André Laguerre

Marc André Laguerre(February 21, 1915 – January 18, 1979) was ajournalistand magazineeditor,best known as themanaging editorofSports Illustratedfrom 1960 to 1974, during which time he oversaw the growth in the magazine from a niche publication to become the industry leader in weekly sports magazines. It was under his leadership that the annualSports Illustrated Swimsuit Issuewas first published. When he retired in 1974, he had been managing editor of the magazine for 704 issues, then a record among magazines published byTime, Inc.,SI's parent company.

André Laguerre
Born	Marc André Laguerre (1915-02-21)February 21, 1915 Ottery St. Mary,Devon, England
Died	January 18, 1979(1979-01-18)(aged 63) New York City,United States
Nationality	French, British, later naturalized US citizen
Known for	Longtime managing editor ofSports Illustrated

Early life and family

André Laguerre was born June 7, 1915, in England to Frenchman Léon James Laguerre and his English wife, Dorothy. He was the oldest of three children; he had a younger brother, Leon and a younger sister, Odette. His father was in the French diplomatic corps, and the family moved frequently during his early years. Before the age of ten, Andre had lived in England, France and Syria. In the summer of 1927, his father took a post at theFrench Consulate General in San Francisco.The family lived in the upper-class neighborhood ofSea Cliff,and Andre attended a number of private schools, including the Santa Monica School andSt. Ignatius College Preparatory.While in San Francisco, he became a fan of American sports, especially baseball, and also had his first job in journalism, as a copyboy for theSan Francisco Chronicle.In 1929, he was sent back to England for school. He graduated in 1931, having earned anOxford Certificate,but he declined to matriculate atOxford University,instead preferring to pursue a career as a journalist. He enrolled in acorrespondence course,and took a job at a book store to support himself.

Early career and military service

He worked hard for many years as a freelance journalist, and began to be noticed for his writing. He wrote for both English language and French language publications. In 1938, he covered theMunich Agreementfor the French dailyParis-Soir.When World War II broke out, he enlisted in the French Army as a corporal. His first assignment was on patrol on theMaginot Line.He later served as a liaison to the British forces atArras,and remained with them until theBattle of Arrasforced their retreat. He stayed with the British forces until theDunkirk evacuationin 1940, where he was one of the last to be evacuated. His evacuation ship was sunk by a mine, and he was rescued by a British destroyer, bleeding heavily from a neck wound. Laguerre credited his rescue to his ease with the English language (his rescuers took him for British). He criticised his rescuers in later years for refusing to help Frenchmen who were around him; many of them drowned.

After his rescue and recovery from his injuries, days afterCharles de Gaulle's famousJune 18th Speech,he was given the option of being discharged from his duties, or to join theFree Frenchforces. He chose the latter. He was assigned as a sentry guarding Charles de Gaulle's headquarters. While at that post, he wrote a letter to de Gaulle suggesting techniques to improve the morale of Free French troops. De Gaulle took immediate notice, making him assistant to thechief pressattachè.Within a few months, de Gaulle moved Laguerre into the chief position himself, making him his primary press liaison. He followed de Gaulle on his travels to North Africa in 1943 to inspect Free French forces there, and toWashington, D.C.,to visit with American PresidentFranklin Delano Rooseveltin 1944. He stayed on de Gaulle's staff for a while after the war, but after interviewing withHenry Luce,the head ofTime, Inc.,he left de Gaulle's service to accept a job writing forTimemagazine.

Time

Laguerre began hisTimecareer in 1946 as one of the magazine's European correspondents. Working mainly out of theTimeParis bureau, he hobnobbed with Paris's top citizens; he was a frequent dinner guest ofAlbert Camus.He also maintained his connection to sports, first acquired in his youth in San Francisco, by moonlighting as a sports reporter for the Paris-based English-languageInternational Herald Tribune,writing a horse racing column under thepseudonym"Eddie Snow".

Meanwhile, Laguerre was attracting the attention of Time, Inc.'s top brass. In 1948, he was promoted toParisbureau chief and, in December 1950, he was brought toNew York CitybyTimefounderHenry Lucefor a special one-year assignment to work out of the mainTimeoffices. He returned to Europe in 1951 to serve as London bureau chief. In 1955, after the sudden death of the Paris bureau chief, he was given that position back, and for a time he held both posts simultaneously. WhileTimebureau chief of London and Paris, he also spent some time writing about his favorite subject, sports, for the magazine, for which he covered the1948 Winter OlympicsinSt. Moritz,Switzerland,and the1952 Summer OlympicsinHelsinki,Finland.In early 1956, he accepted a temporary assignment to head a contingent of writers to cover the1956 Winter OlympicsinCortina d'Ampezzo,Italyfor Time, Inc.'s fledglingSports Illustrated,started two years earlier by Luce. His first article for the magazine was a piece on the dominance of the Soviet Union in their first Winter Olympics. Three months later, Luce installed him as assistant managing editor ofSports Illustrated.

On June 7, 1955, Laguerre married Princess Nathalie Alexandria Kotchoubey de Beauharnais, a Russian princess and descendant of bothCatherine the GreatandJoséphine de Beauharnais.The couple had met in 1943 while André was working for General de Gaulle, and Nathalie was a reporter forTime.They had two daughters, Michèle Anne Laguerre and Claudine Hélène Laguerre.

Sports Illustrated

As assistant managing editor, his first major assignment was to head the team of reporters and photographers covering the1956 Summer OlympicsinMelbourne,Australia.Among those traveling with Laguerre wereRoger Bannister,the former Britishtrack and fieldstar and first man in history to run a competition mile in under four minutes, andRoy Terrell,who would eventually succeed Laguerre as managing editor of Sports Illustrated.

