When did the first BRAVO appear?

When did the first BRAVO appear?

The first issue of BRAVO was published on August 26, 1956, by Kindler & Schiermeyer Verlag, Munich. The editor-in-chief was Peter Boenisch , who also conceived the idea for BRAVO. BRAVO began as "The Magazine for Film and Television." It wasn't until the Beat Boom of the early to mid-1960s that BRAVO transformed into a music magazine.

The cover of the first issue featured the US actress Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962), the US actor Richard Widmark (1914–2008) with Donna Reed (1921–1986) and the German actors Peter Carsten (1928–2012) and Karl-Heinz Böhm (1928–2014).

The booklet consisted of 40 pages; the purchase price was 50 pfennigs.

On the back, the US actress Mitzi Gaynor (*1931) was depicted in some dance scenes from the film “Broadway Magic” (original title “Anything Goes”).

Today's star (a very popular series on BRAVO) was Karl-Heinz Böhm. The television program (at that time, there was only ARD) from August 25th to 31st was printed on a double page. The issue featured the debut of the novel "Getoreinigt bis aufs Blut" (Tormented to the Point of Blood). At the same time, there was a completed love story: "Du lebenst in meinen Herzen" (You Live in My Heart). As a film and television magazine, it naturally focused primarily on new films, but also on the competition between the two media for audiences. BRAVO reported that the big screen had introduced Cinemascope 55, while feverish work was underway on an affordable color system for the small screen.

It's worth noting that BRAVO published a reprint of the very first issue for its 40th anniversary in 1996, which is now often touted as the "original." How to distinguish between the two editions is explained in another blog post.