On a Jacob K. Javits Fellowship[6] at the university, he also earned a Master of Fine Arts in Directing and Playwriting, while teaching classes in drama for three years.

Banham made his Broadway acting debut in The Merchant, which starred Zero Mostel[7] as Shylock, and was directed by two-time Tony award-winning director John Dexter.

He also appeared in several Off- and Off-off-Broadway plays, and co-starred in the ninth biggest movie of 1979, Meatballs,[8] directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Bill Murray in his first film role.

That year he was cast as Brad Hopkins in producer Norman Lear's short-lived television situation comedy, Joe's World,[9] opposite Christopher Knight from The Brady Bunch.

The daily business newspaper, then owned by Knight-Ridder, asked him to join its staff in 1983 as a reporter and editor covering insurance and risk management.

Banham's CFO magazine profile of Andrew Fastow, one year before the Enron debacle came to light, was cited by writer Kurt Eichenwald in his book, Conspiracy of Fools.

The finding made it extremely unlikely the Soviets would deliberately damage their new Embassy building, given the impact of an exorbitantly expensive tear-down and geopolitical crisis.

"Not only the Ford fan but the most casual student of American industrial history can get caught up in the saga, from the highs of Henry's invention of the moving assembly line and the explosive effect of his Model T on the masses to his elevation to near-holy utopian prophet, to the lows -- 30 years later -- of a senile Henry adrift at the helm of a company that had become half loony bin and half rat's nest, run by thugs and about to go belly-up any minute until .

[25] Aviation Week hailed the book as a "meticulously researched overview," adding that Banham "masterfully captures the broad history and spirit of the company as it has evolved over the decades.

"[26] The Wall Street Journal's review of the book was equally favorable, commenting, "'Higher' ably commemorates Boeing’s enduring achievement, gliding nimbly through its triumphs of design, engineering and manufacture and, not least, its memorable contributions to wars won.

"[27] Walter Isaacson, best-selling biographer of Elon Musk, Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein, interviewed Banham about the book on his podcast, Trailblazers.