John Severson was an American editor, author, filmmaker and artist, widely known as the founder of Surfer, a magazine focused on the sport and culture of surfing.
13 Facts About John Severson
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John Severson was born December 12,1933, in Los Angeles, California, the son of Hugh and Dorothy John Severson.
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In 1949, John Severson's father built a gift shop at the street in front of their home where his mother sold California souvenirs and leather items.
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John Severson's mother cooked and was widely known for her homemade pies.
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John Severson played trumpet, formed a barbershop quartet, and pitched for his baseball team.
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John Severson subsequently made the films Surf Safari, Big Wednesday, Going My Wave, Surf Fever, The Angry Sea, Surf Classics, and Pacific Vibrations.
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At first a one-man production, John Severson developed Surfer magazine into a vital sport periodical and cultural institution.
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John Severson contracted with Life magazine to take telephoto images of Nixon and his family on the beach, and Nixon had a six-foot privacy wall built around his property.
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In 1960, John Severson produced a booklet for his film screenings, giving it a landscape format and calling it The Surfer.
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John Severson imagined he would produce another to promote his next film, but his first edition proved popular and profitable.
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John Severson was inspired to create Surfer, specifically to counter the depiction of the sport and surf culture in the 1959 film Gidget.
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John Severson used $3000 to print the initial copies for $1.00 each, selling them for $2.00 each.
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Toward the end of the 1960s, John Severson led the magazine in a less predictable direction, more sympathetic with the counterculture movement, introducing poetry and long form essays.