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Clay Felker, a visionary editor who was widely credited with inventing the formula for the modern magazine, giving it energetic expression in a glossy weekly named for and devoted to the boisterous city that fascinated him — New York — died on
Tuesday at his home in Manhattan. He was 82. His death
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became one of the most imitated magazines of its time, both from a design perspective and in the way it combined service and life-style articles. "He had the crass but revolutionary (revolutionary in the sense that it overthrew generations of class conceits) notion that you are what you buy. He
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Leslie Blatt, a fellow Duke undergraduate, in 1949; they divorced, and she subsequently married John W. Aldridge, a literary critic, and later
Charles Westoff, a Princeton University professor. She died November 9, 2014, in Palm Beach,
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637:, wrote after Felker's death: "American journalism would not be what it is today without Clay Felker. He created a kind of magazine that had never been seen before, told a kind of story that had never been told."
232:. He had one sibling, Charlotte. Felker's grandfather, Henry Clay Felker, of German aristocratic origins, fled Germany after the 1848 Conservative takeover. The family surname was originally von Fredrikstein.
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wrote in 1995, "Few journalists have left a more enduring imprint on late 20th-century journalism—an imprint that was unabashedly mimicked even as it was being mocked—than Clay Felker."
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in 1981. The magazine's circulation peaked at about 360,000 in 1987. By 1991, circulation had dropped to 250,000 and it was shut down.
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magazine portrayed Felker as out of touch with his former milieu and in charge of a series of money-losing journalistic enterprises.
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magazine led some observers to compare him with another
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from what his wife, Gail Sheehy, described as "natural causes", following a long battle with throat cancer.
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was of natural causes, said his wife, the author Gail Sheehy. He had had throat cancer in his later years.
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created the staff position of Clay Felker Fellow for "an aspiring journalist with unusual promise."
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sniffed the great consumer revolution with its social, political, and aesthetic implications. And
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magazine and became politically active in the feminist movement. Felker funded the first issue of
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in that these are all people that brought out magazines that had a new take on life in
America."
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became the first magazine to spell out where to get the goods (and at the best price)", wrote
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228:. Both of Clay's parents, along with a grandfather and a grandmother, graduated from the
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in 1998, as well as the
Futrell Award for Excellence in Communications and Journalism.
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closed its doors in 1966. Felker later, in 1968, reconstituted the Sunday section as
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in 1977. In 1980, it was sold to
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In 1994, Felker became a lecturer at the
Graduate School of Journalism at the
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University of
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855:"Clay Felker, 82; editor of New York magazine led New Journalism charge"
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A long-time friend of Wolfe, Felker was one of the early proponents of
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Literary
Journalism: A Biographical Dictionary of Writers and Editors
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Morrison, Colin. Start
Spreading the News: "New York" Fights Back.
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In 1983, he founded the editorial board for the alumni publication
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in 1977 but sold it in 1979. Felker in 1988 also bought the lower
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what she later called her first "serious assignment", regarding
1120:, flashesandflames.com. June 10, 2015. Accessed March 24. 2024.
927:"Three decades of covering what's up Downtown", March 31, 2017.
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by one year. Steinem joined the founding staff of Felker's
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in 1968, one of his first features was Wolfe's coverage of
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Gloria Steinem, Gore Vidal and others remember Clay Felker
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magazine, founded by Steinem and other feminist leaders.
372:. The section became the "hottest Sunday read in town."
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In 1987, Felker became editor of the business magazine
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886:. United States of America: Random House. pp.
250:, but returned to the school to graduate in 1951.
1118:"Start spreading the news: 'New York' fights back"
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1159:Deaths from esophageal cancer in New York (state)
283:magazine. He developed an article he wrote about
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993:"California, 2 other magazines folding (part 1)"
945:"California, 2 other magazines folding (part 2)"
506:. Mediatex changed the name of the magazine to
437:Felker became editor-in-chief and publisher of
1102:Tom Wolfe on How Clay Felker Changed New York
964:"'New West' Is Out - Looking like 'New York'"
1179:United States Navy personnel of World War II
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667:"Clay Felker, Magazine Pioneer, Dies at 82"
360:in 1962. He revamped a Sunday section into
291:(1961). He was on the development team for
230:University of Missouri School of Journalism
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403:. Wolfe expanded this account into his
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1082:City of Clay: a collection of tributes
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273:After graduation, Felker worked as a
246:. He left school in 1943 to join the
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1209:Writers from Durham, North Carolina
1194:Sportswriters from New York (state)
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706:"Founding Father of New Journalism"
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216:, son of Carl Felker, an editor of
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1013:Urquhart, Rachel (November 1990).
