''The Realist'' was a

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

of "social-political-religious criticism and satire", intended as a hybrid of a grown-ups version of ''Mad'' and Lyle Stuart's anti-censorship monthly ''The Independent.'' Edited and published by

Paul Krassner Paul Krassner (April 9, 1932 – July 21, 2019) was an American author, journalist, and comedian. He was the founder, editor, and a frequent contributor to the freethought magazine ''The Realist'', first published in 1958. Krassner became a key ...

, and often regarded as a milestone in the American underground or

countercultural A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

press of the mid-20th century, it was a nationally-distributed newsstand publication as early as 1958. Publication was discontinued in 2001.Thefreelibrary.com
/ref>

History

First published in the spring of 1958 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in the offices of '' Mad'', ''The Realist'' appeared on a fairly regular schedule during the 1960s and then on an irregular schedule after the early 1970s. In 1984, it was revived as a much smaller newsletter. Articles and cartoons from the magazine were collected in a book, ''The Best of the Realist'' (Running Press, 1984). The final issue of ''The Realist'' was #146 (Spring 2001). ''The Realist'' provided a format for extreme satire in its articles, cartoons and Krassner's editorials, but it also carried more traditionally serious material in articles and interviews. The magazine also published political commentary from

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, activist, filmmaker and actor. In a career spanning over six decades, Maile ...

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. Kesey was born in ...

and

Joseph Heller Joseph Heller (May 1, 1923 – December 12, 1999) was an American author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays. His best-known work is the 1961 novel ''Catch-22'', a satire on war and bureaucracy, whose title has become a synonym for ...

Hoaxes and advertising

Masquerade Party

The first hoax directed toward mainstream culture involved the 1960 edition of the NBC show '' Masquerade Party''.Michael DooleyJuly (2000
Here Lies Paul Krassner
at ''AIGA Journal of Graphic Design'', vol. 18, no. 2, 2000Paul Krassner (1960)

, ''The Realist'' n.16 March 1960, pp. 5–6Paul Krassner (1960).
Case History of a TV Hoax
, ''The Realist'' n. 18 June 1960, pp. 1, 3–4 Typically, television network executives would react swiftly and fearfully to viewer complaints, no matter how small or unjustified the viewer response. Testing this premise, angry letters containing no specific complaints at all were sent in response to a particular episode of the innocuous game show.

Bumper sticker

Among the more successful productions issued by Krassner was a red, white, and blue automobile

bumper sticker A bumper sticker is an adhesive label or sticker with a message, intended to be attached to the bumper of an automobile and to be read by the occupants of other vehicles—although they are often stuck onto other objects. Most bumper stickers ar ...

, decorated with stars, which proclaimed " Fuck Communism". In advertising this item, Krassner advised that if anyone displaying the sticker received criticism, the critic should be told, "Go back to Russia, you Commie lover."

Disneyland Memorial Orgy poster

His ''Disneyland Memorial Orgy'' poster, illustrated by

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as '' Weird Science'', '' Weird Fantasy'', and ''MAD Magazine'' fr ...

and published in the May 1967 issue, was a highlight of the magazine, so successful that Krassner printed it as a

poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text ...

that was widely

pirated Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...

. The poster has been upgraded by Krassner into a new, digitally-colored version. There is a section of the image, on the left-hand side, that shows Snow White being sexually assaulted by five of the seven dwarfs, whilst the other two engage in anal sex nearby. This scene has been printed (often modified to be more explicit) on t-shirts and worn by punks with the title ''Snow White and the Sir Punks'', which have caused some offence. Other cartoonists featured in ''The Realist'' included Howard Shoemaker, Dick Guindon,

Mort Gerberg Mort Gerberg is a multi-genre American cartoonist and author whose work has appeared in magazines, newspapers, books, online, home video, film and television. He is best known for his magazine cartoons, which have appeared in numerous and diver ...

, Bhob Stewart and Lou Myers.

"The Parts That Were Left Out of the Kennedy Book"

Krassner's most successful prank was ''The Parts That Were Left Out of the Kennedy Book'', a

grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

article following the censorship of

William Manchester William Raymond Manchester (April 1, 1922 – June 1, 2004) was an American author, biographer, and historian. He was the author of 18 books which have been translated into over 20 languages. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal and the ...

