Pageant (magazine)
Encyclopedia
Pageant was a 20th-century monthly magazine
published in the United States
from November 1944 until February 1977. Printed in a digest size
format, it became Coronet
magazine's leading competition, although it aimed for comparison to Reader's Digest
.
Pageant was founded and first published by Hillman Periodicals
. Publisher Alex L. Hillman saw Pageant as a prestigious change to his magazine line that included true confessions (Real Romances, Real Story, Real Confessions), crime titles (Crime Detective, Real Detective, Crime Confessions) and comic books, and he went to press for a 500,000 print run on his first issue. With an emphasis on visuals throughout, Pageant often mixed glamour photo features with informative text on a wide range of subjects.
Macfadden Publications
purchased Pageant in 1961. Pageant ceased publication with the February 1977 issue.
, Eugene Lyons, the first U.S. correspondent to interview Joseph Stalin
, signed on as Pageants first editor, offering a solid line-up of articles. So did Vernon Pope who took over as editor in May 1945. Even so, with a circulation of 270,000, the adless Pageant lost $400,000 for its publisher in 1946-47, mainly due to rising printing and paper costs in the postwar era. Typical of that year's contents was the September 1947 issue with articles on "Babies Before Birth," Greece, New England, pianist Alec Templeton
, the photography of Louise Dahl-Wolfe
and an interview with Bernard Baruch
.
Vernon Pope departed in 1947 and was replaced by a former Coronet managing editor, 30-year-old Harris Shevelson, who soon had the magazine turning a profit, with circulation climbing to 350,000 by March 1949, followed by a 400,000 print run for a wacky April Fool issue (April 1949).
's Mad
, triggering the switch of Mad from a comic book to a magazine. In the early 1950s, Pageant did an article about the comic book Mad, illustrating it with an original double-page cartoon showing a parade of Mad characters. The drawing was created especially for Pageant by Kurtzman and Will Elder
. Not long after that, Kurtzman received an offer to edit Pageant. Mad publisher Bill Gaines
, in an interview with Steve Ringgenberg, explained what happened next:
Shirley Bonne
, an actress who appeared in the CBS comedy series My Sister Eileen
(1960-61), appeared twice on the Pageant cover in the mid-1950s.
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
published in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from November 1944 until February 1977. Printed in a digest size
Digest size
Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately 5½ x 8¼ inches, but can also be 5⅜ x 8⅜ inches and 5½ x 7½ inches. These sizes have evolved from the printing press operation end...
format, it became Coronet
Coronet (magazine)
Coronet was a general interest digest magazine published from October 13, 1936, to March 1971 and ran for 299 issues. The magazine was owned by Esquire and published by David A. Smart from 1936 to 1961.-Typical issue:...
magazine's leading competition, although it aimed for comparison to Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
.
Pageant was founded and first published by Hillman Periodicals
Hillman Periodicals
Hillman Periodicals, Inc. was an American magazine and comic book publishing company founded in 1938 by Alex L. Hillman, a former New York City book publisher...
. Publisher Alex L. Hillman saw Pageant as a prestigious change to his magazine line that included true confessions (Real Romances, Real Story, Real Confessions), crime titles (Crime Detective, Real Detective, Crime Confessions) and comic books, and he went to press for a 500,000 print run on his first issue. With an emphasis on visuals throughout, Pageant often mixed glamour photo features with informative text on a wide range of subjects.
Macfadden Publications
Macfadden Publications
Macfadden Communications Group is a publisher of business magazines. It has a historical link with a company started in 1898 by Bernarr Macfadden that was one of the largest magazine publishers of the twentieth century.-Macfadden Publications:...
purchased Pageant in 1961. Pageant ceased publication with the February 1977 issue.
Editors
After six years editing The American MercuryThe American Mercury
The American Mercury was an American magazine published from 1924 to 1981. It was founded as the brainchild of H. L. Mencken and drama critic George Jean Nathan. The magazine featured writing by some of the most important writers in the United States through the 1920s and 1930s...
