We’re back. But where have we been? A long-lost trove of covers sheds light on Radar‘s secret past
The mind reels … 50 years! We can hardly believe it ourselves, but it’s been a full half-century since the wild-and-woolly adventure we call Radar magazine sprung to life in a cluttered little office on 82nd and Fifth (now the site of the Metropolitan Museum of Art). It was a more innocent, and in some ways a more hopeful time. The skies over New York were thick with Spaldeens swatted heavenward by chubby-cheeked, broomstick-wielding youngsters; girls doffed their poodle skirts for sessions of “backseat bingo” with flat-topped punks, and when you called someone a “red” you most definitely did not mean a resident of Texas, Dan Rather excepted.
Admittedly, we’ve had our ups and downs over the years—bumps, bruises, a few skinned knees, but each time we’ve bounced back, wiser, stronger, and more convinced than ever that the old adage is true: Every billionaire is crazy in his or her own special way. Today, as we inaugurate an ambitious new website and pave the way for the historic relaunch of Radar magazine this coming spring, we’re thrilled to present you with this look back at our first 50 years.—The Editors