His cartoons, incredibly funny and resembling, will have made the heyday of the famous American satirical newspaper Mad Magazine created by Harvey Kurtzman. Talented cartoonist Mort Drucker died on April 7 at the age of 91 at his home in New York State, as his daughter Laurie confirmed to the New York Times.
Born on March 22, 1929 in Brooklyn, Mort Drucker became known worldwide for his drawings and caricatures in the Mad Magazine , where he caricatured politicians, Hollywood actors and stars for over 50 years. show business, from Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan through Marlon Brando, Christopher Reeve, Al Pacino or Harrison Ford.
A helping hand from Will Eisner
It was at the age of 18 that he began his professional career at the age thanks to the sympathetic help of the great Will Eisner, a family friend who made him get a job at Periodical Publications, now better known. under the name of DC Comics. But it was in 1956 that he joined the newspaper that would make his glory Mad Magazine , at the time when Al Feldstein succeeded Harvey Kurtzman. He remained there until 2008, when he retired.
Mort Drucker will also have worked in the more traditional press, such as Time Magazine . We owe him the poster for American Graffiti , a film directed by George Lucas in 1973. He also worked for illustrations of music albums and children's books. Some of his works are even exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Mort Drucker signs the poster for 1973
American Graffiti , nostalgic comedy directed by a certain George Lucas. TIM SCOTT
There were many reactions to his death in the United States where his work was very well known and recognized. So much so that, when Back to the Future was released in 1985, actor Michael J. Fox, guest of The Tonight Show , told the presenter that he understood that he was famous " the day when Mort Drucker had drawn his portrait ”.
Reacting to the cartoonist's death, director Joe Dante ( Gremlins, The Inner Adventure ... ) admitted that "there are few sensations as intense in life as discovering his own film parodied in the pages of Mad Magazine by Mort Drucker ".
Another anecdote shows how feared Mort Drucker's talent as a “cartoonist” was. In 1981, a parody of "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" was published in Mad Magazine . It was so successful and satirical that Lucasfilms' legal department had caught the eye and sent a letter of formal notice demanding even the withdrawal from the newspaper.
Star Wars under the satirical pen of Mort Drucker ... Mort Drucker © MAD Magazine
Mad Magazine's response had been equally astounding. Its editor had sent a copy of another letter received the previous month, signed this one by the hand of George Lucas, and offering outright to buy the original work of Mort Drucker on The Empire strikes back . .. even going so far as to " compare Mort Drucker to Leonardo da Vinci".
"When I draw, I become a camera"
Always modest, Mort Drucker humbly explained in 2005: “When I started working for Mad magazine, they assigned me to the section of TV parodies and asked me to draw famous people. It took me a long time to acquire my skills. You know, when I draw, I become a camera, and I look for angles, lighting, close-ups, wide angles, long shots - just like a film director does to tell the story of in the most visually interesting way. »»
Usually working at his home in Woodbury, Long Island, Mort Drucker was finally honored in 2015 by the National Society of Cartoonists. Two years later, he was also inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Society of Illustrators. A fair reward ...
