Arthur Cooper (October 15, 1937 – June 9, 2003) was an American journalist and magazine editor, the longtime editor of '' GQ''.

Life and career

Cooper was born in New York City and educated at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

. In 1964, he became a reporter at '' The Harrisburg Patriot''; he was later a correspondent for ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' and from 1967 to 1976 was an editor and cultural critic at ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', then from 1976 to 1978 edited '' Penthouse''. In 1978, he became editor of '' Family Weekly'', and then in 1983, of ''GQ'', where his first cover featured Joe Theismann. He announced his retirement in February 2003. At both ''Family Weekly'' and ''GQ'' Cooper was known for nurturing writers. He broadened the scope of ''GQ'', which had been focused on fashion. He was named '' Adweek'' magazine's editor of the year in 1985, was nominated for 27 National Magazine Awards and won three, was inducted into the American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame in January 2003, and was given the Henry Johnson Fisher Lifetime Achievement Award the following month. Under him ''GQ'' was the first of a new wave of men's lifestyle magazines, and Cooper himself became a fashion leader.

Personal life and death

Cooper was Jewish. He was married to Amy Levin Cooper, who became editor of '' Mademoiselle'';

Condé Nast Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Nast (businessman), Condé Montrose Nast (1873–1942) and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the FiDi, Financial Dis ...

, the publisher of their two magazines, had previously had a policy against

nepotism Nepotism is the act of granting an In-group favoritism, advantage, privilege, or position to Kinship, relatives in an occupation or field. These fields can include business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion or health care. In ...

. In June 2003, shortly after his retirement, he suffered a stroke at The Four Seasons Restaurant in Manhattan while lunching with David Zinczenko, the editor of '' Men's Health'', and died four days later at age 65 at New York Hospital.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Art 1937 births 2003 deaths American magazine editors Jewish American journalists Journalists from New York City Pennsylvania State University alumni