The Man with the Golden Gut

From his office on the 38th floor of the ABC building in Manhattan, Fred Silverman can peer into the office of CBS President Robert Wussler, just across 53rd Street. Occasionally the two men wave at each other from the heights, like rival aviators saluting before a dogfight. But sometimes—when he is trying to woo a star away from another network or plan a secret strategy—Silverman, head of ABC's programming, draws his drapes: if he can look into Wussler's office, Wussler can look into his, and...