, Eugene Lyons, the first U.S. correspondent to interview Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, signed on as Pageants first editor, offering a solid line-up of articles. So did Vernon Pope who took over as editor in May 1945. Even so, with a circulation of 270,000, the adless Pageant lost $400,000 for its publisher in 1946-47, mainly due to rising printing and paper costs in the postwar era. Typical of that year's contents was the September 1947 issue with articles on "Babies Before Birth," Greece, New England, pianist Alec Templeton
Alec Templeton
Alec Templeton was a Welsh composer, pianist and satirist.Templeton was born in Cardiff, Wales. Blind from birth, he studied at London's Royal Academy.-Radio:...
, the photography of Louise Dahl-Wolfe
Louise Dahl-Wolfe
Louise Emma Augusta Dahl was a noted American photographer. She is known primarily for her work for Harper's Bazaar, in association with fashion editor Diana Vreeland.-Background:...
and an interview with Bernard Baruch
Bernard Baruch
Bernard Mannes Baruch was an American financier, stock-market speculator, statesman, and political consultant. After his success in business, he devoted his time toward advising U.S. Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt on economic matters and became a philanthropist.-Early life...
.
Vernon Pope departed in 1947 and was replaced by a former Coronet managing editor, 30-year-old Harris Shevelson, who soon had the magazine turning a profit, with circulation climbing to 350,000 by March 1949, followed by a 400,000 print run for a wacky April Fool issue (April 1949).
Link with Mad
Pageant indirectly figures into the history of Harvey KurtzmanHarvey Kurtzman
Harvey Kurtzman was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic books and magazines. Kurtzman often signed his name H. Kurtz, followed by a stick figure Harvey Kurtzman (October 3, 1924, Brooklyn, New York – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic...
's Mad
Mad (magazine)
Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
, triggering the switch of Mad from a comic book to a magazine. In the early 1950s, Pageant did an article about the comic book Mad, illustrating it with an original double-page cartoon showing a parade of Mad characters. The drawing was created especially for Pageant by Kurtzman and Will Elder
Will Elder
William Elder was an American illustrator and comic book artist who worked in numerous areas of commercial art, but is best known for a zany cartoon style that helped launch Harvey Kurtzman's Mad comic book in 1952....
. Not long after that, Kurtzman received an offer to edit Pageant. Mad publisher Bill Gaines
William Gaines
William Maxwell Gaines , better known as Bill Gaines, was an American publisher and co-editor of EC Comics. Following a shift in EC's direction in 1950, Gaines presided over what became an artistically influential and historically important line of mature-audience comics...
, in an interview with Steve Ringgenberg, explained what happened next:
- I changed it because Harvey Kurtzman, my then editor, got a very lucrative offer from... Pageant magazine, and he had, prior to that time, evinced an interest in changing Mad into a magazine. At the time, I didn’t think I wanted to because I didn’t know anything about publishing magazines. I was a comics publisher, but remembering this interest, when he got this offer, I countered his offer by saying I would allow him to change Mad into a magazine, which proved to be a very lucky step for me. But that’s why it was changed. It was not changed to avoid the Code. Now, as a result of this, it did avoid the Code, but that’s not why I did it. If Harvey had not gotten that offer from Pageant, Mad probably never would have changed format.
Shirley Bonne
Shirley Bonne is a former actress who portrayed Eileen Sherwood in the CBS television situation comedy My Sister Eileen, which aired during the 1960-1961 season. Bonne played an aspiring actress in New York City sharing an apartment with her older sister, Ruth Sherwood, a magazine writer played by...
, an actress who appeared in the CBS comedy series My Sister Eileen
My Sister Eileen
My Sister Eileen originated as a series of short stories by Ruth McKenney that eventually evolved into a book, a play, a musical, a radio play , two films, and a CBS television series in the 1960-1961 season....
(1960-61), appeared twice on the Pageant cover in the mid-1950s.
Read Pageant
- Pageant (September 1952): "How I Stay in Shape" by Marilyn Monroe (full text)
- Pageant (September 1953): "The 5 Marx Brothers and How They Shrank" by Sidney Carroll (full text)
- Pageant (January 1955): "My Favorite Case" by Jack Webb (full text)
- Pageant (February 1974): "Jet Set God" by Kethleen Jeremy (full text)
- Pageant (September 1976): "Loretta Swit" by Sylvia Resnick (full text)