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Garcier Crawford ©Stars and StripesTokyo, November, 1984: While American kids growing up in the 1990s and 2000s were influenced a great deal by the products of Microsoft's Bill Gates, many of those who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s were greatly influenced by the products of Mad magazine founder and publisher Bill Gaines, seen here during an interview in Tokyo. Gaines started out in the comic book business in the late 1940s, but his "Tales from the Crypt" and similar publications sparked a furor that led to Congressional hearings and implementation of the Comics Code. Gaines fortuitously turned his attention to humor, and Mad became a cultural icon. In July, 2019, the magazine's current owners announced that Mad is ending newsstand sales and will soon reduce its new content to a minimum.

RELATED MATERIAL: Stars and Stripes' 1985 feature story about MAD's William M. Gaines.