The Femlin is a character used on the Party Jokes page of Playboy magazine. Created in 1955 by LeRoy Neiman , Femlins became a mainstay of the magazine for more than five decades.
52-705: Some Femlin figurines produced in the 1960s have become much sought-after by collectors. Femlins were created by sport illustrator LeRoy Neiman in 1955 when publisher/editor Hugh Hefner decided the Party Jokes page needed a visual element. The name is a portmanteau of "female" and " gremlin ." They are portrayed as mischievous black and white female sprites , apparently 10–12 in (250–300 mm) tall, wearing only opera gloves, stockings and high heel shoes. They are usually drawn in two or three panel vignettes, interacting with various life-sized items such as shoes, jewelry, neckties and such. Femlins have appeared on
104-409: A $ 3.75 million quarterly licensing payment to Authentic Brands Group. Two weeks later, on January 19, Authentic Brands Group terminated its licensing agreement. As a result, The Arena Group fought back by announcing that it would lay off the entire Sports Illustrated staff. In March 2024, Authentic Brands Group licensed the publishing rights to Minute Media in a 10-year deal, jointly announcing that
156-571: A 10-year deal, jointly announcing that the print and digital editions would be revived by rehiring some of the editorial staff. In May 2024, Sports Illustrated failed to deliver a print copy of the publication for the month to its subscribers for the first time in the magazine's 70-year history, according to the New York Post ’s Josh Kosman (May 17, 2024). As of November 2024, Sports Illustrated has not mailed any print issues to its subscribers for seven months (the last magazine delivered being
208-564: A New York City landmark, the Hotel des Artistes over the Café des Artistes on West 67th Street, originally intended for painters, is made up of double-height rooms that overlook Central Park . Norman Rockwell once lived there, as well as celebrities Rudolph Valentino , Noël Coward , CNN founder Reese Schonfeld and former mayor John Lindsay . Neiman's painting studio, offices, and home are on one floor, his archives on another, and his penthouse at
260-505: A circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice. It is also known for its annual swimsuit issue , which has been published since 1964, and has spawned other complementary media works and products. Owned until 2018 by Time Inc. , it was sold to Authentic Brands Group (ABG) following the sale of Time Inc. to Meredith Corporation . The Arena Group (formerly theMaven, Inc.)
312-419: A decisive cover shot that would be on newsstands and in mailboxes only a few days later. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, during Gilbert Rogin 's term as Managing Editor, the feature stories of Frank Deford became the magazine's anchor. "Bonus pieces" on Pete Rozelle , Woody Hayes , Bear Bryant , Howard Cosell and others became some of the most quoted sources about these figures, and Deford established
364-537: A mile, the first-ever time a mile had been run under four minutes. Both men and women have won the award, originally called "Sportsman of the Year" and renamed "Sportswoman of the Year" or "Sportswomen of the Year" when applicable; it is currently known as "Sportsperson of the Year." The 2017 winners of the award are Houston Texans defensive end J. J. Watt and Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve . Both athletes were recognized for their efforts in helping rebuild
416-1017: A new generation of artists like Stephen Holland and Richard T. Slone . His work is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian , the Whitney Museum , the Brooklyn Museum , the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston , the State Hermitage Museum in Russia, Wadham College at Oxford, and in museums and art galleries the world over, as well as in private and corporate collections. Neiman married Janet Byrne in 1957. They lived in New York City, their home base for over five decades, until Neiman's death. Their residence, inside
468-438: A news magazine of full-color photographic coverage of the week's sports events. He was also one of the first to sense the rise of national interest in professional football . Laguerre also instituted the innovative concept of one long story at the end of every issue, which he called the "bonus piece". These well-written, in-depth articles helped to distinguish Sports Illustrated from other sports publications, and helped launch
520-551: A reputation as one of the best writers of the time. After more than a decade of steady losses, the magazine's fortunes finally turned around in the 1960s when Andre Laguerre became its managing editor. A European correspondent for Time, Inc., who later became chief of the Time-Life news bureaux in Paris and London (for a time he ran both simultaneously), Laguerre attracted Henry Luce's attention in 1956 with his singular coverage of
