(October 3, 1927-April 1, 1983)
Born in Wilmington, North Carolina
Birth name was Gloria Gurganus
Editor-in-chief of ’16’ magazine (1958-75)

Her articles about celebrities tended to be puff pieces.
She would often cover up if a celeb was married or gay to maintain the illusion that they were ‘attainable.’.
She became romantically involved with several of the celebs she interviewed, including Dion and Jim Morrison.
She would terrorize underlings, with ‘Do I have to do your fucking job for you?’ being a frequent refrain.
She was a heavy smoker, which probably contributed to the lung cancer that killed her.

Despite not having any prior journalistic experience, in a year she rose from subscriptions clerk to editor of ’16.’
She was also the magazine’s primary writer and photographer.
She read every fan letter sent to ‘16’ to stay in touch with what her readers wanted.
She used ‘16’ to promote some unlikely candidates for teen idol status, including Lenny Bruce, Jonathan Frid, and Alice Cooper.
Record companies sought her opinion on how best to promote their acts.
Dave Marsh wrote, ‘Gloria Stavers and 16 magazine basically invented rock and pop-culture journalism as we know it today.’

Credit: C. Fishel

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• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 71]
• I Died in 1983 (Ranked: 55)
• I Died on April Fool's Day - No Foolin' [April 1st] (Ranked: 1983)
• I Have Lung Cancer
• Look at Me, I've Got a Camera Too
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