The one thing I will no do in this essay is to tell the truth about George Spelvin, because I really do not know the truth. It appears to me that no one else does either. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia on the Internet, we read that "George Spelvin, Georgette Spelvin and Georgina Spelvin are traditional pseudonyms used in programs in American theater by actors who don't want to be credited, or whose names would otherwise appear twice because they are playing more than one role in a production … [or] portraying a character who is mentioned in the dialogue but never turns up on stage." We also learn that "Georgina Spelvin" … was adopted as a screen name by pornographic actress Dorothy May.
      In a recent publication* The Cable Center speculates: "But who is George Spelvin? According to documents held at The Cable Center, he was said to be an early cable operator in Reno, Ohio, and may have actually invented the first system as early as 1944." Correspondence on file in Denver is on professional appearing letterhead, inquiring of Fred Goddard, for example, for advice on a trip to New Zealand, or asking Bill Daniels about getting his son Jimmy John on as a page at the NCTA convention. "In reality," The Cable Center suggests, "George Spelvin is one of the longest-lasting hoaxes in cable." Ben Conroy is alleged to have started it, on a lark. But it was unexpectedly picked up by Bill Adler, and others, with a "blistering condemnation of George Spelvin."
      But even The Center is not so sure. "So George Spelvin is a hoax. Or is he? The Cable Center's records show that he has made several donations to The Center, and maintains a post office box in North Carolina. The mystery continues," says The Center.
      I can tell the truth about what happened in 1968 at the Second Annual Cable Pioneers dinner in Boston, as I see it now, because I was there. It was a black-tie affair. It was hot and the hotel air conditioning was not working properly. My rented tuxedo was most uncomfortable. The banquet tables that night were arranged in a square, seating perhaps 40 Cable Pioneers. The debate on the regular order of business, considering whether Spelvin should be admitted as a member of the Cable Pioneers, was intense and unseemly. Among the allegations were stealing money from the educational fund, assaulting the wife of an NCTA member, and failing to report his subscriber levels correctly. The scurrilous charges came to an end as it was revealed they were simply a magnificent hoax.