Felix Dennis
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Felix Dennis (born 1947) is a British magazine publisher. His privately-owned company, Dennis Publishing, pioneered computer and hobbyist magazine publishing in the United Kingdom. In more recent times the company has added lifestyle titles to its range, including Maxim which is published both in Britain and the US.
Dennis started his career in publishing as one of the people behind Oz magazine, the Sixties satirical magazine which was prosecuted for obscenity in 1971. All three editors were found guilty and given gaol (jail) terms with hard labour, although Dennis himself was given a shorter sentence because the judge, Justice Michael Argyle, considered Dennis "very much less intelligent" — and therefore less responsible — than his co-accused.
He fought back from this insult, initially building his company on the back of Kung Fu magazine. He was recently named one of the most powerful people in media by The Guardian newspaper and was ranked 65th on the Sunday Times Rich List 2004 with a fortune estimated at £585m. He divides his time between homes in Mustique, New York, and Britain.
Dennis is credited with having been the first person to say the word "cunt" on British television, in 1970.
In recent times, alongside growing his publishing empire, Dennis has become a published poet with an anthology called A Glass Half Full.
In 1994, Dennis was made a Fellow of the National Library for the Blind in recognition of his support for that charity.
In 1995 Justice Argyle reiterated allegations about Dennis in The Spectator magazine. As this was outside court privilege, Dennis was able to successfully sue the magazine, which agreed to pay £10,000 to charity. Dennis refrained from suing Argyle personally: "Oh, I don't want to make him a martyr of the Right: there's no glory to be had in suing an 80-year-old man and taking his house away from him. It was just a totally obvious libel." [link]
Dennis is now working on his grandest scheme of all: the Forest of Dennis, which is supposed to become the largest forest in England.
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