It’s the end of an era. On Thursday, Vanity Fair announced that, after 25 years, Graydon Carter will be leaving his post as editor-in-chief. “I want to leave while the magazine is on top,” the sometimes producer, restaurateur, and host told The New York Times. “I want to leave while it’s in vibrant shape, both in the digital realm and the print realm. And I wanted to have a third act — and I thought, time is precious.”
Carter will stay on long enough to oversee the planning of the 2018 edition of Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue, the magazine’s annual program that he established in 1995. After that, Carter will be, according to the NYT, renting a home in Provence and taking what he’s referring to as a “six-month garden leave.” Beyond that though, he’s not providing any further details about his next steps professionally. “I’m not a big announcer,” he said. “Best to fail quietly at the beginning of something rather than make grand pronouncements.”
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In a press release from Vanity Fair announcing his departure, Carter summed up his time at the magazine saying: “I’ve loved every moment of my time here and I’ve pretty much accomplished everything I’ve ever wanted to do. I’m now eager to try out this ‘third act’ thing that my contemporaries have been telling me about, and I figure I’d better get a jump on it.”
The release also pointed out that Carter’s tenure has spanned five presidencies, seven presidential elections, three papacies, five Star Wars covers, and 9,188 days of his own life. “I’ve had the most extraordinarily talented staff, which has made my longevity in this job possible,” Carter continued. “Indeed, many of the senior staff at the magazine have worked alongside me for my whole time here. We built a magazine with sophistication, wit, and an international outlook, on a bedrock of solid journalism. And Vanity Fair has been tremendously profitable. I don’t think there’s a monthly magazine anywhere with a greater reach.”
No word yet on what will happen to Carter’s wall of framed Donald Trump Tweets after he leaves 1 Word Trade Center.