Stan Fine (May 24, 1922 - May 21, 2009), was an American gag cartoonist. He contributed to major magazines, signed his work with his full name but sometimes reversed his last name to submit

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of imag ...

s under the signature Enif. Born in Pittsburgh, Fine studied at the Philadelphia School of Industrial Art and then launched his cartoon career. His work appeared for decades in a wide variety of publications, including '' The American Magazine'', ''Cartoon Spice'', ''

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'', ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Hous ...

'', '' Look''. ''

National Enquirer The ''National Enquirer'' is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years. The ''National Enquirer'' openly acknowledges that it pays sources for tips, a common practice in t ...

'', '' National Lampoon'', ''

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 '' Woman's World''.

King Features

For a year in the mid-1960s, he entered into newspaper syndication with '' Art Linkletter's Kids'', a daily gag panel featuring a cast of child characters—Klunkhead, Powder Puff, Specs Webster and Terry the Terror. Distributed by

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editori ...

, the series began November 4, 1963 and continued until October 1964. He also worked on the syndicated ''

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'', as recalled by

Ted Key Ted Key (born Theodore Keyser; August 25, 1912 – May 3, 2008)
'' Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania Bala Cynwyd ( ) is a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania. It is located on the Philadelphia Main Line in Southeastern Pennsylvania, bordering the western edge of Philadelphia at U.S. Route 1 (City Avenue). It was originally two sep ...

, where he lived with his wife, the former Renee Fox. Between sessions at the drawing board, Fine found time for his hobbies, woodworking, golf and reinventing himself as a cartoonist. Fine used the services of several gagwriters, including Terry Wampler. In later years, Fine's most prolific work appeared in the pages of several men's magazines, most notably Hustler. The days of old school cartoonists had passed and Fine found a new home in the "adult" market - Hustler in particular, where the perfect medium came into play with Fine regularly drawing single page cartoons depicting (among other things) devious little kids, a far cry from the familial tapestry woven into ''Hazel''. Many of his associates knew in actuality they were references to his estranged son, one Stan would internally struggle with during his final years in Florida. The other side of Stan's iconic humor was found in Wampler's contributions, acknowledged in one ''National Enquirer'' cartoon showing kids in Halloween costumes, outside a darkened house, saying, "We know you're in there, Mr. Wampler, so turn on the light and come out with your hands full."

Books

Books with Fine's byline include ''How to Stop Smoking Without Hardly Trying'' (Gem Publishing, 1964) which displayed "16 detachable jumbo picture postcards". His cartoons were reprinted in many collections, including ''The Little Monsters'' (Ace, 1956) and the hardcover ''You've Got Me in the Suburbs'' (Dodd Mead, 1957), cartoons about commuters and suburbanites, edited by

Lawrence Lariar Lawrence Lariar (December 25, 1908 – October 12, 1981) was an American novelist, cartoonist and cartoon editor, known for his ''Best Cartoons of the Year'' series of cartoon collections. He wrote crime novels, sometimes using the pseudonyms Mich ...

. Fine was often represented in Lariar's ''Best Cartoons of the Year'' annuals. His work is in the Daniel McCormick Collection at Wayne State University.Wayne State University: Daniel McCormick Collection
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References

External links

"Three Fines"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fine, Stan American cartoonists 1922 births 2009 deaths