572-514: A significant part of their market. In 1965, offset printing began. This allowed the color pages of the magazine to be printed overnight, not only producing crisper and brighter images, but also finally enabling the editors to merge the best color with the latest news. By 1967, the magazine was printing 200 pages of "fast color" a year; in 1983, SI became the first American full-color newsweekly. An intense rivalry developed between photographers , particularly Walter Iooss and Neil Leifer , to get
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#1732780828292624-499: A similar partnership with Morning Read for golf coverage, with its website being merged into that of Sports Illustrated . It also partnered with iHeartMedia to distribute and co-produce podcasts . In September 2021, Maven, now known as The Arena Group, acquired the New Jersey–based sports news website The Spun , which would integrate into Sports Illustrated . In 2022, ABG announced several non-editorial ventures involving
676-401: A variety of merchandise throughout the years, such as ashtrays, shotglasses, and coffee mugs. A set of four plaster statues, the tallest approximately 14" high, was advertised for sale in the back pages of Playboy in 1963. (Like the drawings on which they were based, these statues were not anatomically detailed.) Originally priced at US$ 7.50 apiece in 1963, a complete set of the four statuettes
728-471: A year, generally priced from $ 3,000 to $ 6,000 each. Gross annual sales of new serigraphs alone topped $ 10 million. Originals can sell for up to $ 500,000 for works such as Stretch Stampede , a mammoth 1975 oil painting of the Kentucky Derby . In addition to being a renowned sports artist, Neiman has created many works from his experience on safari , including Portrait of a Black Panther , Portrait of
780-739: The International Boxing Hall of Fame , and proclamations and citations. He received The Order of Lincoln award (the State's highest honor) on the 200th birthday celebration of Abraham Lincoln given by the Governor of Illinois in 2009. He authored 12 books of his art. A documentary on his jazz painting, The Big Band , had its world premiere in Los Angeles in February 2009. Neiman produced about six different serigraph subjects
832-473: The Party Jokes page in every issue since their creation, and were featured on the magazine's cover numerous times, either as drawn by Neiman or in photographed tableaus of sculpted clay models. Neiman reportedly submitted two drawings of Femlin to Playboy every month for more than 50 years, working on the character late into his life, before his death at the age of 91 in 2012. Femlins have been featured on
884-629: The Sports Illustrated brand, including an apparel line for JCPenney "inspired by iconic moments in sports" (it was not the brand's first foray into clothing, as it launched a branded swimsuit line in conjunction with its Swimsuit Issue in 2018), and resort hotels in Orlando and Punta Cana . In September 2023, it delved deeper into the resort world through a new partnership with Travel + Leisure . On November 27, 2023, Futurism published an article alleging that Sports Illustrated
936-576: The U.S. Army during World War II . He worked as a cook until the end of the war, when his art skills were recognized and put to use painting sets for Red Cross shows. Following his return in 1946, Neiman studied briefly at the St. Paul School of Art , then at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago on the G.I. Bill . After graduating, Neiman served on the Art Institute faculty for ten years. During
988-673: The University of Colorado Boulder . In 1999, Sports Illustrated named Muhammad Ali the Sportsman of the Century at the Sports Illustrated ' s 20th Century Sports Awards in New York City 's Madison Square Garden . In 2015, the magazine renamed its Sportsman Legacy Award to the Sports Illustrated' s Muhammad Ali Legacy Award. The annual award was originally created in 2008 and honors former "sports figures who embody
1040-547: The Winter Olympic Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo , Italy, which became the core of SI' s coverage of those games. In May 1956, Luce brought Laguerre to New York to become the assistant managing editor of the magazine. He was named managing editor in 1960, and he more than doubled the circulation by instituting a system of departmental editors, redesigning the internal format, and inaugurating the unprecedented use in
1092-555: The April 2024 issue), because its former publisher refuses to turn over the subscriber list to the new publisher, according to Sports Business Journal (May 20, 2024). There were two previous magazines named Sports Illustrated before the current magazine was launched on August 9, 1954. In 1936, Stuart Scheftel created Sports Illustrated with a target market of sportsmen. He published the magazine monthly from 1936 to 1942. The magazine focused on golf, tennis, and skiing with articles on