's book on the

Kennedy assassination John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...

, ''

The Death of a President ''The Death of a President: November 20–November 25, 1963'' is historian William Manchester's 1967 account of the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy. The book gained public attention before it was published when Kennedy' ...

''.
The Parts That Were Left Out of the Kennedy Book
' - ''The Realist'', Issue No. 74 - May 1967, cover page an

/ref> At the

climax Climax may refer to: Language arts * Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work * Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance Biology * Climax community, a biological community t ...

of the short story, Lyndon B. Johnson is on

Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and us ...

sexually penetrating the bullet-hole wound in the throat of JFK's corpse. Krassner acknowledged Marvin Garson, editor of the ''

San Francisco Express Times ''San Francisco Express Times'' was a counterculture tabloid underground newspaper edited by Marvin Garson and published weekly in San Francisco, California from January 24, 1968, to March 25, 1969, for a total of 62 issues, covering and promotin ...

'' and husband of

Barbara Garson Barbara Garson (born July 7, 1941, Brooklyn) is an American playwright, author and social activist, perhaps best known for the play ''MacBird!'' Education and personal life Garson attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she e ...

(author of the notorious anti-Johnson play '' MacBird!'' ), for coming up with that surreal image. According to Elliot Feldman, "Some members of the mainstream press and other Washington political wonks, including

Daniel Ellsberg Daniel Ellsberg (born April 7, 1931) is an American political activist, and former United States military analyst. While employed by the RAND Corporation, Ellsberg precipitated a national political controversy in 1971 when he released the '' Pen ...

of Pentagon Papers fame, actually believed this incident to be true." In a 1995 interview for the magazine ''

Adbusters The Adbusters Media Foundation is a Canadian-based not-for-profit, pro-environment organization founded in 1989 by Kalle Lasn and Bill Schmalz in Vancouver, British Columbia. Adbusters describes itself as "a global network of artists, activis ...

'', Krassner commented: "People across the country believed – if only for a moment – that an act of presidential necrophilia had taken place. It worked because

Jackie Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...

had created so much curiosity by censoring the book she authorized – William Manchester's ''The Death of a President'' – because what I wrote was a metaphorical truth about LBJ's personality presented in a literary context, and because the imagery was so shocking, it broke through the notion that the war in Vietnam was being conducted by sane men.".Cat Simril Interviews Paul Krassner
by CAT SIMRILin from '' Adbusters Quarterly: Journal of the Mental Environment'' (Winter 1995, Vol. 3 No. 3) In 1967, the Canadian campus newspaper ''

The McGill Daily ''The McGill Daily'' is an independent student newspaper at McGill University and is entirely run by students. Despite its name, the ''Daily'' has reduced its print publication to once a week, normally on Mondays, in addition to producing online- ...

'' published an excerpt from Krassner's story. The Montreal police confiscated the issue and Rocke Robertson, principal of

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Univer ...

, charged student John Fekete, the supplement editor responsible for the publication, before the Senate Discipline Committee.

Conspiracy theories

''The Realist'' was the first

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...

magazine to publish

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

.'' Conspiracy Encyclopedia: The Encyclopedia of Conspiracy Theories'', Thom Burnett, 2005, p. 86, It was the first magazine to carry

Mae Brussell Mae Magnin Brussell (May 29, 1922 – October 3, 1988) was an American radio personality and conspiracy theory, conspiracy theorist. She was the host of ''Dialogue: Conspiracy'' (later renamed ''World Watchers International''). Early life Mae ...

's work on conspiracies, which covered the kidnapping of

Patty Hearst Patricia Campbell Hearst (born February 20, 1954) is the granddaughter of American publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. She first became known for the events following her 1974 kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was found ...

, the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...

, the assassination of JFK and other conspiracy theories. When the magazine ran into financial difficulties in the 1970s, it was the conspiracy theory element that attracted ex-Beatle

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

to donate; saying, "If anything ever happens to me...it won't be an accident."

