Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Leo Cullum, RIP

Leo Cullum, one of my favorite New Yorker magazine cartoonists, passed away last month. 

Cullum drew 819 cartoons for the magazine over 33 years, most of which were done on layovers since his "real" job was as a TWA and American Airlines pilot.

Cullum's fellow New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast wrote a postscript about him in a recent issue, which captured his sense of humor:
"According to his brother, Thomas, 'Leo has been funny since he was a little kid—he was kind of a humor prodigy.' At the dinner table one night during a summer vacation when Leo was seven and Thomas nine, their father complained that his stomach had got a little sunburned. Leo said, 'Well, you know, Dad, things that are closest to the sun burn first.' Fortunately, his father laughed.
After the 9/11/2001 issue, only the second with no cartoons, the first cartoon in the subsequent issue was by Cullum.


Here's another Cullum classic.  Thanks for all the laughs.


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