WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.160 welcome so um if you are listening to this right 00:00:03.160 --> 00:00:05.820 now there is a very high probability that you 00:00:05.820 --> 00:00:08.839 have a pen sitting somewhere on your desk oh 00:00:08.839 --> 00:00:11.199 yeah almost certainly maybe you are even holding 00:00:11.199 --> 00:00:13.179 one right now go ahead and give it a click it's 00:00:13.179 --> 00:00:15.320 such a simple everyday object right completely 00:00:15.320 --> 00:00:17.480 we totally take it for granted but uh what if 00:00:17.480 --> 00:00:20.199 i told you that the simple act of clicking a 00:00:20.199 --> 00:00:24.019 pen is tied to this massive, sprawling story 00:00:24.019 --> 00:00:27.500 involving Cold War geopolitics. And Hollywood 00:00:27.500 --> 00:00:31.559 boardroom coups. Yes. Hollywood comic books and 00:00:31.559 --> 00:00:35.000 a multi -million dollar corporate empire. That 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:37.320 is our mission for today's Deep Dive. We are 00:00:37.320 --> 00:00:40.119 taking a single, incredibly dense Wikipedia source 00:00:40.119 --> 00:00:42.439 about a man whose name you probably don't know. 00:00:42.840 --> 00:00:45.640 But whose creations are undeniably part of your 00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:48.240 daily life. Exactly. We are talking about Patrick 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:52.200 Joseph Frawley Jr. He lived from 1923 to 1998. 00:00:52.700 --> 00:00:55.000 He was a Nicaraguan -American business magnate. 00:00:55.020 --> 00:00:57.380 A high school dropout, too. Right. And the mastermind 00:00:57.380 --> 00:00:59.299 behind some of the most ubiquitous brands of 00:00:59.299 --> 00:01:01.960 the entire 20th century. Okay, let's unpack this, 00:01:02.100 --> 00:01:04.719 because Frawley's life touched almost every major 00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:06.939 cultural and industrial shift you can possibly 00:01:06.939 --> 00:01:09.640 think of. It really did. And it all starts with 00:01:09.640 --> 00:01:12.560 some incredibly unconventional roots. Which is 00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:15.620 key here. To truly understand the world we live 00:01:15.620 --> 00:01:18.340 in today, you have to look at these early architects 00:01:18.340 --> 00:01:22.120 of modern consumerism. For sure. What's fascinating 00:01:22.120 --> 00:01:24.540 here is that Frawley wasn't just a businessman 00:01:24.540 --> 00:01:32.640 operating in a vacuum. His life story is basically 00:01:32.640 --> 00:01:36.290 a masterclass in how... personal ambition, global 00:01:36.290 --> 00:01:40.549 conflicts, and the everyday consumer goods sitting 00:01:40.549 --> 00:01:43.349 in your junk drawer are all deeply interconnected. 00:01:43.769 --> 00:01:45.450 Let's start with those beginnings then. Yeah, 00:01:45.530 --> 00:01:48.310 because his background breaks almost every mold 00:01:48.310 --> 00:01:51.069 of the traditional mid -century American CEO. 00:01:51.689 --> 00:01:55.250 He was born in Leon, Nicaragua on May 26, 1923. 00:01:55.569 --> 00:01:57.909 Right, to an Irish -born father and a mother 00:01:57.909 --> 00:02:00.109 of French -Spanish descent. But he didn't stay 00:02:00.109 --> 00:02:01.989 in Central America for long. No, he actually 00:02:01.989 --> 00:02:04.109 spent his formative years growing up in San Francisco. 00:02:04.200 --> 00:02:06.040 And then he makes a move that feels entirely 00:02:06.040 --> 00:02:09.500 counterintuitive for a kid from a relatively 00:02:09.500 --> 00:02:11.979 comfortable background. As a teenager, he drops 00:02:11.979 --> 00:02:13.759 out of high school. Just completely drops out. 00:02:13.939 --> 00:02:16.180 Packs his bags and heads all the way back to 00:02:16.180 --> 00:02:18.719 Nicaragua. And he doesn't do this to find himself 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:21.340 or backpack around. No, he does it specifically 00:02:21.340 --> 00:02:24.099 to learn international trade directly from his 00:02:24.099 --> 00:02:26.259 father. Which tells you a lot about his mindset 00:02:26.259 --> 00:02:28.439 right out of the gate. He essentially traded 00:02:28.439 --> 00:02:30.680 a traditional classroom for an old school apprenticeship 00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:33.939 in real world commerce. Learning by doing. Exactly. 