Antedating of "Flack"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Walter Winchell wrote about Variety and "flack" in a syndicated column
that appeared in multiple newspapers on January 23, 1939:

[Begin excerpt]
Variety, which is trying to coin "flack" as a synonym for press agent
(without much luck), might like to know it was born in the Chicago
offices of Gene Flack, a film publicist.
[End excerpt]

If Variety was using flack for press agent in 1933 than Winchell was
late in spotting the appearance in the magazine. Did Gene Flack (or
someone in his office) try to establish a generalized meaning for
"flack"?

Garson

On Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 10:45 AM, Jonathan Lighter
<wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Antedating of "Flack"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Yes, the third one looks legitimate.
>
> JL
>
> On Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 8:46 AM, Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
>> Subject:      Re: Antedating of "Flack"
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Jon,
>>
>> I'm taking these citations from snippets on the Variety website archives,
>> so they're somewhat unclear, but it looks like at least some of these are
>> being used as synonyms for "publicist".  The third citation seems clearly
>> to be generic.  Perhaps your point is that the first two citations may
>> simply be references to Gene Flack.
>>
>> Fred Shapiro
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ________________________________________
>> From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of
>> Jonathan Lighter [wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM]
>> Sent: Friday, March 08, 2013 8:36 AM
>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>> Subject: Re: Antedating of "Flack"
>>
>> HDAS: 1939.
>>
>> Aren't these earlier exx. simply references to PR man Gene Flack rather
>> than common nouns?
>>
>> JL
>>
>> On Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 8:18 AM, Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> > -----------------------
>> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> > Poster:       "Shapiro, Fred" <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU>
>> > Subject:      Antedating of "Flack"
>> >
>> >
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> >
>> > flack (OED, n.2., 1946)
>> >
>> > 1933 _Variety_ 20 Sept.  Peripatetic Flack Press agent at one of the
>> > downto=
>> > wn radio stations.
>> >
>> > 1933 _Variety_ 7 Oct.  Flack Writes Lyndsley Parsons, Monogram press
>> agent.
>> >
>> > 1933 _Variety_ 24 Oct.  Flack Quits  Blake McVeigh resigned from the
>> > Paramo=
>> > unt publicity staff, effective Saturday.
>> >
>> > Fred Shapiro
>> >
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>>
>>
>> --
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>
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> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
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