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suffers a stroke
In serious condition after attack while at lunch
Former GQ editor Art Cooper is in critical condition after suffering a stroke.
Cooper, who stepped down earlier this year after 20 years at the men’s magazine, was having lunch with Men’s Health editor David Zinczenko at his favorite Manhattan restaurant, the Four Seasons, yesterday when he collapsed, complaining of severe pain in his neck.
As other patrons looked on, he was loaded into an ambulance and rushed to the hospital, where he is said to be on life support.
After being considerably overweight for years, Cooper, now 65, embarked on a rigorous weight-loss regimen last year. Under a strict diet and weight training program, he lost 60 pounds. Cooper was so pleased with his new body that he wrote about his achievement in an article that appeared in GQ this January.
That same month, Cooper was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Magazine Publisher of America and the American Society of Magazine Editors.
In bestowing the honor, the organizations gave the following tribute:
"In his 20 years as editor-in-chief of GQ, Arthur Cooper has repositioned a struggling men's fashion monthly and transformed it into a showcase for some of the most outstanding writing in American magazines. With its lively mix of reporting, commentary, fiction and humor, GQ projects a stylish, masculine character that reflects the personality of its longtime leader."
The GQ that Cooper took over two decades ago was an established men's fashion title but not much of a literary enterprise. Cooper set about to challenge Esquire, the reigning men's title, and over the years he accomplished that, creating a readable, highly literate monthly.
Cooper came to GQ from Family Weekly, where he had been the editor. Prior to that he had been editor of Penthouse, which he was fond of describing as akin to playing the piano downstairs at a whorehouse.
In recent years, GQ came under challenge from Esquire when that magazine stole away David Granger, a Cooper hire, to become its top editor. Granger revitalized Esquire and set off a fierce competition for readers and advertisers.
Then, starting in 1997, Cooper faced a whole new generation of competitors with the launch of Maxim, the lads title, followed by Stuff and FHM, which challenged GQ for advertisers while building a much larger readership base of younger men who were not readers of either GQ or Esquire or much of anything else.
Cooper came under increasing pressure from Conde Nast chief Si Newhouse to laddify GQ with shorter articles and a flush of sexy starlets.
Despite saying publicly that he intended to continue at GQ for several more years, Cooper announced plans to retire in January.
The circumstances sparked speculation that he had been forced to retire by Newhouse. Newhouse replaced Cooper with executive editor Jim Nelson, leading to an exodus of many longtime GQ writers.
June 6, 2003© 20
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