HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Allan Jaffee (born Abraham Jaffee; March 13, 1921 – April 10, 2023) was an American
cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...
. He was notable for his work in the
satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...
magazine '' Mad'', including his trademark feature, the ''Mad'' Fold-in. Jaffee was a regular contributor to the magazine for 65 years and is its longest-running contributor. In a 2010 interview, Jaffee said, "Serious people my age are dead." With a career running from 1942 until 2020, Jaffee holds the
Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
for having the longest career as a comic artist. In the half-century between April 1964 and April 2013, only one issue of ''Mad'' was published without containing new material by Jaffee. In 2008, Jaffee was honored by the Reuben Awards as the Cartoonist of the Year. Cartoonist Arnold Roth of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' said, "Al Jaffee is one of the great cartoonists of our time."''Fold This Book!'', Warner Books, 1997, . ''
Peanuts ''Peanuts'' (briefly subtitled ''featuring Good ol' Charlie Brown'') is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run ext ...
'' creator Charles M. Schulz wrote, "Al can cartoon anything."


Early life

Al Jaffee was born March 13, 1921, in
Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...
, to Mildred and Morris Jaffee, the eldest of four sons. His parents were
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
immigrants from
Zarasai Zarasai () is a city in northeastern Lithuania, surrounded by many lakes and rivers: to the southwest of the city is Lake Zarasas, to the northLake Zarasaitis, to the southeastLake Baltas, and the eastLake Griežtas. Lakes Zarasaitis and Griežtas ...
,
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
. His mother was described as devoutly religious, to the point she had the
crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...
es removed from the hospital room before giving birth. In 1927, Mildred took her four sons, with Morris's consent, back to Zarasai. After a year, Morris took the family back to the United States. After another year, Mildred took the children back to Lithuania, where they lived in a
shtetl or ( ; , ; Grammatical number#Overview, pl. ''shtetelekh'') is a Yiddish term for small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish populations which Eastern European Jewry, existed in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. The t ...
. With reading material scarce in his new home, Morris mailed comic-strip clippings from the United States. Jaffee became known for his ability to trace figures like
Little Orphan Annie ''Little Orphan Annie'' was a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and print syndication#Comic strip syndication, syndicated by the Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James ...
in the sand, for the amusement of his friends as well as the local bullies. After four more years, Morris again took the eldest three sons back to the United States, where they lived in
Far Rockaway, Queens Far Rockaway is a neighborhood on the eastern part of the Rockaway peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is the easternmost section of the Rockaways. The neighborhood extends from Beach 32nd Street east to the Nassau County li ...
. David, Jaffee's youngest brother, returned to U.S. in 1940, months before much of Zarasai's Jewish population was murdered in
the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
, including, apparently, Mildred herself. Jaffee studied at the
High School of Music & Art The High School of Music & Art, informally known as Music & Art (or M&A), was a public specialized high school located at 443-465 West 135th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York, from 1936 until 1984. In 1961, Music & Art and the High S ...
in New York City in the late 1930s, along with his brother Harry and future ''Mad'' personnel
Will Elder William Elder (born Wolf William Eisenberg; September 22, 1921 – May 15, 2008) was an American illustrator and comic book artist who worked in numerous areas of commercial art but is best known for a frantically funny cartoon style that helped ...
,
Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ...
,
John Severin John Powers Severin (; December 26, 1921 – February 12, 2012) was an American comics artist noted for his distinctive work with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics '' Two-Fisted Tales'' and ''Frontline Combat''; for Marvel Comics, e ...
, and
Al Feldstein Albert Bernard Feldstein ( ; October 24, 1925 – April 29, 2014) was an American writer, editor, and artist, best known for his work at EC Comics and, from 1956 to 1985, as the editor of the satirical magazine '' Mad''. After retiring from ''Mad' ...
.Mark Evanier, ''Mad Art'', Watson-Guptill Publications, 2002, . While Morris's perseverance probably saved his sons' lives, he later showed increasingly erratic behavior himself, thereby missing his son's high school graduation, and inexplicably discarding all his belongings and art projects once he left for the Army. These experiences of perpetual absurdity and repeated alienation were later credited by his friends and wife as having sharpened his satirical edge, making him recognize that authority figures in his life could be oppressive and absurd (something he called "anti-
adultism Adultism is a bias or prejudice against children or youth. It has been defined as "the power adults have over children", or the abuse thereof, as well as "prejudice and accompanying systematic discrimination against young people", and "bias tow ...
"), and quick to find nuances others miss, especially in the semantics of the English language.


