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{{Short description|
{{more citations needed|date=March 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
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|birth_place=[[Colony of Singapore|British Singapore]]
|death_date={{death date and age|df=y|1962|8|5|1902|12|9}}
|death_place=[[
|occupation=
|known_for = Publisher of the first 23 issues of "Bizarre" magazine (1946-1956
}}
'''John Alexander Scott Coutts''' (9 December 1902 – 5 August 1962), better known by the pseudonym '''John Willie''', was an artist, [[fetish photographer]],
▲'''John Alexander Scott Coutts''' (9 December 1902 – 5 August 1962), better known by the pseudonym '''John Willie''', was an artist, [[fetish photographer]], editor and the publisher of the first 20 issues of the fetish magazine ''Bizarre'', featuring his characters [[Sweet Gwendoline]] and Sir Dystic d'Arcy. Though distributed underground, ''Bizarre'' magazine had a far-reaching impact on later fetish-themed publications and experienced a resurgence in popularity, along with fetish model [[Bettie Page]], beginning in the 1970s.
== Early life ==
John Alexander Scott Coutts was born
▲After moving to [[Brisbane]], Australia, in 1926, Coutts joined a local High Heel Club, where he was probably introduced to the print media of a community of "shoe lovers" and other fetishists.<ref name=rund/> He met his future second wife, Holly Anna Faram, c. 1936<ref>''Possibilities: The Photographs of John Willie'', edited by J. B. Rund. New York: Bélier Press, 2016</ref> and the couple married in 1942.<ref>[http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/IndexSearch?form=IndexingSearch&cgiurl=%2Fcgi-bin%2FIndex%2FIndexingMarriage.cgi&event=marriages&sname=coutts&gname=&fname=faram&mname=&frange=1940&trange=1945&place=&x=58&y=9&SessionID=23968629 Bdm.nsw.gov.au] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928133712/http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/IndexSearch?form=IndexingSearch&cgiurl=%2Fcgi-bin%2FIndex%2FIndexingMarriage.cgi&event=marriages&sname=coutts&gname=&fname=faram&mname=&frange=1940&trange=1945&place=&x=58&y=9&SessionID=23968629 |date=28 September 2011 }}</ref> She became his muse and often modelled for him. Because of his access to the High Heel Club's mailing list, Willie was able to begin producing and selling his own illustrations and photographs. He worked at a variety of jobs as well as pursuing his hobby and eventually established a company to produce exotic footwear called "Achilles". In 1945, Willie moved to North America, while Holly chose to remain in Australia, where she died in 1983 at the age of 70. Willie wished to settle in New York but was forced to remain in Montreal, Canada, for a year or so because of immigration issues.<ref name=rund>Rund, ''The Adventures of Sweet Gwendoline'', pp. v–viii.</ref>
==
Coutts' access to the High Heel Club's mailing list allowed him to begin producing and selling his own illustrations and photographs. He worked at a variety of jobs as well as pursuing his hobby, and eventually established a company to produce exotic footwear called "Achilles". In 1945, he moved to North America while Holly chose to remain in Australia, where she died in 1983 at the age of 70. He wished to settle in [[New York City|New York]] but was forced to remain in [[Montreal]], Canada for a year or so because of immigration issues.<ref name=rund>Rund, ''The Adventures of Sweet Gwendoline'', pp. v–viii.</ref>
''Bizarre'' magazine began in late 1945, while Coutts was living in Canada.<ref name="utexas.metapress.com">{{cite web |url=http://utexas.metapress.com/content/r05x577r3n1g7r50/ |title=In Bizarre Fashion: The Double-Voiced Discourse of John Willie's Fetish Fantasia - Journal of the History of Sexuality - Volume 22, Number 1 / January 2013 - University of Texas Press |website=utexas.metapress.com |access-date=6 June 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140416190731/http://utexas.metapress.com/content/r05x577r3n1g7r50/ |archive-date=16 April 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He published the magazine under the pseudonym of "John Willie", a name he kept for the duration of his career. Willie was introduced to the American fetish underground by [[Charles Guyette]] and later worked with [[Irving Klaw]], the infamous [[BDSM]] merchandiser later charged with [[obscenity]], but he is best known for his fetish cartoon character [[Sweet Gwendoline]], which he drew in a style that influenced later artists such as [[Gene Bilbrew]] and [[Eric Stanton]]. Other characters include U69 (censored to U89 in some editions), the raven-haired [[dominatrix]] who ties up Gwendoline and Sir Dystic d'Arcy, the only prominent male character and probably a parody of Willie himself.<ref>Glenn Daniel Wilson, ''Variant sexuality: research and theory'', Taylor & Francis, 1987, {{ISBN|0-7099-3698-2}}, p.15</ref> ''Sweet Gwendoline'' was published as a serial in [[Robert Harrison (publisher)|Robert Harrison]]'s mainstream girlie magazine ''Wink'' from June 1947 to February 1950 and later in several other magazines over the years.▼
==Magazine publishing ''Bizarre''==
''Bizarre'' was published, at irregular intervals, from 1946 to 1959. The magazine included many photographs, often of Willie's wife, and drawings of costume designs, some based on ideas from readers. There were also many letters from readers: he was accused of inventing these but insisted that they were genuine. These letters covered topics such as [[high heels]], [[Bondage (BDSM)|bondage]], [[amputee fetishism]], [[sadomasochism]], [[transvestism]], [[corsets]] and [[body modification]]. The magazine was suspended completely from 1947 to 1951. By 1956, Coutts was ready to give up the magazine and that year he sold it to someone described only as R.E.B., who published six more issues before ''Bizarre'' finally folded in 1959. There was no mention within the magazine that it had changed hands, but in issue no. 23 Mahlon Blaine was introduced by the editor as the artist who was to replace Willie as the primary illustrator.<ref>R.E.B., ''Bizarre'' no. 23 (1958): 8</ref>▼