Managing editor

It doesn't matter what you write about. All that matters is how well you write.

André Laguerre

Laguerre was promoted to managing editor ofSports Illustratedin May 1960, after four years as assistant managing editor. His time at the magazine was instrumental in saving what was, when he took over, a financially insolvent publication. He would serve as managing editor for fourteen years, leading the magazine for a total of 704 issues, then a record among Time, Inc. managing editors. During his tenure, the circulation grew from 900,000 to 2,250,000 issues, and the advertising budget grew from $11.9 million to $72.2 million. He altered the look and feel of the magazine, changing its focus from a lifestyle magazine that focused on leisure sports, to one that covered themajor American team sports,at a time when television vastly altered the way in which such sports were covered. As such, he keptSports Illustratedat the head of the growth of interest in these sports. He also placed a heavy emphasis on the use of color photography and late deadline, to keep the magazine up to date and visually appealing. He hired and encouraged writers who were masters at prose, emphasizingwritingoversportswriting,and the crop of writers he brought to the magazine, includingFrank Deford,Dan Jenkins,Budd Schulberg,andGil Rogin,helped change the way people wrote about sports.

Laguerre had been very guarded about his personal life among his coworkers. Deford, who worked closely with him for many years, and who looked up to him as a mentor, said of him, "Laguerre was a fascinating paradox: He was almost constitutionally withdrawn, but among the friends he chose, he was magnetic."One publisher called him "A powerful personality"while another called him "A close-mouthed, self-contained man who seemed forbidding to some... despite his reserve, [his] personality was pervading, dominating; he exuded strength and leadership."

Among his more curious and enduring innovations was theSports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.The winter months, between thecollege bowl seasonand the start ofMajor League Baseball'sspring training,was a slow time for sports journalism. At the time, winter team sports likebasketballandice hockeywere regional niche sports, and there was little to write about. Laguerre had instituted an annual February issue titled "Fun in the Sun", where he sent his staff to an exotic locale to write about and photograph it for his readers. In 1964, he askedJule Campbell,then a fashion reporter forSports Illustrated,to "go to some beautiful place and put a pretty girl on the cover" of that year's "Fun in the Sun" issue.That year's issue featured only five pages of girls in swimsuits, and still predominantly featured travel writing, including articles about snorkeling and fish-watching. With the help of that year's "Fun in the Sun" issue, 1964 became the first year thatSports Illustratedwould turn a profit. Though originally only planned as a one-off event, Laguerre was convinced bySports Illustratedart directorDick Gangelto bring back the swimsuits in 1965, only "a lot sexier". Laguerre once again assigned Jule Campbell to scout models and locations. The 1965 issue contained an article entitled "The Nudity Cult" and de-emphasized the travelogue-like writing of previous "Fun in the Sun" issues from which it evolved. Since then, the Swimsuit Issue has become the biggest selling issue of the magazine, and a major cross-over publication for the fashion andmodelingworlds as well.

Laguerre's tenure as managing editor had a profound effect on the other 51 issues of the year as well. During the magazine's first several years, prior to Laguerre's arrival, the magazine did not place major American team sports at the forefront. As an example, during 1955 and 1956, the magazine's first two years, it featured as many articles onfishingas onprofessional football,23 articles. By 1965–1966, five years into Laguerre's term, the magazine published only eight articles on fishing, while it published over 60 articles on pro football.

Besides changing the types of sports being covered, the manner in which they were covered changed as well. Under earlier managing editors, the magazine's writing and editorial staff was organized by department. Thus, there was a fashion department, a travel department, and a sports department, which covered all sports. Laguerre reorganized the magazine, giving each sport its own separate department, so there would be a dedicated staff of writers in the baseball department, and a different bo xing department, and another for pro football, and so on. Laguerre also encouraged serious investigative journalism, and did not shy away from controversial issues. In 1961, writerRay Cavebroke a story onpoint shavingincollege basketball.In 1968, under Laguerre's direction, and under secrecy from his superiors, the magazine ran a five-part series on the experience ofblackathletes in America.

Laguerre's later years showed less success as the magazine became an industry leader. In 1968, its coverage of theMexico City Olympicswas heavily criticized, having been "scooped" on most stories by bothTimeandLifemagazines. A 1969 book byJack Olsen,titledThe Girls in the Office,embarrassed Time Inc. over its treatment of its female employees, including those atSports Illustrated.In 1970, 23 women on staff atSports Illustratedsigned a petition demanding equal treatment. Laguerre relented, promoting Pat Ryan to senior editor, and paying her the same as the men in her same position. By 1973, Laguerre's leadership was under a direct challenge from within his staff and from his superiors. A January 1973 story inNew York Magazinewas highly critical of the degrading quality of the writing and of the stagnating corporate culture at Sports Illustrated. By September of that year, Laguerre was asked to step down as managing editor. He was offered an executive position in corporate offices which he refused and his resignation was complete by February 1, 1974.

Later career and death

There were only two people in his life he truly admired. One was General de Gaulle and the other was Harry Luce.

Nathalie Kotchoubey Laguerre

After retiring as managing editor, he remained withSports Illustratedin order to head a group looking into publishing international editions of the magazine. He was offered the job as managing editor ofPlayboy,and, insulted by the low $45,000 salaryHugh Hefneroffered him, he turned the job down. In 1975, he founded a bi-monthly horse-racing magazine,Classic,which he headed until shortly before his death of a heart attack in New York on January 18, 1979, at the age of sixty-three.

References

MacCambridge, Michael (1997).The Franchise: A History ofSports IllustratedMagazine.New York: Hyperion.ISBN0-7868-6216-5.