Career

Jaffee began his career in 1942, working as a
comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
artist for several publications, including ''Joker Comics'', in which he was first published in December 1942, and continuing in other comics published by
Timely Comics Timely Comics was the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman (publisher), Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely P ...
and Atlas Comics, the 1940s and 1950s precursors of
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
. While working alongside future ''Mad'' cartoonist Dave Berg, Jaffee created several humor features for Timely, including "Inferior Man" and "
Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal are fictional, talking animal comic-book characters created by cartoonist Al Jaffee for Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, during the Golden Age of Comic Books. Initially appearing as individual stars of ...
". Jaffee originally considered himself strictly an artist until he was disabused of the notion by editors and art directors who were reviewing his portfolio. "When prospective clients laughed and asked 'Who wrote the gag?' my response was 'I did, sir.' Which was very confusing since I didn't realize any writing had taken place. I mean, writers used typewriters, smoked pipes, wore scarves, right? When enough of them said, 'Oh, then you're a writer too,' I took their word for it. Who was I to argue with prospective employers?" Jaffee served in the
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, where he worked as an artist for the military in various capabilities. His work included the original floor plan for the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine. During this time, he took advantage of the military's free name change service, first to "Alvin Jaffe" by mistake, then to "Allan Jaffee". While working at
the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...
, he met Ruth Ahlquist, whom he married in 1945. In 1946, Jaffee returned to civilian life, working for
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
. For approximately a year and a half in the late 1940s, Jaffee was editing Timely's humor and teenage comics, including the ''
Patsy Walker Patricia "Patsy" Walker is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stuart Little and Ruth Atkinson, Patsy Walker first appeared in ''Miss America Magazine'' #2 (November 1944), published by Marvel prec ...
'' line. Jaffee recalled in a 2004 interview: From 1957 to 1963, Jaffee drew the elongated ''Tall Tales'' panel for the ''
New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...
'', which was syndicated to over 100 newspapers. Jaffee credited its middling success with a pantomime format that was easy to sell abroad, but his higher-ups were unsatisfied with the strip's status: "The head of the syndicate, who was a certifiable idiot, said the reason it was not selling
etter Etter is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Albert Etter (born 1872), American horticulturist *Bill Etter (born 1950), American football quarterback *Bob Etter (born 1945), American football placekicker, bridge player, and profess ...
is we gotta put words in it. So they made me put words in it. Immediately lost 28 foreign papers."''The Comics Journal'' #225, Fantagraphics Publications, July 2000, p. 43. A collection of Jaffee's ''Tall Tales'' strips was published in 2008. Jaffee also scripted the short-lived strips ''Debbie Deere'' and ''Jason'' in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Since 1984, Jaffee has provided illustrations for "The Shpy", a lighthearted Jewish-themed adventure feature in Tzivos Hashem's bimonthly children's publication ''The Moshiach Times''.


''Mad''

Jaffee first appeared in ''Mad'' in 1955, one issue after its transformation from comic book format to magazine. When editor
Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ...
left in a dispute three issues later, Jaffee went with Kurtzman. Jaffee contributed to Kurtzman's first two post-''Mad'' publishing efforts, ''
Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
'' and the creator-owned '' Humbug'', though both were much less successful than Mad. In 2008, the first full reprint of ''Humbug'' was published as a two-volume set by
Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the Erotic comics, erotic Eros Comix imprint. They have managed sev ...
; the set includes a newly commissioned cover illustration by Jaffee, and a co-interview with Jaffee and Arnold Roth. After ''Humbug'' folded in 1958, Jaffee brought his unpublished material to ''Mad'', which bought the work. "
Bill Gaines William Maxwell "Bill" Gaines (; March 1, 1922 – June 3, 1992) was an American publisher and co-editor of EC Comics. Following a shift in EC's direction in 1950, Gaines presided over what became an artistically influential and historically i ...
took out every ''Trump'' and ''Humbug''," remembered Jaffee, "called me into his office, sat me down on the couch next to him, and went over every issue and said "Which is yours?" And as he came to each one, when he saw my stuff, he OK'd to hire me."


