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September 27, 2006: Whatever happened to...
Whatever happened to...
H.C. “Hank” Stackpole ’57?
Hank Stackpole ’57,
shown today, is pictured in ads for Schaefer beer, DuPont Orlon sweaters,
and L&M cigarettes while modeling for the Huntington Hartford Agency
in New York. Stackpole began modeling during his
junior year at Princeton and was paid $5 per hour for his first assignment
— “a great sum at the time,” he says. (Photos courtesy
Hank Stackpole ’57)
When Hank Stackpole ’57 was voted “most handsome” in
a poll of Princeton seniors, it likely was no surprise to his classmates.
Stackpole had been modeling professionally since his junior year and already
had signed on with the Huntington Hartford Agency, then one of the top
three modeling agencies in New York. Traveling between classes to shoots
for TV and print advertising campaigns, Stackpole modeled DuPont Orlon
sweaters and plugged Zest soap. Although he didn’t drink or smoke,
he was, for a period, the face of Schaefer beer and L&M cigarettes.
But his modeling career, which culminated with six months of live TV ads
on The Price is Right and the Perry Como Show, ended when he was commissioned
a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps. Stackpole went on to serve 36
years in the Marines, earning a Silver Star in Vietnam and two Purple
Hearts. His last assignment before retiring from active duty in 1994 was
as commander of Marine Forces Pacific in Honolulu, where he still lives.
Until last year, Stackpole was president of the Asia-Pacific Center for
Security Studies, a Defense Department educational institute. He is writing
a book on the 2004 tsunami, tentatively titled Tears of Salt, Seeds
of Hope, and consulting on humanitarian matters for several corporations.
By F.H.