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:36.639 At a very young age, he was dealing with supply 00:02:36.639 --> 00:02:39.900 chains, negotiations, and the realities of running 00:02:39.900 --> 00:02:42.099 a business in a developing market. That kind 00:02:42.099 --> 00:02:45.360 of hands -on experience builds a very specific 00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:47.879 type of entrepreneurial muscle. You learn how 00:02:47.879 --> 00:02:50.560 to spot inefficiencies. And more importantly, 00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:53.580 you learn how to spot undervalued assets. And 00:02:53.580 --> 00:02:55.680 he certainly needed that resilience because the 00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:59.099 timeline quickly hits the late 1930s and early 00:02:59.099 --> 00:03:01.560 1940s. The world is engulfed in World War II. 00:03:01.740 --> 00:03:04.960 Yeah. And this is where we get a massive geographical 00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:08.099 puzzle piece. Because his father held United 00:03:08.099 --> 00:03:10.939 Kingdom citizenship, Frawley leaves the Americas. 00:03:11.819 --> 00:03:14.340 He enlists in the Royal Canadian Air Force to 00:03:14.340 --> 00:03:16.669 serve in the war. So just think about this. You 00:03:16.669 --> 00:03:19.909 have a Nicaraguan born, San Francisco raised 00:03:19.909 --> 00:03:22.770 teenager learning business in Central America. 00:03:22.990 --> 00:03:25.990 Who is now flying in a Canadian uniform because 00:03:25.990 --> 00:03:28.930 of his Irish father. It's wild. It highlights 00:03:28.930 --> 00:03:31.310 a level of international mobility and adaptability 00:03:31.310 --> 00:03:33.469 that most people simply didn't have at that time. 00:03:33.650 --> 00:03:35.930 He was clearly comfortable navigating different 00:03:35.930 --> 00:03:38.169 cultures and bureaucracies, which would become 00:03:38.169 --> 00:03:40.389 a defining trait of his corporate life. Definitely. 00:03:40.629 --> 00:03:44.169 So after the war ends, the dust settles. He marries 00:03:44.169 --> 00:03:47.550 a Canadian. woman named Geraldine in 1945. And 00:03:47.550 --> 00:03:49.810 they decide to plant roots back in San Francisco. 00:03:50.009 --> 00:03:52.870 And this post -war period is where the business 00:03:52.870 --> 00:03:55.830 narrative shifts from an education into an absolute 00:03:55.830 --> 00:03:58.310 empire. Right. Because shortly after the war, 00:03:58.409 --> 00:04:00.430 he makes his first major play. He doesn't start 00:04:00.430 --> 00:04:02.530 a company from scratch, though. He acquires one. 00:04:02.750 --> 00:04:06.550 Specifically, he buys a ballpoint pen parts manufacturer 00:04:06.550 --> 00:04:09.310 that had completely defaulted on its loan. He 00:04:09.310 --> 00:04:11.849 takes it over, reorganizes it, and renames it 00:04:11.849 --> 00:04:13.939 the Frawley Pen Company. Now, why? Why would 00:04:13.939 --> 00:04:16.560 a sharp young guy buy a failing parts manufacturer? 00:04:16.779 --> 00:04:20.079 Well, the post -WWII era was a time of massive 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:23.000 industrial reshuffling. There was a lot of manufacturing 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:25.819 infrastructure left over from the war effort. 00:04:25.899 --> 00:04:27.959 And distressed assets were relatively cheap. 00:04:28.279 --> 00:04:30.800 Frawley likely saw the underlying value in the 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:33.339 machinery and the distribution potential rather 00:04:33.339 --> 00:04:35.819 than focusing on the debt that crippled the previous 00:04:35.819 --> 00:04:38.779 owners. But more importantly, he recognized a 00:04:38.779 --> 00:04:42.050 massive gap in the consumer market. Writing at 00:04:42.050 --> 00:04:44.149 that point in history was a frustrating experience. 00:04:44.430 --> 00:04:46.990 It really was. We don't think about it now, but 00:04:46.990 --> 00:04:49.269 fountain pens were a nightmare. They leaked in 00:04:49.269 --> 00:04:51.850 your pocket. The ink smudged all over the paper. 00:04:51.949 --> 00:04:54.470 You got it on your hands. You ruined your expensive 00:04:54.470 --> 00:04:57.069 tailored shirts. It was a terrible user experience. 00:04:57.350 --> 00:05:00.470 Exactly. The existing technology was cumbersome. 