Charles Laufer, Founder of Tiger Beat, Dies

By Kelly Fisher Posted Apr 13th 2011 09:50AM

Charles Laufer, founder of Tiger Beat, passed away at the age of 87, according to the New York Times.

Laufer, a pioneer in the teen-targeted magazine industry, started his career as a high school teacher. Upset that his students had nothing entertaining to read, Laufer started publications in 1955 aimed at giving teenage girls information about their favorite celebrities, beginning with Coaster (which turned into Teen).

Before Justin Bieber and Robert Pattinson came The Beach Boys and The Monkees, but the stories are still the same: who's dating who, what stars look for in girls, and where they go shopping. Laufer's style of excessive exclamation points and cluttered photo collages can still be seen on newsstands and internet today.

Laufer and his brother, Ira, started Tiger Beat in 1965 after selling Teen in 1957. The tag line for the magazine pretty much sums up its stories: "Guys in their 20s singing La La songs to 13-year-old girls."

One of the first people to see The Monkee's true potential, Laufer put them on the cover of Tiger Beat in 1965, which helped shoot the band into stardom and really put the magazine on the map.

The Laufer brothers sold Tiger Beat in 1978 for a reported $15 million, with its circulation around 700,000.

But interest in teen scene publications seems to run in the family. Various family members have owned Bop and other teen magazines, and in 2003 Laufer's son Scott bought Tiger Beat, which is Bop's publisher.

Laufer died April 5 in Northridge, Calif. from heart failure, according to his brother.

Comments

(15)

Wednesday 13 April

By tony

High Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

r.i.p. charles,i used to read your magazine in the 70s,only thing is you way over did donny osmond.lol.

By Jess

Rest in Peace Mr.Laufer!! thanks for being a trendsetter!

By suealiaim

Vote down Vote up Report this

wow...i haven't thought about tiger beat since i was 14...rip mr. laufer... thanks for the pix!

By kalki02

Were those "Win A Date With Donny Osmond" contests in TB legit?

By Shannon

Yes, they were legit. All the contests were.

By JP Richardson

Scott and Family,
So very sorry for your lose.
God Bless,
JP Richardson

By grapost

Just proves that as long as there are teenagers with money, there will always be a market for mindless CRAP!

By Jim

Highest Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

Oh, and I'm sure when YOU were a teen you drooled over National Review and anything William F. Buckley wrote. LIGHTEN UP!

By nonny2t

Yeah a few bucks on a teen magazine is so much worse than a crack pipe!! What a dope you are.

Just like your mind...CRAP!

OMG, I was a huge Tiger Beat fan in junior high in the late 60's. Back then the Monkees were the big thing all over the cover along with Jay North and Sajid Khan who were television stars and the Archies of all things! lol Takes me back that's for sure. My best friend and I spent all our babysitting and spending money on our magazines and occasionally on a burger and shake at the local little joint by our school. RIP sir as a senior who now has grandchildren you brought me a lot of joy as a kid!

By Scott

There are millions of pretty girls in the world, as a matter of fact most girls ARE pretty!...but pretty BOYS.....well they are harder to find and they stand out in a crowd!....And where there is a pretty BOY..there will always be HUNDREDS of girls swooning over them.....R.I.P Mr. Laufer...you figured this fact out long before anyone else did.

By beatledonny

oh god i loved that mag in those days 65 thru 78 i bought those silly mags like Tiger Beat Teen Beat you name it that came along Rolling Stone in 1970 that mag really changed things !! all for the better!! loved those years!!!!!! may Charles Laufer RIP

By B

I fell in love with Davy Jones in Tiger Beat Magazine, little did I know at the time I would grow up to be half a foot taller than him.
Still love him and Micky though!

Friday 15 April

By lisa mcknight westphall

hi, r.i.p. charles. i loved your magazines my very first tiger beat was march 1975, my first teenmagazine . my crush was on michael gray. thank you lisa westphall ,my prayers are with your family.

Page 1 of 1