Hartzell Spence; Coined Term ‘Pinup’

Pinup (informal) adj. designating a person whose sexual attractiveness makes her or him a suitable subject for the kind of pictures often pinned up on walls.

--Webster’s New World

College Dictionary,

Fourth Edition.

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Hartzell Spence, a freelance writer and the founding editor of Yank magazine, a World War II-era publication for servicemen, has died. He was 93.

Spence died May 9 in Essex, Conn., where he had lived for the last 50 years.

In addition to helping to start Yank, Spence also is generally credited with coining the term “pinups” to describe the provocative photographs of popular movie stars he used with considerable success in the magazine.

Born John Hartzell Spence in Marion, Iowa, the son of a Methodist minister, Spence studied journalism at the University of Iowa. His first job was with United Press as the state’s bureau manager. He then worked in New York as manager of United Press’ Special Service Bureau.

In 1941, Spence became a best-selling author with the publication of “One Foot in Heaven,” a memoir about his father’s often nomadic life in the ministry. The book was selected by the Book of the Month Club and became a popular film starring Fredric March and Martha Scott.

Spence gave up the news service job after the success of “One Foot in Heaven,” and was traveling in Argentina when the attack on Pearl Harbor plunged America into World War II. He immediately returned to the United States to find a place in the war effort.

A former officer in the reserves, Spence was commissioned a captain in the Army and was assigned to the new Army publication Yank as executive editor.

Newspapers across the country trumpeted the arrival of Yank, calling it the “most ambitious newspaper project ever assembled by the armed forces.”

Issued weekly, Yank cost 5 cents a copy. At first it was distributed only to men on overseas duty. When approval was given to distribute Yank to camps in the United States the distribution rose to more than 200,000.

Yank was an enlisted man’s sheet, Spence told a reporter in the early 1940s, noting: “Civilians can’t buy it because mothers and wives would just naturally worry about some of the stuff they read in it.”

Possibly another reason Yank wasn’t available for the general readership were the photos that Spence included in every issue.

In determining the formula for the magazine, Spence told his colleagues that they needed to use pictures of beautiful women. He kept using a phrase that none of his colleagues knew. He called them pinups.

Hollywood was happy to help. Press agents were more than ready to supply photos of top stars to help advance the actresses’ careers. Betty Grable was there. So were Rita Hayworth, Marie McDonald, Virginia Mayo, Ann Miller, Linda Darnell and Jane Russell. The Yank magazine staff also put in pinups of Ingrid Bergman and Lucille Ball. Marilyn Monroe, then known as Norma Jean Baker, appeared in one issue in 1944.

The pinup pictures, often outliving the rest of the magazines, showed up on footlockers and on the sides of buildings in combat.

The pinups were not Spence’s only lasting innovation in the magazine. He added a cartoon of an average soldier’s life during the war. Called “Sad Sack,” the strip enjoyed strong popularity after the hostilities ended.

Spence claimed the magazine went a long way toward giving the enlisted man his due in the war.

“There’s a bad habit of calling an officer a hero and forgetting the men who went through the same fire as he did and conducted themselves just as well,” Spence said.

He left the publication some time later, transferring to the Army Air Corps as special assistant to Gen. Lauris Norstad. He received the Legion of Merit in 1945 for his service.

After the war, Spence renewed his freelance writing career.

He penned two historical novels on the Spanish conquest of South America and another book recounting his youth as the son of a minister. He also dramatized “One Foot in Heaven” for network radio.

For Look magazine, he wrote a series of articles over three years examining the 16 largest religious groups in America.

Years later, Spence went to the Philippines and wrote a biography of Ferdinand E. Marcos called “Every Tear a Victory.” Interestingly, the accuracy of his portrayal of Marcos as a man who rose above his people now seems singularly inaccurate.

“In a nation of gamblers and pleasure seekers, Marcos makes no wagers and is happiest when reading a book in his own library,” Spence wrote. “He neither smokes nor drinks. In a culture addicted to graft and political corruption, he has a reputation as an honest man, both personally and politically.”

Spence is survived by a son, Matt L. Spence of Boca Raton, Fla.; a daughter, Laurie Reeves of Lyme, Conn.; and two grandchildren.