00:05:01.399 --> 00:05:04.639 So, Frawley tasks his newly acquired company 00:05:04.639 --> 00:05:08.240 with solving this specific pain point. In 1949, 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:11.839 they develop a proprietary ink formula that dries 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:14.339 almost instantly upon hitting the paper. They 00:05:14.339 --> 00:05:17.699 brand the pen that delivers this ink the Papermate. 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:19.839 It was a massive leap forward. But he didn't 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:22.199 stop at the chemistry of the ink. He looked at 00:05:22.199 --> 00:05:24.579 the mechanics of the delivery system. The very 00:05:24.579 --> 00:05:28.339 next year, in 1950. The company creates what 00:05:28.339 --> 00:05:30.939 is widely claimed to be the world's first pen 00:05:30.939 --> 00:05:33.959 with a retractable ballpoint tip. Which is the 00:05:33.959 --> 00:05:36.420 click. That satisfying mechanism that hides the 00:05:36.420 --> 00:05:38.800 ink away so it doesn't ruin your jacket. He basically 00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:42.379 took this messy, unreliable tool and turned it 00:05:42.379 --> 00:05:45.180 into a clean, highly efficient instrument perfectly 00:05:45.180 --> 00:05:48.480 suited for the booming, fast -paced modern office 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:51.699 of the 1950s. And the market rewarded him on 00:05:51.699 --> 00:05:54.550 a scale that is almost hard to comprehend. In 00:05:54.550 --> 00:05:57.790 1955, the Gillette Company, the massive shaving 00:05:57.790 --> 00:06:00.569 conglomerate, sweeps in and buys the Frawley 00:06:00.569 --> 00:06:04.430 Penn Company for $15 .5 million. To form the 00:06:04.430 --> 00:06:06.670 basis of their papermate division. To put that 00:06:06.670 --> 00:06:09.209 $15 .5 million into perspective, you have to 00:06:09.209 --> 00:06:12.129 adjust for inflation and context. That is a staggering 00:06:12.129 --> 00:06:14.449 amount of capital for the mid -1950s. It's the 00:06:14.449 --> 00:06:16.750 equivalent of a modern -day Silicon Valley tech 00:06:16.750 --> 00:06:19.709 unicorn exit. He took a bankrupt, defaulted parts 00:06:19.709 --> 00:06:22.490 manufacturer and turned it into a massive life 00:06:22.490 --> 00:06:24.439 -changing payday in less than... 10 years. Most 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:26.120 people would take that kind of money, buy an 00:06:26.120 --> 00:06:27.800 island, and never look at a spreadsheet again. 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:31.540 But Frawley immediately turns around and funnels 00:06:31.540 --> 00:06:33.939 those profits into diversifying his portfolio. 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:36.699 He takes that Gillette money and buys controlling 00:06:36.699 --> 00:06:40.339 shares in two absolute titans of industry. Schick, 00:06:40.379 --> 00:06:42.680 the razor company. And Technicolor Inc., the 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:45.600 legendary color motion picture company. It is 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:48.240 a brilliant strategic pivot. He understood that 00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:50.399 the post -war American consumer had disposable 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:53.550 income. Men were buying grooming products at 00:06:53.550 --> 00:06:57.079 unprecedented rates, hence Schick. And the entertainment 00:06:57.079 --> 00:06:59.819 industry was rapidly shifting away from black 00:06:59.819 --> 00:07:02.319 and white to compete with the rise of television. 00:07:02.519 --> 00:07:05.560 Making Technicolor a critical technological choke 00:07:05.560 --> 00:07:07.620 point for Hollywood. He was cornering the market 00:07:07.620 --> 00:07:09.939 on both domestic convenience and popular entertainment. 00:07:10.180 --> 00:07:12.680 But just as this empire is peaking, the narrative 00:07:12.680 --> 00:07:15.259 takes a sharp turn from corporate strategy into 00:07:15.259 --> 00:07:18.639 global geopolitics. In 1958, there is a catalyst 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:21.120 event that fundamentally rewires Froli's entire 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:24.259 worldview. Fidel Castro successfully leads the 00:07:24.259 --> 00:07:27.139 Cuban Revolution and subsequently nationalizes 00:07:27.139 --> 00:07:30.000 foreign assets. During this process, Castro's 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:32.319 government literally seizes a Schick razor factory 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:35.110 located in Cuba. The loss of that factory was 00:07:35.110 --> 00:07:37.629 a profound moment for Frawley. It wasn't just 00:07:37.629 --> 00:07:40.029 a line item on a balance sheet. It was a visceral 00:07:40.029 --> 00:07:43.350 personal demonstration of how international political 00:07:43.350 --> 00:07:46.269 instability could directly impact his livelihood. 