The Art of TV Guide

 

Jerry Alten started as Art Director of TV Guide in 1967, and for almost 50 years he engaged the world s greatest illustrators to provide the artwork for the pages of the widest circulated magazine in the world. Unlike entertainment magazines today, the digest-sized magazine relied almost solely on illustration, and in many cases, it helped to support the careers of many of the illustrators. Artists ranged from Norman Rockwell to Charles Addams, Edward Gorey to Andy Warhol. Jerry Alten provides a view behind-the-scenes of a magazine that featured some of America s greatest celebrities, the artist who painted them, and the interesting, highly entertaining, and sometimes outrageous interactions between subject, artist, and art director. The book is also a nostalgic look at the people who helped make the medium what it is today.

Jerry Alten, as the art director for TV Guide magazine at its zenith in the late 80’s, helped sales grow from 5 million to 20 million subscribers, and he now consults with a variety of magazine titles on design and expansion activities.