I know nothing of Salinger's reputed career as a cruise ship entertainer but, if true, I don't find it particularly surprising. Inside very many shy reclusives lurks an exhibitionist - as many actors have demonstrated. Remembering the whole provenance of the Glass vaudevillians & the 'just look at me, I'm dancing,' element in Salinger's own prose, I find myself unamazed. Scottie B.