Eric Stanton (1926-1999)

**This first story of Eric’s life is written by my very good friend, Persephone. She is also one of the most beautiful fetish Goddesses in the world.

I received a devastating blow when I was informed that legendary fetish artist Eric Stanton had died on march 17^th, 1999 at Veteran’s Affairs Health Care Center in West Haven, CT. He had suffered a series of strokes since 1997 and his health had been failing.

He was born Ernest A. Stanten in Brooklyn, NY on September 20^th, 1926, and became world famous for his artwork. He had worked for the Daily News in NY as a cartoonist and the Brooklyn Mirror where he drew the comic strip “Smiling Jack”. He was also a co-creator of Spiderman Comics, involved in the first three issues and also created “Sweeter Gwen” and “Blunder Broad” comic strips.

He was a World War II Veteran serving with the Navy and a member of the VFW in Clinton. Besides his wife, he is survived by three sons, a daughter and a grandchild. His children keep his legend alive with Stanton Archives.

More than just an illustrator, he was a dear friend and wonderful man. My heart bleeds with every thought of how kind he was to me the first time we met at Glamourcon in 1995.

I was there to compete in the Bettie Page look-a-like contest and he was to be one of the judges. In fact, it was his vote that won me the title. I spent a great deal of time chatting with him that day about John Willie’s art, his portrayal of himself in a lot of his illustrations (Eric). He paid me a compliment I can never forget. He said that to him I “was Bettie”, that I exuded all the playfulness she had when he had the honor of shooting her so many years ago. I paid him one as well telling him he was the little devil he had portrayed himself to be in his drawings to which he simply responded with a sinister grin. He then gave me a print signed “To Bettie/Persephone”. You can see a photo of us together shot that same day on my links page.

Up until his death I kept in contact with him and his son, Tom, who remains a dear friend. For Christmas of 1995, Eric sent me a signed original. Eric later sent me a rough draft of a comic he was working on (with me as the main character) which he unfortunately never finished. It is one of my most sacred possessions.

He will be alive in my heart forever and his legacy precedes him. He had a very rich life which even included a brief stint as a knife-thrower in a Russian restaurant just after he left the Navy. His first love was erotic art, so he wrote a letter to Irving Klaw for an interview. They became very good friends and Klaw published his first comic book stories.

Working with him had its perks, one of which was placing Bettie Page and the other models in bondage. Eric never minded that!

When the New York Police Dept. came down on Klaw, Eric showed his loyalty by refusing to testify though it meant the inevitable destruction of much of his earlier work. His pieces were said to have been incinerated, though many pieces have shown up in private collections worldwide.

He went on to draw for LEG SHOW and HUSTLER turning Hugh Hefner and PLAYBOY away because his page rate didn’t meet Eric’s standards. He even put out a series of films called “Sweeter Gwen” which featured his wife, Britt.

Special thanks to E. N. Cuire and Tom Stanton for their selfless assistance and friendship.

           -- Persephone

*** Reb’s Note…

            To visit Persephone’s many Internet areas, go to:

Persephone’s URL:  www.gothic.net/~framses/

Fan Page:                   www.mistresspersephone.com

Pictures Club:            http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/mistresspersephonepicturesclub

Photo Archives:         http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/mistresspersephonefetishforum

**Note…you must be a registered Yahoo! Member and be signed in in order to access Yahoo clubs. Free registration at: www.yahoo.com

            This second segment was written by “Master Zorro” – fetish photographer for Reflections and Kinky Contacts magazines. Also a man that I have enjoyed knowing and working with for nearly 25 years now.

            Master Zorro recalls…

Eric Stanton is one of the pioneer artists in the field of kinky, exotic, erotic cartoon art. I first ran across Eric’s work while I was a Navy musician during the Korean War. Much of his work appeared in girly magazines like “Titter” and “High Heels”.

His work was on a par with Bill Ward, Bilbrew, Eneg, Ram, Thomas, Mory and others. Eric’s work looked much like John Willie’s art.

I recently had the great pleasure of meeting Eric in Las Vegas. He was recovering from a stroke, but still hard at work.

He had some interesting tales about his life, and I was surprised to learn that he had been a drinking buddy of Willie’s.

Eric was to be present at our Dressed to Thrill Ball V in Las Vegas, but unfortunately he was unable to attend due to a series of strokes that have left him unable to travel.

            Master Zorro

Third segment by E. N. Cuire, an incredibly talented artist in his own right.  He has a Gallery on this site as well…

            E. N. Cuire…

It is surprising that although millions have enjoyed his work, little is known of Eric Stanton.

The “erotic” Stanton first displayed his remarkable artistic talents during his days with the legendary Irving Klaw. He was one of only few to capture the essence of Betty Page in drawings. Betty was then to become the inspiration for many of the characters that Eric created on paper.

Stanton has produced all manner of art, from paintings to comics books, from book covers to calendar art. The artist in Stanton surfaced when he was in the U.S. Navy, as he started sending drawings to the American Forces Newspapers. During this time, he was also starting a mildly erotic art career by creating drawings for shipmates.

Postwar, there were few openings for returning sailors, so Eric waited tables and drew on his half-Russian origins in becoming a Russian Dancer and knife-thrower. It was during these years that he sent a cheeky letter to Irving Klaw, informing him that someone called “Eric” was an artist who was much better than the illustrator Klaw was using. The result was employment and, later, encouragement to attend Art School, where Stanton’s skills were nurtured.

It was after leaving Klaw that the Stanton Archives came into being. Stanton had seen a lot of his work sold for considerable amounts of money. That’s how he decided to go into business as his own publisher.

Eric’s understanding of sexual fantasies grew as more fans wrote to him, requesting books on their private fantasies. He became one of the contributors to the Kinsey Report. Some of his original work is owned by the Kinsey Foundation.

His work has been copied by many artists. Many have used Stanton stories with little change, but, to his true fans, there is only one Eric Stanton. No matter how much many try.

Stanton was a lover of women. Tall, beautiful, strong dominant ones. His second wife Britt, herself a talented painter, some three inches taller than Eric, inspired many Stanton characters.

Could Eric’s unique style of art and humor be the result of his mixture of Italian and Russian genes? Whatever it is, true Stanton fans go on enjoying the work of the Master of the Bizarre.

            -- E. N. Cuire

Reb’s Notes on “Eric Stanton”

My friends have just about said it all. Like many, I’ve been a Stanton fan since I was a teenage…we corresponded and exchanged magazines back and forth…and I finally met Eric back in ’95 at the Glamourcon Convention in L.A. that Persephone mentioned.

He was delightful. Easy to laugh, with lots of stories to tell. The kind of person you like immediately. We chatted as numerous fans came up to his tables to admire his work and asked Eric questions. Every year the Glamourcon rolled around I made sure I paid a visit to Eric. New artworks pouring from his pen will be missed, but the man, Eric Stanton, will be missed even more.

            Visit the Stanton website at: www.Stanton-Fetish.com