538:University of California, Berkeley
480:s sister publication covering the
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962:Lindsey, Robert (17 April 1976).
853:Mclellan, Dennis (July 2, 2008).
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665:Carmody, Deirdre (July 1, 2008).
1169:Military personnel from Missouri
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590:Felker died on July 1, 2008, in
560:Felker was married three times:
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734:Carmody, Deirdre (1995-04-09).
602:Tom Wolfe said: "He ranks with
409:The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
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1204:New York Herald Tribune people
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629:The former editor-in-chief of
379:and key to its emergence. The
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991:Citron, Alan (30 July 1991).
943:Citron, Alan (30 July 1991).
772:Daring: My Passages: A Memoir
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297:and was features editor for
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1087:Faculty Profile at Berkeley
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1214:New York (magazine) people
1184:American magazine founders
1174:United States Navy sailors
443:in 1974; he resigned from
364:and hired writers such as
345:After losing a battle for
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1149:American magazine editors
1092:Interview in SF Chronicle
1055:by Marc Weingarten (2006)
391:magazine. After founding
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257:. Duke awarded Felker an
194:magazine (first known as
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472:In 1976, Felker founded
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434:35th anniversary issue.
214:Webster Groves, Missouri
47:Webster Groves, Missouri
880:Korda, Michael (1999).
382:New York Herald Tribune
357:New York Herald Tribune
287:as a full-length book,
225:St. Louis Post-Dispatch
212:He was born in 1925 in
1164:Duke University alumni
353:, Felker left to join
303:. He later worked for
289:Casey Stengel's Secret
768:Sheehy, Gail (2014).
327:The Feminine Mystique
188:magazine in 1968 and
1036:Flashes & Flames
180:Clay Schuette Felker
147: 1962;
103:Board member of
33:Clay Schuette Felker
455:in 1976. He bought
208:Birth and education
1112:Clay Felker Papers
968:The New York Times
776:. William Morrow.
741:The New York Times
672:The New York Times
294:Sports Illustrated
201:The New York Times
84:Journalist, editor
1023:. pp. 60–67.
997:Los Angeles Times
949:Los Angeles Times
860:Los Angeles Times
496:was purchased by
440:The Village Voice
421:New York Magazine
405:non-fiction novel
219:The Sporting News
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65:New York City, US
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716:. September 2008
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449:hostile takeover
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401:Merry Pranksters
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883:Another Life
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58:July 1, 2008
1139:2008 deaths
1134:1925 births
620:Jann Wenner
612:Harold Ross
575:Gail Sheehy
486:Joan Didion
159:Gail Sheehy
92:Co-founded
23:Clay Felker
1128:Categories
911:"35 Years"
866:2008-11-23
816:2008-07-02
747:2008-11-23
720:2008-11-23
678:2008-07-01
641:References
616:New Yorker
604:Henry Luce
550:Jay Gatsby
508:California
482:West Coast
191:California
39:1925-10-02
635:Adam Moss
592:Manhattan
556:Marriages
527:By 1990,
478:New York'
463:Manhattan
397:Ken Kesey
366:Tom Wolfe
114:Spouse(s)
71:Education
915:New York
631:New York
598:Tributes
579:Cambodia
565:Florida.
542:New York
494:New West
474:New West
445:New York
429:New York
416:New York
399:and his
393:New York
388:New York
362:New York
333:New York
324:'s book
196:New West
185:New York
98:magazine
95:New York
1038:(blog).
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614:of the
525:M, inc.
458:Esquire
347:Esquire
300:Esquire
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975:2023
892:ISBN
778:ISBN
618:and
608:Time
488:and
368:and
355:The
306:Time
280:Life
277:for
248:Navy
241:The
149:div.
125:div.
55:Died
49:, US
29:Born
1020:Spy
622:of
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