Cultural influence

In 2003, Italian satirist

Daniele Luttazzi Daniele Luttazzi (; born Daniele Fabbri on 26 January 1961) is an Italian theater actor, writer, satirist, illustrator and singer. His stage name is an homage to musician and actor Lelio Luttazzi. His favourite topics are politics, religion, ...

, whose production company is called "Krassner Entertainment", wrote the short story '' Stanotte e per sempre'' (Eng.: ''Tonight and forever'') about the assassination of Italian politician

Aldo Moro Aldo Romeo Luigi Moro (; 23 September 1916 – 9 May 1978) was an Italian statesman and a prominent member of the Christian Democracy (DC). He served as prime minister of Italy from December 1963 to June 1968 and then from November 1974 to July 1 ...

. In the climax scene,

Giulio Andreotti Giulio Andreotti ( , ; 14 January 1919 – 6 May 2013) was an Italian politician and statesman who served as the 41st prime minister of Italy in seven governments (1972–1973, 1976–1979, and 1989–1992) and leader of the Christian Democracy ...

penetrates the bullet wounds in

's corpse.

Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion, or any other cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series '' Lewi ...

included an excerpt, precisely the final part, from Krassner's story in his 2005 book '' Nothing's Sacred''.

Notable contributors

Notable contributors include: *

Mort Sahl Morton Lyon Sahl (May 11, 1927 – October 26, 2021) was a Canadian-born American comedian, actor, and social satirist, considered the first modern comedian. Sahl pioneered a style of social satire that pokes fun at political and current event t ...

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...

* Terry Southern *

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

Jules Feiffer Jules Ralph Feiffer (born January 26, 1929)''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; Page 107 is an American cartoonist and author, who was considered the most widely read satirist in the country. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 as North- ...

* Dick Guindon * Herb Gardner *

Garrett Hardin Garrett James Hardin (April 21, 1915 – September 14, 2003) was an American ecologist. He focused his career on the issue of human overpopulation, and is best known for his exposition of the tragedy of the commons in a 1968 paper of the same t ...

* Vivian McPeak *

Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilso ...

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...

Garry Trudeau Garretson Beekman Trudeau (born July 21, 1948) is an American cartoonist, best known for creating the ''Doonesbury'' comic strip. Trudeau is also the creator and executive producer of the Amazon Studios political comedy series '' Alpha House' ...

Harry Shearer Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, writer, musician, radio host, director and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member ...

Jean Shepherd Jean Parker 'Shep' Shepherd Jr. (~July 21, 1921 – October 16, 1999) was an American storyteller, humorist, radio and TV personality, writer, and actor. With a career that spanned decades, Shepherd is known for the film ''A Christmas Story'' ...

* Jerry Rubin *

Abbie Hoffman Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponen ...

* Nicholas Kazan * Bruce Jay Friedman *

* Bhob Stewart * Lou Myers *

Phil Ochs Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter and protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer). Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and ...

Albert Ellis Albert Ellis (September 27, 1913 – July 24, 2007) was an American psychologist and psychotherapist who founded rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). He held MA and PhD degrees in clinical psychology from Columbia University, and was certi ...

Neil Postman Neil Postman (March 8, 1931 – October 5, 2003) was an American author, educator, media theorist and cultural critic, who eschewed digital technology, including personal computers, mobile devices, and cruise control in cars, and was critical ...

Madalyn Murray O'Hair Madalyn Murray O'Hair (née Mays; April 13, 1919 – September 29, 1995) was an American activist supporting atheism and separation of church and state. In 1963 she founded American Atheists and served as its president until 1986, after which he ...

Edward Sorel Edward Sorel (born Edward Schwartz, 26 March 1929) is an American illustrator, caricaturist, cartoonist, graphic designer and author. His work is known for its storytelling, its left-liberal social commentary, its criticism of reactionary right-w ...

References

External links

Disneyland Memorial OrgyPaul Krassner column about ''The Realist''''The Realist'' Archive Project on ep.tc
{{DEFAULTSORT:Realist, The Monthly magazines published in the United States Satirical magazines published in the United States Conspiracy Defunct magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1958 Magazines disestablished in 2001 Magazines published in New York City