Mort Drucker
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Mortimer "Mort" Drucker (born on March 29, 1929) is a cartoonist born in Brooklyn, New York. Drucker is a skilled caricaturist, whose work has been a centerpiece of Mad Magazine for decades. There, Drucker specialized in drawing the magazine's many movie and television satires and parodies.
He had great ability to capture a likeness from many different angles and with a variety of expressions. Drucker managed to combine a comic strip style with consistent, realistic likenesses of film and TV stars and other national personalities.
[edit] Career
Mort Drucker first entered the comics field by assisting Bert Whitman on Debbie Dean in 1947. He then joined the staff of National Periodical Publications (DC Comics), where he worked as a retoucher. Early in the 1950s, Drucker began doing freelance work.
In the fall of 1956, shortly after the departure of original editor Harvey Kurtzman, Drucker found his way to Mad Magazine. His debut there coincided with a World Series broadcast, and publisher Bill Gaines told Drucker that if the Brooklyn Dodgers won the game, he would be hired. Fortunately for Drucker and the magazine, the Dodgers did win. Capricious though Drucker's (alleged) audition process may have been, it made for a good anecdote. More than a half century later, Drucker has had the longest uninterrupted tenure of any Mad artist.
During the same period, Drucker also pursued assignments in television animation, movie poster art, and covers and illustrations for magazines. He remained active for DC, illustrating Sgt. Rock, among other titles. In 1962, Drucker teamed up with Paul Laiken and made the highly successful "JFK Coloring Book" for Kanrom Publishers. Between 1984 and 1986, he drew the syndicated daily comic strip Benchley in cooperation with Jerry Dumas. Drucker also worked as an illustrator of children's books, and produced covers for Time Magazine. He has also drawn album covers for such musical acts as the pop band Bears and the long-running metal act Anthrax.
Mort Drucker was recognized for his work with the National Cartoonist Society's Special Features Award in 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988, and its Reuben Award for 1987.
[edit] Influence
Lupin III creator Monkey Punch (Kazuhiko Katō) has cited Drucker as an influence.[citation needed]
[edit] External links
- Drucker's entry at "Rita Marie Represents" (his agent's website)
- NCS Awards
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