Founding editor of the Army weekly magazine Yank. He created and popularized pinup girls.
He studied journalism at the University of Iowa, after which he went to work for United Press International where he managed the Iowa bureau.
His glamorous photographs of lingerie-clad movie stars found their way from his magazines to the lockers of GIs. He coined the term pinup to describe them.
He was born in Marion, Iowa, the son of a Methodist minister.
His magazine featured a young Norma Jean Baker as one of its pinups. She was soon to be known as Marilyn Monroe.