Robert E. Petersen, founder of Petersen Publishing, HOT ROD magazine, Motor Trend Magazine, Car Craft magazine, and many, many others p***ed away today in Santa Monica due to complications of neuroendochrine cancer. We all owe a huge debt to his vision. DF
The official release: Robert E. Petersen, an entrepreneur who single-handedly created the largest special-interest publishing company in America, was instrumental in the evolution of the hot-rodding culture, and who, with his wife Margie, realized his dream of establishing an educational museum to pay tribute to the automobile, died Friday, March 23, at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, Calif. after a short but valiant battle with neuroendocrine cancer. He was 80. “Mr. Petersen helped create and feed the American obsession with the automobile, delivering gasoline-powered dreams to the mailboxes of millions,” said **** Messer, Director of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. “He understood the thrill that an average person could get from seeing and reading about horsepower as an art form.” A native of Southern California, Mr. Petersen's mother p***ed away when he was 10, leaving him with his Danish-immigrant father, who worked as a truck and equipment mechanic. As a young man he picked up his father's skills, learning to weld, de-coke engines, and hone his fascination with cars. After graduating from Barstow High School in the mid-1940s, he moved to Los Angeles, working at MGM studios as a messenger boy. Following service in the Army Air Corps toward the end of Word War II, Mr. Petersen, now an independent publicist immersed in the burgeoning customized auto culture of California, was instrumental in creating the first hot-rod show at the Los Angeles Armory. To help establish the event, in January 1948 he launched Hot Rod Magazine, and hawked the magazine at local speedways for 25 cents a copy. Motor Trend, a more upscale publication for production car enthusiasts, and dozens of other ***les aimed at specialty automotive segments soon followed. Mr. Petersen spent decades as Chairman of the Board of Petersen Publishing Company, which was at one time America's leading publisher of special-interest consumer magazines and books before its sale to private investors in August 1996. A**** its other diverse successful ***les are Teen, Sport, Rod & Custom, and Guns & Ammo. He also headed a wide variety of other businesses including ammunition manufacturing, real estate development and aviation services that each reflected another p***ion he shared. Firmly established as an American success story, Mr. Petersen had one lasting vision: an educational museum to pay tribute to the automobile. On June 11, 1994, the lifelong dream of Robert E. Petersen was fulfilled with the opening of a 300,000-square-foot automotive museum named in his honor, made possible by his $30 million endowment. Today the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles stands as the nation's premiere automotive museum, serving thousands of visitors each year. Its mission remains to educate and excite generations of auto enthusiasts with the fascinating stories, vehicles and people that have influenced the American love affair with the automobile – a mission that has been a resounding success thanks to the generosity of its main benefactor. In addition to his noted auto collection, Mr. Petersen also developed a keen interest in sport shooting. He served as Shooting Sports Commissioner for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, where he was responsible for building that venue from an old dairy farm within six months. Mr. Petersen served as president and chairman of the board of the Boys' and Girls' Club of Hollywood, and was a member of the National Board of Directors for the Boys' and Girls' Club of America. He was active in support of numerous children's charities and also served as a member for the Los Angeles City Library Commission. Both he and his wife have been major contributors to the Music Center of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Additionally, he was a founding member of the Thalians social society, which raises money for the Mental Health Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. His ongoing contributions to the community earned him numerous special citations from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and Los Angeles City Council. Mr. Petersen was to be honored with both the ‘Automotive Icon' and ‘Visionary' awards at the Petersen museum's annual gala on May 10. The ceremony will now be held as a tribute to Mr. Petersen and his contributions to the ins***ution and community. “What made him so special was that he gave every ounce of his energy and abilities to his dreams. He was a quiet man who truly became an American icon,” the Petersen museum's Messer said. “He made his living doing things he loved and he found success at every turn. The way he lived his life, always looking for ways to give back in return for the success he enjoyed, made you proud to count him as a friend. The museum is now his legacy.” He is survived by his wife, Margie. In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made to the Petersen Automotive Museum or the charity of the person's choice in his honor. Funeral m*** will be held Thursday, March 29, at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City.
thanks for breaking the news to us here dave. i'd like to say some thing else but i dont really have anything to say but rip mr petersen
thats too bad. all the heros and founders of this great hobby of ours are disapearing. it's a sad fact of life that we get old and eventualy die. small consolation but people like "Pete" will live forever in their work.
