Arthur Rense

Arthur F. Rense (1916 — 1990) was a sports journalist for the Los Angeles Daily News^[1] and the director of public relations for Howard R. Hughes' Summa Corporation.^[2]

Biography

Arthur Frederick Rense was born 20 May 1916 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Austrian-Italian immigrant parents, Joseph Rense and his wife, the former Rosalia Luther.^[3][4] He had six siblings, including four brothers, Randy, Andy, Frank, and William. After graduating from Ohio State University with a degree in English, Rense served in the United States Coast Guard during World War II.

Career

Rense moved to Los Angeles after World War II and joined the original Los Angeles Daily News as a sportswriter. In 1954 he joined United Press as a reporter, and later went on to publish and edit a magazine group that included "The Art Rense Sports Book: Professional Football", the first magazine devoted exclusively to professional football.^[1]

Between 1959 and 1974 Rense handled public relations for the Douglas Aircraft Company, Missiles and Space division (pre-McDonnell-Douglas) . In the mid-1970s Rense became public relations specialist for Harvey Mudd College , and later collaborated with football great Tom Harmon on Tom Harmon's Football Today in Las Vegas.^[1] After that Rense worked on public relations for hotels in Las Vegas owned by the Summa Corporation, mainly the Desert Inn.^[1]

Marriages

Rense was married three times:

• [Madelon Rense]. The couple had three sons, Kirk, Jeff, and Rip.
• Paige Pashong, whom he married twice, firstly in 1957 (divorced March 1974) and secondly on 22 December 1987. She became best known as Paige Rense, editor in chief of Architectural Digest magazine.

Death

Arthur F. Rense died of leukemia at the age of 74 on 28 December 1990 in Las Vegas, Nevada.^[2]

Arthur Rense Prize

In 1998, Rense's widow, Paige, established the Arthur Rense Prize in poetry, presented by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The award, given triennally, provides $20,000 to an exceptional poet.^[5]

References