Syd Hoff

Syd Hoff
Born September 4, 1912(1912-09-04)
Bronx, New York City, United States
Died May 12, 2004(2004-05-12) (aged 91)
Nationality American
Area(s) Cartoonist, author
Notable works Danny the Dinosaur
Tuffy
Laugh It Off
Official website

Syd Hoff (September 4, 1912 Bronx, New York – May 12, 2004) was a Jewish-American cartoonist and children's book author. Although best known for his classic early reader Danny and the Dinosaur, his cartoons appeared in a multitude of genres, including advertising commissions for such companies as Eveready Batteries, Jell-O, S.O.S Pads, Rambler, Ralston Cereal and more.[1]

While Hoff was still in high school, Milt Gross, a popular 1930s cartoonist, told him at an assembly that "Kid, someday you'll be a great cartoonist!" At 16, he enrolled at the National Academy of Design in New York City. At 18, he sold his first cartoon to The New Yorker, and would sell a total of 571 of them to the publication from 1931 to 1975. Hoff became known for his cartoons, in The New Yorker, depicting tenements and lower-middle class life in the city.[2][3]

Hoff drew two long-running syndicated comic strips: Tuffy (1939–1949) and Laugh It Off (1958–1978). One of Hoff's recurring characters, a walrus-mustached man, eventually appeared as the father in his daily Tuffy, done for the King Features Syndicate from 1940 to 1950.[2]

His cartoons have appeared in a variety of publications including, the New Yorker, Esquire, Look magazine. He was also the host of a television show, Tales of Hoff, in which he drew and told stories.[2]

Hoff wrote and illustrated over 60 volumes in the HarperCollins "I Can Read" series for beginning readers, most notably Sammy the Seal and the popular Danny and the Dinosaur (1958), which sold 10 million copies and has been translated into a dozen languages.

In 1976, Hoff edited and published Editorial and Political Cartooning: From Earlier Times to the Present, which contains over 700 examples of works from the world's editorial and political cartoons.[2][3]

Contents

Bibliography

Children's books

Books for adults

References

  1. ^ Syd Hoff official website.
  2. ^ a b c d Syd Hoff Cartoons Syracuse University, 6 Nov 2009, Retrieved 11/30/2010
  3. ^ a b HarperCollins–Authors & Illustrators HarperCollins Publishers, 2010, Retrieved 11/30/2010

External links