00:07:46.490 --> 00:07:48.790 Now, right here, I need to make a quick but mandatory 00:07:48.790 --> 00:07:51.089 note for you listening. Yes, this is important 00:07:51.089 --> 00:07:53.550 context. The source material we're pulling from 00:07:53.550 --> 00:07:56.389 documents some very heavy politically charged 00:07:56.389 --> 00:07:59.750 shifts in his life from here on out. Left wing, 00:07:59.850 --> 00:08:02.569 right wing. It involves very specific domestic 00:08:02.569 --> 00:08:04.910 political activities. Right. And we are simply 00:08:04.910 --> 00:08:07.670 laying out the historical timeline of his resulting 00:08:07.670 --> 00:08:10.449 political funding and actions exactly as they 00:08:10.449 --> 00:08:12.689 occurred. We're absolutely not taking a stance 00:08:12.689 --> 00:08:16.670 on the ideology itself or endorsing any viewpoints. 00:08:16.709 --> 00:08:19.050 Exactly. We are impartially reporting the facts 00:08:19.050 --> 00:08:21.170 contained in our source material. We are just 00:08:21.170 --> 00:08:23.660 following the money. So following that factory 00:08:23.660 --> 00:08:27.560 seizure in 1958, Frawley's focus shifts dramatically. 00:08:27.879 --> 00:08:30.519 He becomes deeply awakened to political ideology 00:08:30.519 --> 00:08:33.980 and begins aggressively advocating for anti -communist 00:08:33.980 --> 00:08:36.820 causes. Often working behind the scenes, he positions 00:08:36.820 --> 00:08:39.480 himself as a leading American conservative figure. 00:08:39.620 --> 00:08:42.519 He starts utilizing his immense wealth to fund 00:08:42.519 --> 00:08:45.559 major political movements. For instance, he partners 00:08:45.559 --> 00:08:48.009 with Walter Knott. who many know is the founder 00:08:48.009 --> 00:08:50.470 of Knott's Berry Farm in California. Right. They 00:08:50.470 --> 00:08:52.990 partner up to provide significant financial backing 00:08:52.990 --> 00:08:56.350 to Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign. 00:08:56.750 --> 00:08:58.509 He didn't just start but presidential politics 00:08:58.509 --> 00:09:02.029 either. No, he funded Fred Schwartz's anti -communist 00:09:02.029 --> 00:09:04.570 rallies, which were drawing massive crowds across 00:09:04.570 --> 00:09:06.730 the country. He also provided heavy financial 00:09:06.730 --> 00:09:09.590 support to the Information Council of the Americas, 00:09:09.610 --> 00:09:12.490 known as INCA. An anti -communist organization 00:09:12.490 --> 00:09:16.490 founded in 1961. He is taking the capital generated 00:09:16.490 --> 00:09:19.210 from selling ballpoint pens and razor blades 00:09:19.210 --> 00:09:22.090 and pouring it directly into domestic political 00:09:22.090 --> 00:09:24.110 action. But if we connect this to the bigger 00:09:24.110 --> 00:09:27.309 picture. It is an incredible case study in the 00:09:27.309 --> 00:09:29.570 globalization of capital. You have a businessman 00:09:29.570 --> 00:09:32.129 who experiences a very specific international 00:09:32.129 --> 00:09:35.250 financial loss. A sovereign nation takes his 00:09:35.250 --> 00:09:38.610 factory. That single isolated event acts as a 00:09:38.610 --> 00:09:41.250 powerful catalyst. Driving him to deploy millions 00:09:41.250 --> 00:09:43.429 of dollars to alter the domestic political landscape 00:09:43.429 --> 00:09:45.809 back in the United States. It highlights how 00:09:45.809 --> 00:09:48.450 the boundary between global commerce and local 00:09:48.450 --> 00:09:52.190 politics is incredibly porous. The domino effect 00:09:52.190 --> 00:09:55.340 is staggering. A factory changes hands in Havana 00:09:55.340 --> 00:09:57.919 and suddenly political rallies in Los Angeles 00:09:57.919 --> 00:09:59.960 and presidential campaigns in Washington, D .C. 00:09:59.980 --> 00:10:03.259 are receiving a massive influx of cash. But while 00:10:03.259 --> 00:10:05.879 Frawley is