The Freedman boys—David Noel, 7 (right), Benedict, 9 (center), and Toby, 5—display their tastes in books in a family photo taken about 1929. The boys had a head start in literary matters thanks to their father; the elder Freedman was a writer for such show business luminaries as Eddie Cantor, Florenz Ziegfeld, Fanny Brice, Bert Lahr and Beatrice Lillie.