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#17327808282921144-458: The Elephant , Resting Lion , and Resting Tiger . Some of his other subjects include sailing, cuisine, golf, boxing, horses, celebrities, famous locations, and America at play. Much of his work was done for Playboy magazine, for which he illustrated monthly until his death. Neiman worked in oil, enamel, watercolor, pencil drawings, pastels, serigraphy and some lithographs and etching. Neiman
1196-584: The Governor of Illinois in 2009 as a Bicentennial Laureate. Neiman died on June 20, 2012, twelve days after his 91st birthday, in New York City. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx , New York City. Sports Illustrated Sports Illustrated ( SI ) is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel , it was the first magazine with
1248-779: The LeRoy Neiman Center for Print Studies at Columbia University in New York and the LeRoy Neiman Campus Center at his alma mater, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Neiman donated $ 5 million to the School of the Art Institute, which funded the construction of the Neiman Center at the School. He received five honorary doctorates and numerous awards, a lifetime achievement award from the University of Southern California , an induction into
1300-488: The careers of such legendary writers as Frank Deford , who in March 2010 wrote of Laguerre, "He smoked cigars and drank Scotch and made the sun move across the heavens ... His genius as an editor was that he made you want to please him, but he wanted you to do that by writing in your own distinct way." Laguerre is also credited with the conception and creation of the annual Swimsuit Issue , which quickly became, and remains,
1352-530: The city of Houston following Hurricane Harvey in addition to Altuve being a part of the Astros team that won the franchise's first World Series in 2017. The 2018 winners are the Golden State Warriors as a team for winning their third NBA Title in four years. The 2021 winner is Tom Brady for his Super Bowl 55 win. The 2023 winner is Deion Sanders for his coaching of the football team at
1404-705: The digital media company theMaven, Inc. under a 10-year contract, with Ross Levinsohn as CEO. The company had backed a bid by Junior Bridgeman to acquire SI . In preparation for the closure of the sale to ABG and Maven, The Wall Street Journal reported that there would be Sports Illustrated employee layoffs, which was confirmed after the acquisition had closed. In October 2019, editor-in-chief Chris Stone stepped down. Later that month, Sports Illustrated announced its hiring of veteran college sports writer Pat Forde . In January 2020, it announced an editorial partnership with The Hockey News , focusing on syndication of NHL-related coverage. In 2021, it announced
1456-572: The first all-women winning group in 1958. Maya Moore of the WNBA 's Minnesota Lynx was the inaugural winner of the award in 2017. Since 1954, Sports Illustrated has annually presented the Sportsperson of the Year award to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." Roger Bannister won the first-ever Sportsman of the Year award thanks to his record-breaking time of 3:59.4 for
1508-523: The idea, but Luce, who was not a sports fan, decided the time was right. Luce and editors of the planned magazine met in 1954 at Pine Lakes Country Club , the oldest golf course in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina . The course's pro shop has a plaque mentioning the meetings, and the plaque also states that the first issue was given to the course. It is on display there. Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association executive director Tracy Conner credits
1560-552: The ideals of sportsmanship, leadership and philanthropy as vehicles for changing the world." Ali first appeared on the magazine's cover in 1963 and went on to be featured on numerous covers during his storied career. His widow, Lonnie Ali, is consulted when choosing a recipient. In 2017, football quarterback Colin Kaepernick was honored with the Award, which was presented by Beyoncé . In 2018, WWE professional wrestler John Cena
1612-503: The illustration for the 5th Dimension 's album Portrait . In 1994, Neiman was commissioned to create the illustrated logo for the Sherman Brothers musical Busker Alley . The illustration was used for posters and also was recreated as a five story high mural on the St. James Theater on Broadway (New York). In 1998, he did all the illustrations for a special "Sports" issue of The Nation magazine, for which he received
