On Bryant Gumbel, his late father, and his ego:

There have been days when he has wondered. Gumbel has a couple of thousand acquaintances but very few friends. Not that he couldn’t have more. It’s his choice. “If I’m in a room with 100 people, will I be able to find one person I’d like to have dinner with?” he asks. “Probably not,” he answers.

Forget that. There are times when friends visit the Gumbels and Bryant won’t come out of the den. “I’ve long since stopped apologizing to company for his grumpiness and aloofness,” says June, his wife of almost 15 years. “Sometimes he doesn’t feel compelled to entertain. It doesn’t bother me anymore.”

Strange man. Stubborn man. A man who might have best described himself when he said, “It’s not that I dislike many people. It’s just that I don’t like many people.”