Guns & Ammo and Hot Rod were prime reading material for me growing up, so Peterson definitely touched my life...
Man oh man, what a bummer. Those magazines and ultimately Mr. Pertersen are what brought me to this world of oil and steel. I'm sure God had a friggin cool sled waiting for him though. RIP
I'll say a little prayer and keep a good thought for him and his family and friends tonight. He changed the motoring world, very sad .... Frank
It's a sad day. His magazines were always top-notch. Well-written, well-illustrated, and fun to read.
I learned to read because I wanted to know what they were saying about the cars in the pictures in Hot Rod magazine. Thanks Mr Peterson.
I'm vary sorry to hear this... I was reading HOT ROD Spotlite books while other kids were reading "Cat in the Hat"... I guess that makes him the Dr. Seuss of hot rodding. Best wishes to his family... JOE
I never know what to say that hasn't already been said. His accomplishments will always be remembered.
I first looked at a Hot Rod Magazine in 1952. My life has been the result of that encounter, it exposed me to modified automobiles and I've never really looked for anything else to expend my energy on. Fueled by a grandfather who taught me the art of things mechanical my p***ion for cars has consumed most of my waking hours for the past 50+ years. At 62 there isn't enough time or desire left to cultivate a new interest. Thank you Mr. Peterson. Frank
Sad day what a legacy he left , and millions of lives he changed Thank You very much for all .. Rest in peace
This is the SADDEST news I've personally seen in a long time. Mr. Petersen has guided a majority of my life, and most of the time I was unaware of it- I just followed along with what I loved- Car Magazines. My dad loves to tell people the story of how the only thing I wanted when I graduated high school on 1984 was a complete set of Hot Rod magazine (the ones before I started getting them in the seventies)- my dad had a set a set that came from a Bonneville racing neighbor, but his brother sold them for like twenty bucks when they were in high school. I would eventually collect every early Petersen magazine I could get my hands on, even though most people didn't understand the obsession back then. It all eventually made sense after the Aerospace industry dumped me on my *** in 1992 and made my electrical engineering degree pretty worthless. After a string of car related labor jobs I had a car at a show and one lady was very interested- she seemed to think my knowledge of cars would be useful where she worked as the publisher of Rod & Custom magazine!!! They didn't have any open positions, but Sport Truck (another Petersen publication) did and the rest is history. I worked there for a few years, freelanced for TRJ, then did the Goodguys Gazette and eventually was lured away by R&C. Learned more than I ever wanted to learn about the printed media world that would eventually spit me out when someone with more seniority and made less money took my position- the romance was over, but for anyone that's been in it for over 2 years it becomes much more the job than the wide-eyed dream of yore. But through it all, just like a football fan has their greatest hero, my greatest hero will always be Mr. Robert E. Petersen. He made Vic Edelbrock see that he could sell more intakes and make more money than he ever would pumping gas- and he also made many guys like Alex Xydias national stars which resonates today 58 years later with my own SO-CAL franchise. For all the complaining and praising of magazines that goes on here, most goes back to the original vision of Mr. Petersen and the early work he did for hot rod journalism. R.I.P. Mr. Petersen- you are one of greatest heroes of hot rodding!
Sad news. I started reading Hot Rod in the 60's when I was about 12 years old and just read the most recent issue a day or so ago.
Its funny how you can feel the sting of sadness upon hearing of the p***ing of a man you never met, but somehow feel like you know him anyway. I guess that's what a life time of reading his magazines will do..........
He brought the how-to and styling of hot rods to every corner of the country in the late 40's and 50s, much like the HAMB does now. He had great vision, we all owe him a debt of gra***ude.
Bob Petersen did more to promote hot rodding than any publisher ever did or most likely ever will. Dave Mann (602) 233-8400 http://www.roadsters.com/
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