''Cavalier'' is an American magazine launched by

Fawcett Publications Fawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, by Wilford Hamilton "Captain Billy" Fawcett (1885–1940). It kicked off with the publication of the bawdy humor magazine ''Captain Billy's Whiz ...

in 1952 and which ran for decades, eventually evolving into a ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

''-style men's magazine. It has no connection with the

Frank Munsey Frank Andrew Munsey (August 21, 1854 – December 22, 1925) was an American newspaper and magazine publisher, banker, political financier and author. He was born in Mercer, Maine, Mercer, Maine, but spent most of his life in New York City. The v ...

pulp ''The Cavalier'', published in the early years of the 20th century. In its original format, ''Cavalier'' was planned by Fawcett to feature novelettes and novel excerpts by Fawcett's

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

authors, including Richard Prather and Mickey Spillane.

Editors

During the 1950s, the magazine was edited by James B. O'Connell (1952–1958) and Bob Curran (1959). Editors in the 1960s included Frederic A. Birmingham (1962), Frank M. Robinson,

Robert Shea Robert Joseph Shea (February 14, 1933 – March 10, 1994) was an American novelist and former journalist best known as co-author with Robert Anton Wilson of the science fantasy trilogy '' Illuminatus!'' It became a cult success and was later turn ...

(1966), and Alan R. LeMond (1967). Maurice DeWalt was the editor in 1973.

Contributors

Authors in the 1950s included Jimmy Breslin,

Henry Kuttner Henry Kuttner (April 7, 1915 – February 3, 1958) was an American author of science fiction, fantasy fiction, fantasy and horror fiction, horror. Early life Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915. Kuttner (1829–1903) and ...

, Clyde Beatty ("Tigers on the Loose"), and Stanley P. Friedman. During the 1960s, the magazine featured such writers as Nelson Algren,

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...

Robert Coover Robert Lowell Coover (February 4, 1932 – October 5, 2024) was an American novelist, Short story, short story writer, and T. B. Stowell Professor Emeritus in Literary Arts at Brown University. He is generally considered a writer of fabulation ...

Leonard Feather Leonard Geoffrey Feather (13 September 1914 – 22 September 1994) was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer, who was best known for his music journalism and other writing. Biography Feather was born in London, England, into an u ...

Bruce Jay Friedman Bruce Jay Friedman (April 26, 1930June 3, 2020) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. He was noted for his versatility of writing in both literature and pop culture. He was also a trailblazer in the style of modern Ameri ...

, Richard Gehman,

Nat Hentoff Nathan Irving Hentoff (June 10, 1925 – January 7, 2017) was an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media. Hentoff was a columnist for ''The Village Voice'' from 1958 to 2009. F ...

, John Clellon Holmes, William Bradford Huie,

Garson Kanin Garson Kanin (November 24, 1912 – March 13, 1999) was an American writer and director of plays and films. Early life Garson Kanin was born in Rochester, New York; his Jewish family later relocated to Detroit then to New York City. He at ...

Paul Krassner Paul Krassner (April 9, 1932 – July 21, 2019) was an American writer and satirist. He was the founder, editor, and a frequent contributor to the freethought magazine ''The Realist'', first published in 1958. Krassner became a key figure in t ...

, John D. MacDonald,

Alberto Moravia Alberto Pincherle (; 28 November 1907 – 26 September 1990), known by his pseudonym Alberto Moravia ( , ), was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation and existentialism. Moravia i ...

Thomas Pynchon Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. ( , ; born May 8, 1937) is an American novelist noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and non-fiction writings encompass a vast array of subject matter, Literary genre, genres and Theme (narrative), th ...

, Robert Shelton,

Isaac Bashevis Singer Isaac Bashevis Singer (; 1903 – July 24, 1991) was a Poland, Polish-born Jews, Jewish novelist, short-story writer, memoirist, essayist, and translator in the United States. Some of his works were adapted for the theater. He wrote and publish ...

Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American author of primarily fantasy fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and Horror fiction, horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 ...

William Tenn William Tenn was the pseudonym of Philip Klass (May 9, 1920 – February 7, 2010), a British-born American science fiction author, notable for many stories with satirical elements. Biography Born to a Jewish family in London, Phillip Klass mo ...

, and

Colin Wilson Colin Henry Wilson (26 June 1931 – 5 December 2013) was an English existentialist philosopher-novelist. He also wrote widely on true crime, mysticism and the paranormal, eventually writing more than a hundred books. Wilson called his p ...

. Some stories were reprints, such as

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...

's " Man from the South" in the June 1960 issue. Film critic Manny Farber had a monthly column in the 1960s.Debt
by Duncan Shepherd. ''San Diego Reader''. May 25, 2006.

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

was a contributor during the 1970s, and his stories were also featured in ''Cavalier Yearbook''.

Cartoonists and illustrators

Vaughn Bode's long-running comic-strip feature ''Deadbone''/''Deadbone Erotica''/''Erotica'' was published in ''Cavalier'' continuously from May 1969 through August 1975 (with the exception of April 1975). From September 1975 onwards, reprints of previously published ''Deadbone'' strips appeared, as Bode had died in July 1975. Other comics by

Art Spiegelman Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman ( ; born February 15, 1948), professionally known as Art Spiegelman, is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel ''Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazin ...

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American artist 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 contemporary American c ...

, and

Jay Lynch Jay Patrick Lynch (January 7, 1945 – March 5, 2017) was an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his '' Bijou Funnies'' and other titles. He is best known for his comic strip ''Nard n' Pat'' and the r ...

were also published at times. Illustrators included the Boston-based painter Norman Baer. Illustrator/painter

Robert McGinnis Robert Edward McGinnis (February 3, 1926 – March 10, 2025) was an American artist and illustrator. McGinnis is known for his illustrations of more than 1,200 paperback book covers,BiographyMcGinnis, Robert− Cavalier Galleries and over 40 ...

, whose long illustration career had just started to take off around the beginning of the 1960s, painted some female figures (some of them nudes) for some of the ''Cavalier'' issues, with some verified issue examples being June, October, and December 1965.

Publishers

The magazine had several logo changes, and during the 1960s, it was taken over by the DuGent Publishing Corporation, which was located at 236 East 46th Street in New York City. In the 1980s, DuGent Publishing relocated their headquarters to

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Greater Downtown Miami, Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

. ''Cavalier'' is currently published by Cavalier Publishing, LLC in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Cavalier'' (February, 1970): Sal Mineo interviewed by Bob Abel
Literary magazines published in the United States Men's magazines published in the United States Monthly magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1952 Men's adventure magazines Magazines published in New York City Magazines published in Florida Fawcett Publications