The Improbable First Century of Cosmopolitan Magazine

8. Transformation

225 “Frisky” Helen Gurley Brown first mentioned her idea for a nude male centerfold to executives at Hearst Magazines during autumn 1968. “I wanted someone fun, frisky,” Gurley Brown said. Executives were not thrilled. Cosmopolitan already had endured ridicule and scorn from national magazines and network television programs for its seemingly obsessive preoccupation with sex since Gurley Brown had become editor three years earlier. However, all the negative attention was outweighed by simple economics. Cosmopolitan had increased its average monthly circulation from 782,000 copies to 1.05 million copies during the three-year span, and a consequent influx of advertisers had raised the monthly average from twenty-nine ad pages to sixty-four ad pages, amounting to additional actual revenue of approximately $157,000 each issue (equivalent to $942,000 in 2010 dollars). Cosmopolitan was making money again.1 On a practical note, though, a nude centerfold could cause problems with distributors and retailers who might fear angry reactions from customers at grocery stores, drugstores, and bookstores where the magazine was displayed at checkout counters. One concern was that a promotional cover blurb for a nude centerfold might attract minors who would open the magazine with or without parents present; another concern was that some vendors, especially in small towns and southern states, might put the magazine behind the checkout counter to avoid offending customers, which could reduce sales substantially . Cosmopolitan relied on single-copy buyers for almost its entire circulation. “The people at Hearst weren’t too pleased with the idea,” Gurley Brown said. “They thought we were going too far.”2 Gurley Brown proceeded to search for the right man anyway. Executives at Hearst Magazines had disliked other ideas she had proposed regarding articles about sexual topics usually avoided by mainstream magazines—adultery, T r a n s f o r m a t i o n 8 226 The Improbable First Century of Cosmopolitan Magazine premarital sex, one-night stands. They almost always had agreed to publish eventually because the text itself never was explicit. “The Hearst people were putting up with me,” Gurley Brown said. “They did that because of the sales. Early on, we were selling practically the entire print run every month. Ninety percent of what we placed at the newsstands. That was unheard of.” True, the percentage of newsstand sales was remarkable for a magazine of the era, but the Cosmopolitan of Ray Long had sold equally well forty years earlier. She focused her search for a centerfold on Hollywood actors. “Movies were so important then,” Gurley Brown said. “Television was popular, but not important .”A popular movie actor of the time, James Coburn, was chosen to pose. Cosmopolitan had published a profile article on Coburn during summer 1967, and Gurley Brown thought him boyish, charming, handsome, and suave. Coburn posed on the condition that he retain authority to select photographs for publication; with his wife’s agreement he sent two photos from the session to Gurley Brown. She did not like them.3 Her memo to Hearst executives in December 1968 explained the problem: “Apparently he is in his mystical phase right now and they feel this fairly represents him whereas I’m thinking of something that’s fun and all American and big smile and all that. I feel this feature must be absolutely right or not worth its investment.” The investment would be approximately $42,000 for a four-color, three-page centerfold in a million copies of the magazine, which also would require a special folding process for insertion. Gurley Brown ended the memo to executives humorously, “If you ever see anybody famous and beautiful and male disrobing unexpectedly at a party, I hope you’ll run for your camera!”The president of Hearst Magazines, Richard Deems, scrawled a reply to her, “How about Dick Nixon?!”4 Paul Newman was her next choice, but he refused to pose. So the idea was in limbo for a few years. There was no urgency. Cosmopolitan was selling well and ad pages were increasing, centerfold or not. Then an appearance on the Tonight Show in January 1972 provided inspiration.“I was a PR maven,” Gurley Brown said.“If anyone asked me to speak or to appear as a panelist or to be on television , I would be there.” Gurley Brown was a good conversationalist who could be counted on to talk about sexual topics without risking possible censure by the Federal Communications Commission if any viewers complained. Gurley Brown was a...