orchestrating all of this high level 00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:08.059 political maneuvering and managing his corporate 00:10:08.059 --> 00:10:11.340 empire, he is simultaneously fighting a very 00:10:11.340 --> 00:10:14.659 intense private battle. He struggled deeply with 00:10:14.659 --> 00:10:18.259 severe alcohol addiction. By 1964, the pressure 00:10:18.259 --> 00:10:20.960 clearly reached a breaking point. He checks into 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:23.179 the Shettle Sanatorium in Seattle to undergo 00:10:23.179 --> 00:10:25.960 something called aversion therapy. Aversion therapy 00:10:25.960 --> 00:10:28.419 was a psychological treatment highly prevalent 00:10:28.419 --> 00:10:30.700 at the time. The concept is relatively straightforward. 00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:34.000 It is designed to make a patient give up an undesirable 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:36.799 habit by repeatedly pairing that habit with an 00:10:36.799 --> 00:10:39.240 intensely unpleasant stimulus. The goal is to 00:10:39.240 --> 00:10:41.700 condition the patient's brain to associate the 00:10:41.700 --> 00:10:44.600 alcohol with the negative reaction. Thereby eliminating 00:10:44.600 --> 00:10:47.139 the craving entirely. Here's where it gets really 00:10:47.139 --> 00:10:50.580 interesting. Because for Frawley, this treatment 00:10:50.580 --> 00:10:53.039 at the Seattle Clinic wasn't just a medical success. 00:10:53.320 --> 00:10:55.279 It was a revelation. He found the therapy so 00:10:55.279 --> 00:10:57.539 incredibly effective at curbing his addiction 00:10:57.539 --> 00:11:00.899 that he didn't just recommend the clinic to his 00:11:00.899 --> 00:11:03.519 friends. He literally purchased the entire hospital. 00:11:03.740 --> 00:11:06.039 He bought the sanatorium on behalf of Schick. 00:11:06.100 --> 00:11:09.870 And formally renamed it Schick's Shedell. It 00:11:09.870 --> 00:11:12.850 is perhaps the most audacious consumer endorsement 00:11:12.850 --> 00:11:15.330 in the history of modern business. Unbelievable. 00:11:15.610 --> 00:11:18.330 If you or I go to a great deli and have a life 00:11:18.330 --> 00:11:20.669 -changing sandwich, we might leave a five -star 00:11:20.669 --> 00:11:24.009 review online. Frawley goes to rehab, gets sober, 00:11:24.169 --> 00:11:27.049 and immediately buys the medical facility to 00:11:27.049 --> 00:11:29.809 slap his razor company's logo on the front door. 00:11:30.110 --> 00:11:33.269 It is the absolute pinnacle of I liked the product 00:11:33.269 --> 00:11:35.289 so much I bought the company. It's a humorous 00:11:35.289 --> 00:11:38.049 anecdote, but it also deeply humanizes him. It 00:11:38.049 --> 00:11:40.690 reveals a man who operated with zero boundaries 00:11:40.690 --> 00:11:43.409 between his personal life, his profound beliefs, 00:11:43.590 --> 00:11:46.470 and his corporate balance sheet. If he believed 00:11:46.470 --> 00:11:48.149 in a product, whether it was a pen that didn't 00:11:48.149 --> 00:11:51.230 leak, an economic ideology, or a medical treatment 00:11:51.230 --> 00:11:54.370 that saved his life, he wanted to own it, scale 00:11:54.370 --> 00:11:57.529 it, and brand it. That is a brilliant way to 00:11:57.529 --> 00:12:00.700 look at it. He was scaling his own personal epiphanies. 00:12:00.779 --> 00:12:03.360 And that tendency to merge his personal beliefs 00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:06.299 with his business empire didn't stop at health 00:12:06.299 --> 00:12:09.860 care or politics. As we move into the late 1960s, 00:12:09.879 --> 00:12:13.360 Frawley, who was a deeply devout Catholic, begins 00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:15.960 a massive push to shape American culture through 00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:19.240 media and publishing. In 1967, he establishes 00:12:19.240 --> 00:12:22.019 the Twin Circle Publishing Company as a subsidiary 00:12:22.019 --> 00:12:24.070 of the Schick Investment Corporation. Through 00:12:24.070 --> 00:12:25.909 this new branch, he founds a Catholic weekly 00:12:25.909 --> 00:12:28.590 newspaper called Twin Circle. But starting a 00:12:28.590 --> 00:12:30.870 new publication from scratch wasn't enough to 00:12:30.870 --> 00:12:32.789 achieve the cultural reach he was aiming for. 00:12:32.950 --> 00:12:35.850 In 1970, he initiates a takeover of the National 00:12:35.850 --> 00:12:38.389 Catholic Register and established an influential 00:12:38.389 --> 00:12:41.769 newspaper. Upon securing control, he completely 00:12:41.769 --> 00:12:44.629 overhauls its editorial board. Shifting the paper's 00:12:44.629 --> 00:12:47.149 stance from a progressive viewpoint to a staunchly 00:12:47.149 --> 00:12:49.210 conservative one that aligned with his personal 00:12:49.210 --> 00:12:52.090 beliefs. He is building an echo chamber before 00:12:52.090 --> 00:12:54.529 that was even a buzzword. Because by this point, 00:12:54.669 --> 00:12:56.690 Twin Circle Publishing wasn't just doing print. 