- George Fisher (cartoonist)
George Fisher (
8 April 1923 –15 December 2003 ) was an acclaimed American politicalcartoonist .Early life
George Fisher was born at Beebe,
Arkansas on8 April 1923 , the son of Charles W. and Gladys Fisher. George's father was born inTennessee and was a home builder and business owner. Fisher's mother died when he was 5 years old and his father never remarried. Fisher's father encouraged George's artistic ability and suggested political subjects for him to draw. Fisher had his firstcartoon published in 1944 lampooning Arkansas governorHomer Martin Adkins for claiming credit for wartime factory construction in Arkansas.Education and Participation in War
Fisher attended Beebe College for one year, after which he withdrew to join the
United States Army . Fisher served in Europe as aninfantry man and participated in theBattle of the Bulge . While in service, Fisher kept a daily cartoon diary of his experiences and drew cartoons for his regimental newspaper.While stationed in
Bournemouth, England Fisher met a female artist named Rosemary Snook. After the war, Fisher married Snook and began hiding her nickname, "Snooky", into most of his cartoons. Finding the hidden nickname became a favorite game for those who read his cartoons regularly.Career
At the conclusion of the war, Fisher returned to
West Memphis, Arkansas and began drawing cartoons for the "West Memphis News". The newspaper was run by former soldiers who had returned from the war and determined to stand up to thepolitical machine that controlled local and statewide politics at the time. Fisher worked for the newspaper until it was forced to close.Fisher moved to
Little Rock, Arkansas and started doingcommercial art work for theSouthwestern Bell Telephone Company . With the advent of television, Fisher and his wife sought out a job at the local ABC affiliateKATV and established a syndicated puppet show called "Phydeaux and His Friends" which specialized inpolitical satire . Local political figures, including GovernorOrval Faubus , made guest appearances on the show.Fisher convinced the weekly "North Little Rock Times" to start carrying his political cartoons and, before long, other newspapers began reprinting them in their Sunday editions.
In 1972, Fisher began drawing cartoons twice per week for the statewide "
Arkansas Gazette " and became the newspaper's official cartoonist in 1976. Fisher gained a very active following in the state of Arkansas and became an Arkansas institution. Fisher's work was never syndicated, because he preferred to focus mostly on affairs in his home state, but many of his cartoons were reprinted nationally.Death
Fisher died on
15 December 2003 at his home after completing aChristmas cartoon for the "Arkansas Times ".His wife died in 1983, but Fisher continued to hide her nickname in his cartoons as a tribute.
Fisher's most famous statewide cartoon was a drawing of Governor Orval Faubus addressing a session of the Arkansas legislature where everyone present, even the mice and statues, had the face of Orval Faubus.
His most famous nationally reprinted cartoon was on the occasion of the
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.His work has been published in several anthologies and he has been acclaimed as one of the great cartoonists of the 20th century.
Fisher was buried at Beebe Cemetery in Beebe, Arkansas.
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Internet-Encyclopedia , December 22 2003."
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