I believe a case can be made–indeed a case has been made by others, by historians of Apple and hacker culture–that “Secrets of the Little Blue Box,” a story I wrote for Esquire back in 1971 about “phone phreaks” and the first computer hackers (it was only the second magazine story I’d ever had published) played a crucial role in the careers of the founders of Apple and of a legendary ur-hacker I made famous who went by the name of Captain Crunch.

Mr. Peshak started making films for Glenview, Ill.-based Coronet Instructional Films. The company was started by David Smart, the founder of Esquire magazine.