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Laurence Albert "Larry" Schexnayder is a publicist and ex-husband of Sally Jupiter, the first Silk Spectre.

Biography[]

Wedding of Laurence Schexnayder and Sally Jupiter

Wedding of Laurence Schexnayder and Sally Jupiter.

Laurence Schexnayder saw the costumed adventurers as a social fad on which he could cash in with the help of Sally Jupiter, aka Silk Spectre.

Nelson Gardner contacted Schexnayder, inviting him to consider a joint effort of all the costumed adventurers. He offered them his "base", in exchange for Sally's cooperation as Silk Spectre and Schexnayder's publicity and management talents. This led to the creation of the Minutemen.[1]

During the Minutemen era, Schexnayder worked as their manager, keeping track of how often the group's exploits made the newspapers and how popular the radio shows were, booking publicity stills, and even making arrangements for those of the team who needed help with living expenses, like young Eddie Blake. Always caring about the team's public image, he covered Hooded Justice's homosexuality by arranging Sally to "beard" him.

He also convinced Jupiter not to press charges against the Comedian, who attempted to rape her following a photo shoot of the group in 1940.[2] It's possible that this incident made him realize who Laurie's father really was.

Once Ursula Zandt's homosexual relationship was outed, Schexnayder proposed to expel her to maintain the team's image.[2]

Laurence Schexnayder catches Laurie Juspeczyk

Laurence Schexnayder catches Laurie Juspeczyk

Schexnayder had supposedly understood that costumed adventuring was becoming increasingly unpopular and left in time.[3] Sometime around 1948,[4] Larry sent Sally a note expressing his concerns about the decline of the Minutemen, Captain Metropolis and Hooded Justice's relationship becoming public, the drinking problems of Mothman, and Nite Owl becoming like "a big bouncy boy scout." Larry expressed his own wish to quit the team, move westwards and cooperate together. Essentially, it was a marriage proposal.[1]

Shortly after Sally's retirement, the two married in 1947. The nine-year marriage was tumultuous, especially after Jupiter had her only child, Laurel Jane, in 1949.[3] Laurie's father, whom Laurie believed to be Hooded Justice, was in actuality the Comedian, with whom Sally had an affair while married. Knowing that Sally had an affair during their marriage, Schexnayder became despondent and usually picked on Laurie. The two divorced sometime in 1956.[3]

While reminiscing her memories to Jon Osterman on Mars, Laurie recounts an argument between Sally and Laurence where Sally angrily tells her husband that the man she'd had the affair with was more attentive to her own needs.[5]

Personality[]

In his book, Under the Hood, Hollis Mason describes Schexnayder as "tireless and shrewd", but also very mature and respectable for his age (mid-30s).[6] Laurie Juspeczyk described her stepfather as a "domineering bully".[5]

Trivia[]

  • The Book of Rorschach, an in-universe album by the fictional band Sons of Pale Horse, credits the legal firm of Schexnayder & Sons, LLC. The firm's familial connection to Lawrence Schexnayder is unknown.[7]
  • In Peteypedia, Lawrence is mistakenly named Louis. This mistake can be handwaved as Dale Petey being terrible with names, despite being such a stickler for historical accuracy.
  • Given Schexnayder's name, appearance, and career as a publicity agent for superheroes, he may be inspired by Julius Schwartz, a literary agent who served for decades as the head editor of DC Comic's flagship comic book titles and well known for having played in a important role in the superhero revival in the second half of the 20th century. Additionally, he also was responsible for the more science-fiction oriented reinventions of the company's Golden Age characters (such as the Flash and Green Lantern) and is credited as coming up with the Justice League of America, as well as creating new characters like Adam Strange.

References[]

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