I did a deep salty dive into the offices of Mad magazine in November 1987 for the Chicago Sun-Times. I found publisher William Maxwell Gaines to be a blunt and fun character. I also learned he paid his freelancers the minute they dropped off their copy. I’m grateful he gave me some time. Gaines died on June 3, 1992 at the age of 70. He was Mad’s publisher until the day he passed away.
With last week’s news that Mad will disappear from newsstands in August, here’s my look at Gaines’ muse:
NEW YORK- A set of snare drums are poised behind the editor’s [...]