Man in the Middle In the field of high-power publicity, Walter Thompson is a quiet, unhucksterish huckster who never cooked a deal to sell a story January 1 1947 LESLIE ROBERTS Man in the Middle LESLIE ROBERTS January 1 1947 Man in the Middle In the field of high-power publicity, Walter Thompson is a quiet, unhucksterish huckster who never cooked a deal to sell a story January 1 1947 LESLIE ROBERTS Man in the Middle In the field of high-power publicity, Walter Thompson is a quiet, unhucksterish huckster who never cooked a deal to sell a story LESLIE ROBERTS THE LOBBY of Cleveland's Hotel Statler was a bustling corner of a busy city around 11 a.m. on the first of July, 1946, when the portly aracter with the face of a bland cherub accepted stful of telegrams from the mail clerk.