sons and died at the age of 86 in Brainerd, Minnesota. One of his sons, Roscoe Fawcett Jr., became the publisher of American Fitness magazine. Born in Minneapolis in 1912, Gordon Fawcett graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1934. He married Vivian Peterson in 1935 and moved to Los Angeles where he was Fawcett Publications' office manager. He held the title of secretary-treasurer when the company moved to Greenwich, Connecticut in 1940, and he was 81 when he died in West Palm Beach, Florida, on January 16, 1993. Gordon Fawcett had four children: Vivian Creigh of Tucson, Arizona, and his three sons, Dennis of Greenwich; David of Stuart, Florida; and Gordon Jr. of San Diego. Acquisition and recent history In 1970, Fawcett acquired Popular Library from Perfect Film & Chemical Corporation. Fawcett Publications was bought by CBS Publications in 1977 for $50 million. Ballantine Books (a division of Random House) acquired most of Fawcett Books in 1982 (Popular was sold to Warner Communications) it inherited a mass market paperback list with such authors as William Bernhardt, Amanda Cross, Stephen Frey, P. D. James, William X. Kienzle, Anne Perry, Daniel Silva, Peter Straub and Margaret Truman. Fawcett also became the official home of Ballantine's mass market mystery program. The imprint stopped being used on new books at the beginning of the 21st century. In 1987, Fawcett senior executive Peter G. Diamandis and a management team negotiated a $650 million leveraged buy out, then sold six titles to raise $250 million. Diamandis Communications, Inc. was then sold the next year to Hachette Publications for $712 million. An annual four-day festival held in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, is Whiz Bang Days. Robbinsdale's city celebration, recalling the glory years of Fawcett Publications, began during World War II. The original Fawcett Publications building, which remained standing in Robbinsdale for decades, was torn down during the mid-1990s. It was located at what is now the terrace for the restaurant La Cucina di Nonna Rosa's, at 4168 West Broadway Avenue. Notes References Sources Walters, Ray. "Paperback Talk", The New York Times (April 11, 1982). Sloane, David E. E., American Humor Magazines and Comic Periodicals (Greenwood Press, 1987)pp. 40–44ff. External links About Comics Vin Packer and Gold Medal Books Richard S. Prather Interview by Linda Pendleton Richard S. Prather Bibliography Capt. Billy's Whiz Bang from the Minnesota Historical Society 1919 establishments in Minnesota American companies established in 1919 Publishing