00:12:56.909 --> 00:12:59.629 They were broadcasting daily radio segments and 00:12:59.629 --> 00:13:02.490 producing a weekly half -hour television show. 00:13:02.730 --> 00:13:05.629 He was constructing a multi -platform media ecosystem 00:13:05.629 --> 00:13:08.789 to broadcast his worldview to millions of homes. 00:13:09.129 --> 00:13:11.809 And that ecosystem extended into surprising territories, 00:13:12.090 --> 00:13:15.590 including the comic book industry. In 1967, the 00:13:15.590 --> 00:13:18.350 same year he launched Twin Circle, he negotiated 00:13:18.350 --> 00:13:20.690 the acquisition of the Classics Illustrated line 00:13:20.690 --> 00:13:23.110 of comic books from its original founder, Albert 00:13:23.110 --> 00:13:25.409 Cantor. This is one of those details that just 00:13:25.409 --> 00:13:28.029 stops you in your tracks. The guy manufacturing 00:13:28.029 --> 00:13:30.429 your office supplies and shaving cream is now 00:13:30.429 --> 00:13:32.850 deciding which comic books hit the newsstands. 00:13:32.850 --> 00:13:35.009 Now, for context, Classics Illustrated wasn't 00:13:35.009 --> 00:13:37.470 about superheroes. Right. They adapted classic 00:13:37.470 --> 00:13:40.110 literature and historical events into comic form. 00:13:40.370 --> 00:13:42.889 Under the Frawley Corporation, they published 00:13:42.889 --> 00:13:46.590 the series' final original titles in 1969. Which 00:13:46.590 --> 00:13:49.490 were In Freedom's Cause and Negro Americans. 00:13:49.990 --> 00:13:52.629 After that, they mostly concentrated on foreign 00:13:52.629 --> 00:13:54.629 distribution. and reprinting the back catalog. 00:13:54.990 --> 00:13:58.490 By the early 1970s, the comics were largely discontinued, 00:13:58.529 --> 00:14:00.649 though he strategically held onto the intellectual 00:14:00.649 --> 00:14:03.529 property rights for years. Holding onto those 00:14:03.529 --> 00:14:05.570 rights proved to be a critical move. Because 00:14:05.570 --> 00:14:08.610 the early 1970s brought some incredibly turbulent 00:14:08.610 --> 00:14:11.710 corporate headwinds for Frawley. His empire began 00:14:11.710 --> 00:14:15.230 to fracture. In 1970, Schick ceased to be entirely 00:14:15.230 --> 00:14:18.289 his domain when it became a subsidiary of the 00:14:18.289 --> 00:14:20.929 massive conglomerate Warner Lambert. But the 00:14:20.929 --> 00:14:23.690 real blow comes with Technicolor. In that same 00:14:23.690 --> 00:14:27.029 year, Frawley faces a massive boardroom showdown. 00:14:27.169 --> 00:14:28.549 For those who aren't familiar with corporate 00:14:28.549 --> 00:14:31.049 raiding, he was the victim of a proxy fight. 00:14:31.250 --> 00:14:34.049 How does a CEO actually lose their own company 00:14:34.049 --> 00:14:36.330 in a proxy fight? A proxy fight is essentially 00:14:36.330 --> 00:14:38.950 a corporate coup. It happens when a group of 00:14:38.950 --> 00:14:41.429 shareholders joins forces to gather enough proxy 00:14:41.429 --> 00:14:44.169 votes to win a corporate vote. In this case, 00:14:44.169 --> 00:14:46.899 against Frawley. Exactly. a Canadian theatre 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:49.500 and film producer named Harry Saltzman, who, 00:14:49.559 --> 00:14:51.799 interestingly enough, was famous for co -producing 00:14:51.799 --> 00:14:54.740 the early James Bond films, managed to convince 00:14:54.740 --> 00:14:57.580 enough of Technicolor's shareholders that Frawley's 00:14:57.580 --> 00:14:59.440 leadership was no longer serving their financial 00:14:59.440 --> 00:15:02.600 interests. They pulled their voting power and 00:15:02.600 --> 00:15:05.740 legally ousted Frawley from his position as chairman. 