This passed Thursday, Morris “Mort” Drucker passed away at the age of 91. Mort was most remembered for being the caricature artist for MAD magazine and had a long career illustrating a large amount of media from Time magazine covers to George Lucas posters. He has been an inspiration for an entire generation of animators and artists who grew up reading MAD magazine and learning from his unique cartoony style. Mort taught people that realism wasn’t the only way to go about illustration and that a creative angle can always trump what reality has to offer.
Mort’s resume was a long and prestigious one. Mort began at what is now today known as DC comics as a retoucher and would go uncredited for the gag panel “The Mountain Boys” at Esquire. This is what led him to transition into his career at MAD. From there his career only soared higher and higher. He became one of the most prolific satirists in the nation. He was once quoted saying he probably drew every actor in Hollywood at one point or another.
From this position, he would go onto popularize the adult coloring book with the “JFK coloring book” which depicted members of the Kennedy family in a cartoonish light with accompanying captions that are meant to have a laugh at the First Family of the time. Drucker went on to create the poster for American Graffiti and a number of illustrations that ended up in the National Portrait Gallery in the Smithsonian.
Mort will be remembered for years to come off the power of his staging of characters and unique viewpoint on everyone and everything. Morris “Mort” Drucker will live on forever through his illustrations and the effect he has had on the next generation of artists.
