Eugene Valentine Brewster was an American publisher, editor, lawyer, and artist who played a significant role in the early days of film journalism. Born in Bay Shore, New York, in 1869, Brewster studied law at Princeton University and was admitted to the New York State bar in 1894. Before his publishing career, he was highly active in politics, gaining prominence as the "boy orator" for Grover Cleveland's 1892 presidential campaign and later running as the Social Democratic candidate for New York Attorney General in 1900. He was also an accomplished landscape painter and served as the founder and president of the Allied Arts Association of Brooklyn.
Brewster achieved his greatest fame and wealth as a pioneer of fan magazine publishing. He served as the editor and publisher of highly successful publications such as Motion Picture Magazine, Shadowland, and Motion Picture Classic. These magazines capitalized on the public's growing fascination with the silent film industry and its stars, making Brewster a wealthy and influential figure in early Hollywood circles.
Despite his immense success, Brewster's later years were marked by financial ruin and personal turmoil. In 1926, he married the screen actress Corliss Palmer, living on a lavish estate in New Jersey. However, a combination of bad investments and a costly alienation of affection lawsuit filed by his former wife in 1931 decimated his fortune. Forced into bankruptcy, Brewster and Palmer relocated to a modest bungalow in California, where Palmer soon left him. Brewster passed away in 1939.