[[File:John Willie Bizarre Whipping at Fence.jpg|thumb|369x369px|Artwork from Bizarre]]
After publishing the first 23 issues of ''Bizarre'', Coutts moved to Hollywood, California, where in 1961 he developed a brain tumor and was forced to end his mail-order business. He destroyed his archives and returned home to England, where he died in his sleep in August 1962.▼
▲''Bizarre'' magazine began in late 1945, while Coutts was living in Canada.<ref name="utexas.metapress.com">{{cite web |url=http://utexas.metapress.com/content/r05x577r3n1g7r50/ |title=In Bizarre Fashion: The Double-Voiced Discourse of John Willie's Fetish Fantasia - Journal of the History of Sexuality - Volume 22, Number 1 / January 2013 - University of Texas Press |website=utexas.metapress.com |access-date=6 June 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140416190731/http://utexas.metapress.com/content/r05x577r3n1g7r50/ |archive-date=16 April 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He published the magazine under the pseudonym of "John Willie", a name he kept for the duration of his career. Willie was introduced to the American fetish underground by [[Charles Guyette]] and later worked with [[Irving Klaw]], the infamous [[BDSM]] merchandiser later charged with [[obscenity]], but he is best known for his fetish cartoon character
▲''Bizarre'' was published, at irregular intervals, from 1946 to 1959. Despite the nature of the magazine, Coutts was able to circumvent censorship and orders to cease publication because he was careful to avoid "nudity, homosexuality, overt violence, or obvious depictions of things that might be read as perverse or immoral and that might rankle those parties who were capable of banning, censoring or blocking the magazine's circulation."<ref name="utexas.metapress.com" /> The magazine included many photographs, often of Willie's wife, and drawings of costume designs, some based on ideas from readers. There were also many letters from readers: he was accused of inventing these but insisted that they were genuine. These letters covered topics such as [[high heels]], [[Bondage (BDSM)|bondage]], [[amputee fetishism]], [[sadomasochism]], [[transvestism]], [[corsets]], and [[body modification]]. The magazine was suspended completely from 1947 to 1951. By 1956, Coutts was ready to give up the magazine and that year he sold it to someone described only as R.E.B., who published six more issues before ''Bizarre'' finally folded in 1959. There was no mention within the magazine that it had changed hands, but in issue no. 23 Mahlon Blaine was introduced by the editor as the artist who was to replace Willie as the primary illustrator.<ref>R.E.B., ''Bizarre'' no. 23 (1958): 8</ref>
▲After publishing the first 23 issues of ''Bizarre'', Coutts moved to [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], [[California]], where in 1961 he developed a [[brain
==Legacy==
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In 2009, Willie was inducted into the Leather Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://leatherhalloffame.com/index.php/inductees.html |title=> Inductees |publisher=Leatherhalloffame.com |access-date=2019-12-31}}</ref>
==Quotations==
"Unless a model is a good actress, and has 'that type' of face, it's difficult for her to look sad and miserable when working for me. My studio is a pretty cheerful place, and quite unlike the atmosphere that surrounds Gwendoline when the Countess gets hold of her."<ref>John Willie, ''The Art of John Willie - Sophisticated Bondage (Book Two)'', p. 1</ref>
"Bizarre. The magazine for pleasant optimists who frown on convention. The magazine of fashions and fantasies fantastic! Innumerable journals deal with ideas for the majority. Must all sheeplike follow in their wake? Bizarre is for those who have the courage of
"As for sex, ignorance is abysmal, because for centuries those who could not satisfy themselves, except by denying pleasure to others, have taught generation after generation that "sex is taboo." Thou shalt not think about it or discuss it. In fact, it's a dreadful thing, but it's all right as long as you don't enjoy it. If you have any other ideas on the subject, you are a pervert. The basis of a decent society is a happy home. Marriages break up almost invariably because of sex. What you do, or does not do, is your own business, all that matters is that the enjoyment be mutual, — and the time to discuss these things is before you get hitched up. There is a partner to suit everyone somewhere, but the search will be difficult until we can discuss our likes and dislikes, openly, in good taste, without threat from our own brand of standardized Police State."<ref>Coutts, ''Bizarre'' no. 17 (1956): 5</ref>
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*''The Adventures of Sweet Gwendoline'', edited by J. B. Rund.(second edition, revised and enlarged) New York: Bélier Press, 1999.{{ISBN|0-914646-48-6}}
* ''Eric Stanton & the History of the Bizarre Underground'' by Richard Pérez Seves. Atglen: Schiffer Publishing, 2018. {{ISBN|978-0764355424}}
* ''Charles Guyette: Godfather of American Fetish Art
*''A John Willie Portfolio'', n. 1 (a cura di Carl McGuire), Van Nuys, CA., London Ent. Ltd., 1987
*''Bizarre: The Complete Reprint of John Willie's Bizarre'' Vols. 1–26; {{ISBN|3-8228-9269-6}} [[Taschen]]. Edited by [[Eric Kroll]].
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* [http://lambiek.net/artists/w/willie_john.htm Lambiek.net]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040305061836/http://dir.salon.com/health/sex/urge/2000/03/11/john_willie/index.html "The Rembrandt of Pulp"]
* [http://americanfetish.net American Fetish – Scholarly resources for the study of SM and Fetishism in American Culture] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010718193127/http://www.americanfetish.net/ |date=18 July 2001 }}
* [https://archive.today/20140416190731/http://utexas.metapress.com/content/r05x577r3n1g7r50/]
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