- Bruce McCall
Bruce McCall (born 1935) is a Canadian author and illustrator, best known for his frequent contributions to "
The New Yorker ".Born and raised in Simcoe,
Ontario ,Canada , he was fascinated by comic books and showed an early aptitude for drawing fantastical flying machines, blimps, bulbous-nosed muscle cars and futuristic dioramas.As a boy, McCall dreamed of becoming a famous illustrator.
In his memoir, "Thin Ice" (1997), McCall admitted that he was never good at physical activity as a boy, but could count on his mother to encourage his creativity. Bruce's father T.C. was imperious and unemotional, and left his alcoholic wife Peg without the attention she needed. Peg and the children tried to strike an attachment to him, but his stormy moods frequently pushed them aside.
Such a dysfunctional household and lonely childhood might explain McCall's reliance on humour as a means of self-expression, providing spiritual uplift during depressing times. Without any serious technical training, McCall began his illustration career drawing cars for
Ford Motor Company inToronto in the 1950s. After several decades in advertising, he sought opportunities elsewhere in the publishing industry.He went to
New York City , and was hired by "National Lampoon" and made a name for himself as an artist with intelligent and whimsical humor.He has illustrated magazine covers, regularly appearing in "The New Yorker" and other magazines. He has been a contributor to the magazine since 1979. McCall is also a humourist, and has written essays on some of the social ironies of modern life. He writes frequently for the "Shouts & Murmurs" section of "The New Yorker".
McCall lives on the Upper West Side of New York near
Central Park .Books
* (1982) "
Zany Afternoons " ISBN 0-394-42683-5
* (1997) "Thin Ice " ISBN 0-679-76959-5 (memoir)
* (2001) "The Last Dream-o-Rama" ISBN 0-609-60801-0
* (2003) "All Meat Looks Like South America" ISBN 0-609-60802-9With Thierry Poncelet
* (1993) "Sit!: The Dog Portraits of Thierry Poncelet," art by
Thierry Poncelet , text by Bruce McCallExternal links
* [http://www.newyorker.com/online/content/articles/020520on_onlineonly01 The New Yorker Q&A]
* [http://www.thenation.com/directory/bios/bio.mhtml?id=1483 Bruce McCall] in "The Nation "
* [http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/06/22/reviews/970622.morrison.html?_r=1&oref=slogin "New York Times" profile]
* [http://www.marksverylarge.com/issues/7307.html Cover at "National Lampoon "]
* [http://www.robertfulford.com/BruceMcCall.html Robert Fulford on Bruce McCall]
* [http://www.ctlab.org/Bruce_McCall_Getting_Started.cfm Humor article by McCall titled "Getting Started"]
* [http://www.adcglobal.org/archive/hof/2004/?id=304 Art Directors Club biography, portrait and images of work]
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