Columbia, agreed to provide the funding needed, about $10,500 annually, on an indefinite basis. Morris said that he couldn’t allow Cromie to disappear from the radio as he had disappeared from television. He said that Cromie was the best interviewer of authors around and "it would be a terrible waste for a man with his talent not to be heard."
The authors who had been guests on Cromie’s shows agreed, although Cromie himself insisted that he had no special skills for the job. "I read the book, I show up on time and talk to the author," he said.
Edward Morris also originated "Book Beat" in 1964 which Robert Cromie broadcast over WTTW-TV Channel 11 from 1964 until 1980. Cromie won a Peabody Award for Excellence for "Book Beat." Famous authors that he interviewed on "Book Beat" included Anais Nin, Robert Traver, Saul Bellow, and Evan Hunter. Cromie was also host of "Cromie’s Circle" on WGN-TV Channel 9 from 1969 to 1980.
As an author, Robert Cromie explored many different subjects. His book titles included The Little People, A Short History of Chicago, The Great Chicago Fire, Dillinger: A Short and Violent Life, and Chicago: A Celebration and Illinois Trivia. He also wrote for several national magazines, including the Saturday Evening Post.
Robert Cromie died at his home in Grayslake, Illinois on May 22, 1999, at age 90. His wife, Alice, three sons Richard, Michael, and James and daughter Barbara Custer survived him, as well as 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
"The thing about Bob was that he was a decent man," commented his friend and photographer Archie Lieberman, who collaborated on several books with Robert Cromie. "Part of that feeling was that he hated injustice and loved humanity – all kinds…Everybody he touched was influenced by him."
References
Baseball Digest.July 1981, Vol. 40, No. 7
New York Magazine. January 5, 1970
Cromie, Robert. The Great Chicago Fire. Thomas Nelson, 1994.
Cromie, Robert. A Short History of Chicago. Lexicos, 1984.
Nord, David Paul. "Read All About It." Chicago History(Summer 2002)
Wrigley Field: The Unauthorized Biography, Stuart Shea, George Castle, 2004.
Chicago Tribune, May 24, 1999. Diane Struzzi. Robert Cromie, 90, Longtime Tribune Reporter.