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1664-438: The magazine with making Myrtle Beach a golf destination. Many at Time-Life scoffed at Luce's idea; in his Pulitzer Prize –winning biography, Luce and His Empire , W. A. Swanberg wrote that the company's intellectuals dubbed the proposed magazine "Muscle", "Jockstrap", and "Sweat Socks". Launched on August 9, 1954, it was not profitable (and would not be for 12 years) and not particularly well-run at first, but Luce's timing
1716-758: The magazine's standard fee of $ 150. Nieman was also an actor, known for minor parts as ring announcer in Rocky IV (1985), Rocky III (1982) and Rocky Balboa (2006). Neiman sponsored and supported several organizations from coast to coast that foster art activities for underprivileged children such as The LeRoy Neiman Center for Youth in San Francisco and the Arts Horizons LeRoy Neiman Art Center in Harlem. He also has established facilities at various colleges, including
1768-412: The major sports. He then sold the name to Dell Publications, which released Sports Illustrated in 1949 and this version lasted six issues before closing. Dell's version focused on major sports (baseball, basketball, boxing) and competed on magazine racks against Sports and other monthly sports magazines. During the 1940s, these magazines were monthly, which prevented them from cover current events. There
1820-522: The moment. Our eyes did not meet across a crowded room." One day, after Hefner had started his magazine, he ran into Neiman on a street and asked him to become a contributor to Playboy . Among Neiman's contributions over the next 50 years, he created the Femlin character for the Party Jokes page, and did a feature for 15 years titled "Man at His Leisure", where Neiman would paint illustrations of his travels to exotic locations. Beginning in 1960, he traveled
1872-691: The most popular issue each year. In 1986, co-owned property HBO/Cannon Video had inked a pact to produce video versions of the magazine for $ 20 on the sell-through market, running just 30–45 minutes on the tape. In 1990, Time Inc. merged with Warner Communications to form the media conglomerate Time Warner . In 2014, Time Inc. was spun off from Time Warner. In 2018, the magazine was sold to Meredith Corporation by means of its acquisition of parent company Time Inc. . Meredith, however, planned to sell Sports Illustrated due to not aligning with its lifestyle properties. Authentic Brands Group announced its intent to acquire Sports Illustrated for $ 110 million
1924-527: The new surname as well. His mother divorced Neiman about 1935, and married for the third time in about 1940, to Ernst G. Hoelscher, of St. Paul. She died in St. Paul on November 14, 1985, aged 87. LeRoy was raised in the Macalester-Groveland and Frogtown neighborhoods of St. Paul. The home he lived in the longest, from about 1940 to about 1955, still stands at 569 Van Buren Avenue. Neiman served in
1976-482: The next year, stating that it would leverage its brand and other assets for new opportunities that "stay close to the DNA and the heritage of the brand." Upon the announcement, Meredith would enter into a licensing agreement to continue as publisher of the Sports Illustrated editorial operations for at least the next two years. In June 2019, the rights to publish the Sports Illustrated editorial operations were licensed to
2028-441: The print and digital editions would be revived by rehiring some of the editorial staff. In 1956, Sports Illustrated began presenting annual awards to fashion or clothing designers who had excelled in the field of sportswear/activewear. The first ASDAs of 1956, presented to Claire McCardell with a separate Designer of the Year award to Rudi Gernreich , were chosen following a vote of 200 American top retailers. The following year,
2080-417: The report, a spokesperson for Sports Illustrated claimed that the affected articles were product reviews written without the involvement of AI by AdVon Commerce, a third-party company who they claimed used pseudonyms to "protect author privacy" and had already severed ties with; meanwhile, writers and editors at the magazine sharply criticized the alleged practices. On January 5, 2024, The Arena Group missed
2132-534: The time Neiman was teaching, he was exhibiting art in competitions and winning prizes. In 1954, Neiman began his association with Playboy magazine. Neiman had met Hugh Hefner while doing freelance fashion illustration for the Carson Pirie Scott department store chain, where Hefner was a writer. Hefner and Playboy art director Art Paul commissioned an illustration for the magazine's fifth edition. Hefner told Sports Illustrated , "I don't remember
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2184-488: The top. Neiman continued to paint after having his right leg amputated, the result of arterial insufficiency, at a New York hospital in April 2010. Neiman's autobiography, titled All Told: My Art and Life Among Athletes, Playboys, Bunnies, and Provocateurs was published on June 5, 2012. Leroy Neiman was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State's highest honor) by
