Pic Magazine

Articles from Pic Magazine

The Amazing Volkswagen (Pic Magazine, 1955)

Much of the credit for the success of Volkswagen immediately after the war was due to the visionary leadership of Volkswagen CEO Heinz Nordhoff (1899 – 1968), who was able to assess the faults of the existing model and make the necessary improvements:

The power was low, and the engine had a life of only 10,000 miles. Nordhoff brought in new experts who redesigned every vital component, working on the original pre-war designs of Ferdinand Porsche… The new car was quieter and more powerful, and had hydraulic brakes and shock absorbers. Soon, models with luxury touches were introduced.

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Wilson On The Eve of War (Pic Magazine, 1942)

This article remembers the relationship Wilson enjoyed with a much admired editor and columnist for the N.Y. World, Frank Cobb (1869 – 1923). A page from the newspaperman’s diary recalls his 1917 visit with the President on the night before he appeared before Congress seeking the declaration of war.

I’d never seen him so worn down. He looked as if he hadn’t slept – and he said he hadn’t…

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The Missing Star: Jane Russell (Pic Magazine, 1943)

Those cheeky, ill-informed editors at PIC MAGAZINE impertinently protested that the Howard Hughes’ movie The Outlaw should have been in the theaters ages ago – failing all the while to recognize that the film had been released a week prior to the publication of their article.


But they made up for it by providing their readers with six seldom-seen cheesecake pictures of the star, Jane Russell.

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GI Joe and the Women of Japan… (Pic Magazine, 1952)

Although this article is illustrated with imagery depicting American men and Japanese women appearing to genuinely be enjoying one another’s company, the accompanying text says something quite different. The article centers on the observations of the woman who heads the YWCA in Japan who insists that the vulgar Americans stationed in that country are coercing Japanese women to become prostitutes. The journalist then goes into some detail as to what a big business prostitution in Japan has become and how many illegitimate births have resulted.

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Martha Vickers (Pic Magazine, 1945)

Perhaps one of the first magazine articles about the beautiful actress Martha Vickers (1925 – 1971) who is best remembered by fans for her performance as the fabulously slutty Carmen Sternwood in the 1946 film The Big Sleep.


This article tells the tale of her early days in 1940s Los Angeles and her work as a photographer’s model, which turned more than a few of the crowned heads of Hollywood.

Martha Vickers (Pic Magazine, 1945) Read More »

Martha Vickers (Pic Magazine, 1945)

Perhaps one of the first magazine articles about the beautiful actress Martha Vickers (1925 – 1971) who is best remembered by fans for her performance as the fabulously slutty Carmen Sternwood in the 1946 film The Big Sleep.


This article tells the tale of her early days in 1940s Los Angeles and her work as a photographer’s model, which turned more than a few of the crowned heads of Hollywood.

Martha Vickers (Pic Magazine, 1945) Read More »

Cecil B. DeMille Tries his Hand at Radio (Pic Magazine, 1941)

At the age of 63, after 44 years in show business, and ten years as director of the Lux Radio Theaterstyle=border:none, Cecil B. De Mille is still producing. He can’t stop and he probably never will. He is first, last and all the time a showman. The show business is in his blood, and whether he is on a set or taking his leisure at home, his heart and mind are in the theater. He loves to have people around him so that he can play a part, for consciously or unconsciously, he is always acting… C.B.’s father was an actor and playwright, and later a partner of David Belasco. His mother was an actress, and later a very successful play agent.

Cecil B. DeMille Tries his Hand at Radio (Pic Magazine, 1941) Read More »

Cecil B. DeMille Tries his Hand at Radio (Pic Magazine, 1941)

At the age of 63, after 44 years in show business, and ten years as director of the Lux Radio Theaterstyle=border:none, Cecil B. De Mille is still producing. He can’t stop and he probably never will. He is first, last and all the time a showman. The show business is in his blood, and whether he is on a set or taking his leisure at home, his heart and mind are in the theater. He loves to have people around him so that he can play a part, for consciously or unconsciously, he is always acting… C.B.’s father was an actor and playwright, and later a partner of David Belasco. His mother was an actress, and later a very successful play agent.

Cecil B. DeMille Tries his Hand at Radio (Pic Magazine, 1941) Read More »