00:15:05.899 --> 00:15:07.759 They yanked the company right out from under 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:10.759 him. So within a very short window, you lose 00:15:10.759 --> 00:15:13.840 the autonomy of your razor company to a conglomerate 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:17.039 and you are overthrown from your color film company 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:20.379 by the guy who produces James Bond movies. For 00:15:20.379 --> 00:15:22.779 almost anyone else, that is the clear signal 00:15:22.779 --> 00:15:25.159 to retire. You take whatever millions you have 00:15:25.159 --> 00:15:28.100 left. Go to a golf course and call it a life. 00:15:28.279 --> 00:15:31.080 But Frawley refuses to step away. Instead, he 00:15:31.080 --> 00:15:34.919 executes yet another massive pivot. In 1971, 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:37.620 leveraging what he still controlled at Schick, 00:15:37.700 --> 00:15:40.200 he partners with two men, Charles E. Sellier 00:15:40.200 --> 00:15:43.610 Jr. and Raylan Jensen. Together, they found Schick's 00:15:43.610 --> 00:15:46.870 son classic pictures. And in a move that completely 00:15:46.870 --> 00:15:49.330 ignores the established Hollywood system, they 00:15:49.330 --> 00:15:52.330 based this new film studio in Park City, Utah. 00:15:52.490 --> 00:15:54.870 It represents a remarkable evolution. They began 00:15:54.870 --> 00:15:57.169 aggressively producing independent feature films, 00:15:57.389 --> 00:15:59.570 theatrical documentaries, and made -for -television 00:15:59.570 --> 00:16:01.730 movies. They figured out how to bypass traditional 00:16:01.730 --> 00:16:05.090 studio distribution, often utilizing a strategy 00:16:05.090 --> 00:16:07.350 called four -walling. where they would rent out 00:16:07.350 --> 00:16:10.070 entire movie theaters themselves and keep all 00:16:10.070 --> 00:16:12.389 the box office receipts. And remember those comic 00:16:12.389 --> 00:16:14.549 book rights he stubbornly held on to? This is 00:16:14.549 --> 00:16:17.389 where they come back into play. In the late 1970s, 00:16:17.389 --> 00:16:21.470 from roughly 1977 to 1982, Schick's son Classic 00:16:21.470 --> 00:16:24.210 Pictures starts churning out television films 00:16:24.210 --> 00:16:26.570 utilizing that Classroom Illustrated branding. 00:16:26.789 --> 00:16:28.690 They produce adaptations of The Time Machine, 00:16:29.070 --> 00:16:32.669 Donner Pass, The Road to Survival, and The Legend 00:16:32.669 --> 00:16:35.289 of Sleepy Hollow. He synergized a comic book 00:16:35.289 --> 00:16:38.389 IP he bought in the 60s with a Utah -based film 00:16:38.389 --> 00:16:41.230 production company he founded in the 70s, all 00:16:41.230 --> 00:16:43.830 funded by the remnants of his shaving and office 00:16:43.830 --> 00:16:46.110 supply well. This raises an important question 00:16:46.110 --> 00:16:48.429 for you to consider. How often do we actually 00:16:48.429 --> 00:16:50.789 separate the mundane products we buy from the 00:16:50.789 --> 00:16:53.409 broader culture we consume? We tend to view our 00:16:53.409 --> 00:16:56.990 purchases in a vacuum. But Frawley's life maps 00:16:56.990 --> 00:17:00.070 out a very direct... undeniable pipeline. The 00:17:00.070 --> 00:17:02.230 sheer volume of wealth generated from the most 00:17:02.230 --> 00:17:04.950 basic functional consumer goods like needing 00:17:04.950 --> 00:17:07.349 a pen to sign a check or wanting a clean shave 00:17:07.349 --> 00:17:09.470 before work can be directly funneled into shaping 00:17:09.470 --> 00:17:12.750 pop culture. It funds publishing houses, dictates 00:17:12.750 --> 00:17:15.690 the editorial slant of national newspapers, produces 00:17:15.690 --> 00:17:18.589 primetime television movies and drives major 00:17:18.589 --> 00:17:20.960 political narratives. It is an invisible web. 00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:23.799 The money you drop on a simple ink pen at the 00:17:23.799 --> 00:17:25.960 pharmacy might literally go on to fund a film 00:17:25.960 --> 00:17:29.079 about Sleepy Hollow or bankroll an ideological 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:31.000 rally on the completely opposite side of the 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:33.279 country. Which ultimately brings us to the final 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:36.079 chapter of this incredibly dense life. As the 00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:39.460 decades progressed, he began to slowly