Charles Santore and TV Guide

Charles Santore studied at Bok Vocational High School and the University of the Arts before launching his career in 1956 as a freelance illustrator for local advertising agencies and publications, including the Philadelphia-based Saturday Evening Post. In 1972, he began illustrating covers for TV Guide, also headquartered in Philadelphia. His first cover, depicting Peter Falk as the rumpled detective Columbo, brought him national acclaim. Working within the constraints of the magazine's small format, Santore distilled his subjects to their essence rather than rendering them literally. Over the next fourteen years, and through his friendship with TV Guide publisher Walter Annenberg, Santore produced scores of cover illustrations featuring some of the era's most iconic figures, among them Redd Foxx and The Godfather actors Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and Robert De Niro.

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