Charles Branum Barsotti (Sep. 28, 1933 – June 16, 2014) was an American cartoonist who contributed
gag cartoon
A gag cartoon (also panel cartoon, single-panel cartoon, or gag panel) is most often a single-panel cartoon, usually including a caption beneath the drawing. A pantomime cartoon carries no caption. In some cases, dialogue may appear in speech bal ...
s to major magazines.
Early life
Born in
San Marcos, Texas in 1933,
Barsotti grew up in
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
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and graduated from
Texas State University
Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...
in 1955. He then served in the Army and worked at the Brown School in San Marcos which was a residential treatment center for people with special needs, whilst studying with the aim of obtaining a master's degree in education.
Career as a cartoonist
Barsotti was the cartoon editor of ''
The Saturday Evening Post
''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...
'' and a staff
cartoonist at ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' beginning in 1970. His work also appeared in ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
'',
''Punch'' and
''Fast Company'', among other publications. He was a signature artist whose rounded, elegant, sparsely detailed style evoked both the traditional world of a
James Thurber
James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' and collected ...
and the contemporary sensibility of a
Roz Chast
Rosalind Chast (born November 26, 1954) is an American cartoonist and a staff cartoonist for ''The New Yorker''. Since 1978, she has published more than 800 cartoons in ''The New Yorker''. She also publishes cartoons in ''Scientific American'' and ...
.
Barsotti's work features a simple repertory including a nameless, lovable pooch and a monarch whose kingdom consists of a guard and a telephone.
His work in comic strips included:
*''C. Barsotti's People''
*''My Kind of People''
*''P.J. McFey''
*''
Sally Bananas'' (1969–1973)
*''Funny Form'' (1974)
*''Punchline: USA'' (1975)
*''Broadsides'' (1975–1979)
In 1992, his dog character was adopted as a logo by the office supplies company Niceday Ltd, which was taken over the French company Guilbert, leading to the nickname "Niceday pup" in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. On February 26, 1996, the pup also appeared on one of three United Kingdom postage stamps featuring Barsotti's cartoons.
Politics
Barsotti openly opposed the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
. In 1972, he ran for Congress as the Democratic nominee against incumbent
Larry Winn in the third district of
Johnson County, Kansas
Johnson County is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas, on the border with Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 609,863, making it the most populous county in Kansas. Its county seat is Olathe. Largely suburban, the county cont ...
, but faced heavy Republican opposition and dropped out of the race.
In a 1986 interview Barsotti said of his campaign:
It was a 'You can vote for me as a protest against the war if you want to' kind of thing. Roughly I got about 30 percent of the vote, and it's very rough because I tried to put all that behind me as quickly as possible. I love politics but I don't like politicians. This sounds awful, but you can't e a politicianand be a cartoonist.
His entire campaign staff dropped him and became the Wyandotte County, Kansas City, Kansas staff for the McGovern campaign when Mr. Barsotti refused to do any campaign functions.
Death
Barsotti died of brain cancer on June 16, 2014, at his home in
Kansas City, Missouri, aged 80.
Awards
Barsotti received the
National Cartoonist Society's Gag Cartoon Award for 1988 for his work.
Books
*''A Girl Needs a Little Action'' (1969)
*''Kings Don't Carry Money'' (August 1983)
*''Barsotti's Texas'' (July 1986)
*''The Essential Charles Barsotti'' (October 1, 1998)
*''From the Very Big Desk of...: Business Cartoons'' by New Yorker Cartoonist Charles Barsotti (May 17, 2006)
*''They Moved My Bowl: Dog Cartoons'' by New Yorker Cartoonist Charles Barsotti (May 15, 2007)
References
External links
Charles Barsotti official siteNCS Awards
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barsotti, Charles
1933 births
2014 deaths
American cartoonists
The New Yorker cartoonists