NEARING 65, salty C.R Smith last week moved up to chairman--and still chief executive--after 23 years as American Airlines' president. Succeeding him as president of the nation's second largest airline: Vice President-General Manager Marion Sadler, 52, a onetime teacher who joined American in 1941 as a ramp attendant. Tennessee-born Sadler, who holds a master's degree in literature from Duke, had worked up to Buffalo sales manager when he was summoned to New York in 1955 on the strength of his sales-manual writing ability. In 1959, he was jumped over senior executives to general manager, told to hold costs while American moved into jets. Sadler is holding American's expenses to a 1% increase, v. an industry average of 3.5% , by pushing sales and by automating ground operations, revising flight schedules and working out economical maintenance. Sadler on weekends inspects American installations around the U.S. and, when he can, follows a Southerner's fancy for pheasant shooting and a scholar's interest in pre-Constantine Roman history.

FEW chief executives can claim careers as colorful as that of Lawrence Litchfield Jr., 63, the chairman of first-ranking Aluminum Co. of America. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and Harvard ('23), he tramped the jungles of Latin America and Africa as a geologist in search of bauxite, learned to speak five languages and eat such delicacies as parrot soup, struck oil for Alcoa in Texas and along the way found time to be an athlete (rowing), amateur artist, rider and hunter. Since he moved up from president last April, he has spent most of his time "thinking, talking and listening about marketing and sales." Last week Litchfield raised hundreds of Alcoa products by 1-c- to 2-c- per Ib. to take advantage of a strengthening aluminum market. Competitors Reynolds Metals and Kaiser Aluminum quickly followed his lead--and then went one better by increasing basic aluminum prices by a penny, to 24-c- a Ib. Will the boost stick? That depends largely on whether Alcoa and Larry Litchfield decide to accept it.

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