George Booth (June 28, 1926 – November 1, 2022) was an American cartoonist who worked for The New Yorker magazine. His cartoons usually featured an older everyman, everywoman, or everycouple beset by modern complexity, perplexing each other, or interacting with cats and dogs.

Early life

Born in Cainsville, Missouri, on June 28, 1926,

As a civilian, Booth moved to New York City where he struggled as an artist, married, then worked as an art director in the magazine world. He also worked on the comic strip Spot in 1956–1957.

Booth also created the comic strip Local Item in 1986–1987. They later lived in Brooklyn, where he continued to draw cartoons and collect artwork from local artists.

Booth died from complications of dementia at home in Brooklyn, on November 1, 2022, at age 96, His daughter Sarah said, "All his life, he'd sit in his studio and come up with captions and laugh at his own work.". The New Yorker honored Booth one month after his death, reprinting a sketch entitled "Believe" as the cover of the December 19th edition of the magazine.

Awards

The National Cartoonists Society recognized his work with the Gag Cartoon Award in 1993 and the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.

  • Rehearsal's Off! (1976)
  • Pussycats Need Love, Too (1981)
  • Omnibooth: The Best of George Booth (1984)

See also

References

  • Lambiek Comiclopedia biography about George Booth.
  • NCS Awards: Gag Cartoons
  • "The Illustrated Man" 1999 profile in The Boston Phoenix
  • The Cartoon Bank George Booth's work from The New Yorker
  • Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Art Database