2236-451: The voting pool had increased to 400 fashion industry experts, including Dorothy Shaver and Stanley Marcus , when Sydney Wragge and Bill Atkinson received the awards. The Italian designer Emilio Pucci was the first non-American to receive the award in 1961. The awards were presented up until at least 1963, when Marc Bohan received the prize. Other winners include Jeanne S. Campbell , Bonnie Cashin , and Rose Marie Reid who formed
2288-680: The world observing and painting leisure life, social activities, and athletic competitions including the Olympics , the Super Bowl , the World Series , the Kentucky Derby , championship boxing, PGA and The Masters golf tournament, The Ryder Cup , the World Equestrian Games , Wimbledon and other Grand Slam competitions, as well as night life, entertainment, jazz, and the world of casino gambling. In 1970, Neiman did
2340-705: Was an American artist known for his brilliantly colored, expressionist paintings and screenprints of athletes, musicians, and sporting events. Neiman was born in 1921 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the son of Lydia Sophia (née Serline), of Braham, Minnesota , and Charles Julius Runquist, who were married in 1918 and lived in Grasston, Minnesota ( Kanabec County ). He was of Turkish and Swedish descent ("as near as I can figure out", as he has said). His father deserted his family, and when his mother married his stepfather, John L. Niman (Neiman) in 1926, LeRoy changed to
2392-580: Was auctioned off by Leland's auction house in June 2004 for US$ 7,904.80, according to a Google cache of the auction. In 2004, Playboy produced a new, updated figurine of a Femlin sitting in a champagne glass. Though out of production, they are still very common and should not be confused with the older figurines. This pornography-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . LeRoy Neiman LeRoy Neiman (born LeRoy Leslie Runquist , June 8, 1921 – June 20, 2012)
2444-550: Was good. The popularity of spectator sports in the United States was about to explode, and that popularity came to be driven largely by three things: economic prosperity, television, and Sports Illustrated . The early issues of the magazine seemed caught between two opposing views of its audience. Much of the subject matter was directed at upper-class activities such as yachting , polo and safaris , but upscale would-be advertisers were unconvinced that sports fans were
2496-502: Was honored with the award. For a 2002 list of the top 200 Division I sports colleges in the U.S., see footnote. The following list contains the athletes with most covers. The magazine's cover is the basis of a sports myth known as the Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx . Most covers by athlete, 1954–2016 Most covers by team, 1954 – May 2008 Most covers by sport, 1954–2009 Celebrities on
2548-771: Was listed in Art Collector's Almanac , Who's Who in the East , Who's Who in American Art , Who's Who in America , and Who's Who in the World . He was a member of the Chicago Society of Artists . His works have been displayed in museums, sold at auctions, and displayed in galleries and online distributors. He is considered by many to be the first major sports artist in the world, challenged only in his later years by
2600-484: Was no large-base, general, weekly sports magazine with a national following on actual active events. It was then that Time patriarch Henry Luce began considering whether his company should attempt to fill that gap. At the time, many believed sports was beneath the attention of serious journalism and did not think sports news could fill a weekly magazine, especially during the winter. A number of advisers to Luce, including Life magazine's Ernest Havemann, tried to kill
2652-477: Was publishing AI-generated articles credited to authors who were also AI-generated; the latter practice apparently extended to their profile photos, which the website alleged were sourced from online marketplaces selling such photos. After Futurism reached out to The Arena Group, the magazine purportedly removed some of the implicated writers and republished their articles under other AI-generated authors with notes disclaiming its staff's involvement. In response to
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#17327808282922704-439: Was subsequently awarded a 10-year license to operate the Sports Illustrated –branded editorial operations, while ABG licenses the brand for other non-editorial ventures and products. In January 2024, The Arena Group missed a quarterly licensing payment, leading ABG to terminate the company's license. Arena, in turn, laid off the publication's editorial staff. In March 2024, ABG licensed the publishing rights to Minute Media in
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