of high literature and a touch of salaciousness—had returned to the
company after resolving a major disagreement with publisher David Smart
that had forced the former’s temporary retirement. Since Gingrich left in
the early 1940 s,Esquirehad taken a nose-dive, becoming ostensibly a girlie
magazine with some mediocre fiction and fashion sections. When he
returned, Esquire’s layout was tawdry, replete with crass novelty lettering
and sentimental cosmopolitan-styled illustration. He sought to cure its
most superficial ills with a bright new talent.
Wolf took a year or two to get the magazine the way he liked it.
The first big changeovers included conceptual photographic covers (shot by
Dan Wynn and Ben Somoroff ), streamlining of the rather horsy Esquire
masthead (by Ed Benguait, who was in the art bullpen) into a distinctive
logotype, introduction of simple interior typography, and development of a
stable of expressive illustrators (including Tom Allen, Robert Weaver, Tomi
Ungerer, Rudy de Harak, R. O. Blechman, and others). “Still,” he lamented,
“I couldn’t get rid of the girlie gatefold for some time because Gingrich
didn’t want to lose that part of his audience.”
Gingrich’s tastes molded Esquireand influenced the young Wolf.
“I do a magazine I’d like to get in the mail,” stated the dapper man-about-
town in an interview with Edward R. Murrow. “I like fishing, I like cars, I
like some girls.” He also appreciated what his editors and art director liked,
and so gave Wolf as many as eight pages in each issue to present whatever
he wanted. In the late 1950 s Esquirewas not just a collection of random
stories and features, but an entity with a massive “editorial sandwich” as
well. While some vestiges of the past remained, such as the girlie pics and
gag cartoons, during Wolf ’s tenure the editorial mix changed considerably.
Wolf ’s interests in high and low culture was manifest in exciting photo
shoots by some of America’s most promising image makers. Indeed all
writers and artists wanted to be showcased in Esquire. Ben Shahn and
Richard Lindner did illustrations for one-hundred-and-fifty and seventy-
five dollars.
Wolf left in 1958 and was replaced by his assistant, a young
cartoonist and writer, Robert Benton (b. 1932 ), who later became an
Academy Award–winning director (Kramer vs. Kramer). Benton was art
director during a period of “fun anarchy.” Gingrich was loosening control,
and two editors, Harold Hayes and Clay Felker, were in a face-off for the
editorship. For most of Benton’s tenure no one was really in charge,
allowing him freedoms that otherwise might have been impossible. Benton
is credited by many of those with whom he worked for evolving editorial
illustration to its next conceptual stage. Robert Andrew Parker, for instance,
walked in from off the street with a series of “Imaginary War” paintings
tuis.
(Tuis.)
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