Robert Brown (cartoonist)

Robert "Buck" Brown (February 3, 1936 – July 2, 2007) was an African-American painter and cartoonist best known for creating Playboy magazine's naughty "Granny" character.

Early life and Education

Brown was born in Morrison, Tennessee, in the 1930s and moved to Chicago as a child after the separation of his parents. He graduated from Englewood High School in 1954. He joined the United States Air Force and later received a Bachelor of Arts degree in fine arts from the University of Illinois 1966.^[1][2]

Playboy career

A Playboy Buck Brown cartoon used on a subscription form for the magazine in 1972.

Brown started to develop a reputation as a cartoonist and sold his first cartoon to Playboy in 1962. "Granny" was his first color work for the magazine published in 1966. In all, Brown had more than 600 cartoons published by the magazine.^[3]

Other works and interests

Brown also had thousands of other drawings published by publications such as Esquire, Ebony and Jet. Many of his cartoons were filled with commentary on civil rights issues affecting African Americans. He created several album covers for the Chiaroscuro Jazz Record label, including The Red Holloway Quintet's Standing Room Only, Frank Wess Quartet's Surprise, Surprise, Jay McShann's My Baby With The Black Dress On and A Lindy Hop Compilation. Brown was also a painter of what he described as "soul genre paintings" depicting humorous images of everyday life.^[3]

References