Remembering Richard Stolley, Fabled Editor of LIFE, PEOPLEAlfred Eisenstaedt/The LIFE Picture Collection © Meredith CorporationRichard Stolley, the founding editor of People magazine and the man who acquired the Zapruder film while he was an editor at LIFE, died on June 16, 2021, at the age of 92.
Dan Wakeford, editor and chief at People, said, “Dick Stolley was a legendary editor whose vision and execution established the most successful magazine of all time that America fell in love with. He was an amazing journalist whose work and magazine craft we still refer to every day at PEOPLE as it’s still so relevant. He wrote in his first editor’s letter in 1974, “PEOPLE will focus entirely on the active personalities of our time—in all fields.
An incredible man and an amazing storyteller
Stolley was a friend and mentor to many—myself included—and sure knew how to tell a story.