dismantle 00:17:39.460 --> 00:17:43.109 the empire. In 1995, Frawley finally sells off 00:17:43.109 --> 00:17:45.130 his publishing ventures. Transferring the National 00:17:45.130 --> 00:17:47.549 Catholic Register and the renamed Catholic Twin 00:17:47.549 --> 00:17:50.329 Circle to the Legion of Christ. Three years later, 00:17:50.430 --> 00:17:53.890 he passes away on November 3, 1998, in Santa 00:17:53.890 --> 00:17:56.809 Monica, California, at the age of 75. He left 00:17:56.809 --> 00:17:59.589 behind a remarkably complex legacy, both in the 00:17:59.589 --> 00:18:01.730 public business sector and in his private life. 00:18:01.950 --> 00:18:04.650 He was survived by his sister Joan, his two sons, 00:18:04.730 --> 00:18:07.230 his five daughters, and 20 grandchildren. So 00:18:07.230 --> 00:18:09.609 what does this all mean? When we zoom out and 00:18:09.609 --> 00:18:12.250 look at the timeline from Nicaragua to San Francisco 00:18:12.250 --> 00:18:15.289 to Cuban factories to Utah film sets. How do 00:18:15.289 --> 00:18:18.269 we wrap our heads around a single life that is 00:18:18.269 --> 00:18:21.450 this relentlessly expansive? When you synthesize 00:18:21.450 --> 00:18:24.329 all of this material, the sheer scale of his 00:18:24.329 --> 00:18:27.130 reach is genuinely staggering. You are looking 00:18:27.130 --> 00:18:29.980 at a high school dropout. who managed to leave 00:18:29.980 --> 00:18:34.140 an indelible structural mark across wildly diverse 00:18:34.140 --> 00:18:37.420 sectors of modern life. He revolutionized the 00:18:37.420 --> 00:18:40.119 ergonomics of the modern office with the instant 00:18:40.119 --> 00:18:43.420 dry retractable pen. He was a dominant titan 00:18:43.420 --> 00:18:45.539 in men's grooming. He held the technological 00:18:45.539 --> 00:18:48.339 reigns of color cinema during Hollywood's golden 00:18:48.339 --> 00:18:50.759 transition. He acquired and managed educational 00:18:50.759 --> 00:18:53.000 comic books. He purchased his own rehab clinic 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:55.259 because he believed in the cure. He produced 00:18:55.259 --> 00:18:57.279 independent films outside of the studio system. 00:18:57.420 --> 00:18:59.480 And he actively shaped the rhetoric of Cold War 00:18:59.480 --> 00:19:02.299 era politics and religious media. It stands as 00:19:02.299 --> 00:19:05.059 a testament to a very specific, aggressive era 00:19:05.059 --> 00:19:07.680 of 20th century capitalism. An era where one 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:10.539 uniquely driven individual could pivot across 00:19:10.539 --> 00:19:14.039 completely unrelated industries and leave a lasting 00:19:14.039 --> 00:19:16.339 operational footprint in every single one of 00:19:16.339 --> 00:19:18.880 them. It is a legacy of sheer willpower and capital 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:22.069 moving at lightning speed. And we want to leave 00:19:22.069 --> 00:19:24.509 you with a final thought to mull over as you 00:19:24.509 --> 00:19:26.349 go about the rest of your day. The next time 00:19:26.349 --> 00:19:28.930 you sit at your desk and grab a pen, take a second 00:19:28.930 --> 00:19:31.529 to give it a click. Will you look at that simple 00:19:31.529 --> 00:19:34.309 mechanism differently? Will you wonder about 00:19:34.309 --> 00:19:37.559 the invisible chain reaction of events? the international 00:19:37.559 --> 00:19:41.019 political movements, the sprawling media empires, 00:19:41.220 --> 00:19:45.119 the corporate proxy wars, and the deeply personal 00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:48.380 struggles that the profits from that simple everyday 00:19:48.380 --> 00:19:51.519 tool might have gone on to finance. It really 00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:53.859 makes you realize that every single object in 00:19:53.859 --> 00:19:56.380 your home has a history. And sometimes that history 00:19:56.380 --> 00:19:59.000 is infinitely more complex and far -reaching 00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:00.880 than you could ever imagine. Thank you so much 00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:03.190 for joining us for this deep dive. We hope you 00:20:03.190 --> 00:20:05.410 enjoyed exploring the incredible hidden history 00:20:05.410 --> 00:20:07.269 behind the things sitting right on your desk. 00:20:07.390 --> 00:20:08.970 Stay insanely curious.