Soup's On

William Beverly Murphy lives on a 34-acre estate with a swimming pool and greenhouse in Gladwyne, a swank suburb of Philadelphia, and grows orchids as a hobby. But when it comes to food, "Bev" Murphy likes plain fare. His favorite-canned soup. Every night, Bev Murphy, his wife, three sons and a daughter eat soup at dinner. (Murphy prefers a mixture of celery and chicken noodle.) This taste for soup is understandable: last week, at 45, Bev Murphy was named president of Campbell Soup Co., the biggest U.S. soup-maker. A chemical engineer, Murphy succeeds another chemist, James McGowan 67, who joined Campbell in 1908, and last week stepped up to be board chairman.

Born in Appleton, Wis., Bev Murphy attended the University of Wisconsin ('28), where he ran on the track team and worked up to executive vice president of Chicago's A. C. Nielsen Co., sales analysts before going to Campbell in 1938. During World War II, he worked under War Production Boss Donald Nelson, and won a civilian Medal of Merit. Returning to Campbell, he moved up steadily, became executive vice president in 1949.

A tireless, hopping executive, Bev Murphy likes to keep an eye on everything, notably soup research, one of his pet interests. "You can advertise all you want," says he. "You can hire all the salesmen you want. But if you don't maintain that quality, you're helpless."

Unlike housewives, who often dump in all the leftovers handy, Murphy thinks the cook has to be careful of what he uses, right down to the last noodle. "Now this may sound corny," says he, "but it's the truth. Every carrot is different from every other carrot. Every tomato is different from every other tomato."

Joseph M. Schenck, 70, pioneer cinemogul (TIME, May 19, 1949 et seq.) and top owner of United Artists Theater Circuit, Inc., resigned as executive head of production of 20th Century-Fox to devote more time to his 250-odd theaters. With Darryl Zanuck, Schenck founded the 20th Century Picture Corp. in 1933, later merged with the Fox Film Corp., and made it one of the Big Five moviemakers.

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