The Fold-In

In issue #86 of 1964, Jaffee created his longest-running ''Mad'' feature, the Fold-In. In each, a drawing is folded vertically and inward to reveal a new "hidden" picture (as well as a new caption). Originally, Jaffee intended it as a one-shot "cheap" satire of the triple fold-outs that were appearing in glossy magazines such as ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'', ''
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
'', and ''
Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
''. But Jaffee was asked to do a second installment, and soon the Fold-In became a recurring feature on the inside back cover of the magazine. In 2011, Jaffee reflected, "The thing that I got a kick out of was ... ''
Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...
'' showed a Fold-In and the contestants all came up with the word they were looking for, which was 'Fold-In.' So I realized, I created an English language word." In 2010, Jaffee described the earliest Fold-Ins: The Fold-In became one of ''Mad''s signature features, and it appeared in almost every issue of the magazine from 1964 to 2020. A single issue in 1977 was published without a Fold-In (though Jaffee supplied the issue's back cover), and a 1980 issue instead featured a unique double-visual gimmick by Jaffee in which the inside back cover and the outside back cover merged to create a third image when held up to the light. The third-ever Fold-In in 1964 featured a unique diagonal folding design, rather than the standard left-right vertical format. The image revealed the four members of
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
becoming bald (and thus losing their popularity). In a ''Mad''-like wrinkle, there are two answers to the question "When was Jaffee's last Fold-in?" The final one he designed appeared in the June 2019 issue. But his last Fold-in to be published, a personal farewell to readers, appeared in the August 2020 issue. Jaffee had prepared it six years in advance, to be published after his own death. Instead, it ran after he officially announced his retirement at the age of 99, as the conclusion of an "All Jaffee" tribute issue. Cartoonist Johnny Sampson succeeded Jaffee on the feature. ''
The Far Side ''The Far Side'' is a single-panel comic created by Gary Larson and syndicated by Chronicle Features and then Universal Press Syndicate, which ran from December 31, 1979, to January 1, 1995 (when Larson retired as a cartoonist). Its surrea ...
'' creator
Gary Larson Gary Larson (born August 14, 1950) is an American cartoonist who created ''The Far Side'', a single-panel cartoon series that was syndicated internationally to more than 1,900 newspapers for fifteen years. The series ended on January 1, 1995, ...
described his experience with the Fold-In: "The dilemma was always this: Very slowly and carefully fold the back cover ... ''without'' creasing the page and quickly look at the joke. Jaffee's artistry ''before'' the folding was so amazing that I suspect I was not alone in not wanting to deface it in any way." In 1972, Jaffee received a Special Features Reuben Award for his Fold-Ins. Jaffee used a computer only for
typographic Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line spacing, letter spacin ...
maneuvers to make certain Fold-In tricks easier to design and he typically took two weeks to sketch and finalize an image. Otherwise, all his work was done by hand. "I'm working on a hard, flat board ... I cannot fold it. That's why my planning has to be so correct." In 2008, Jaffee told one newspaper, "I never see the finished painting folded until it's printed in the magazine. I guess I have that kind of visual mind where I can see the two sides without actually putting them together." Contrasting current art techniques and Jaffee's approach, ''Mad''s art director, Sam Viviano, said, "I think part of the brilliance of the Fold-In is lost on the younger generations who are so used to
Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe for Windows and macOS. It was created in 1987 by Thomas and John Knoll. It is the most used tool for professional digital art, especially in raster graphics editin ...
and being able to do stuff like that on a computer."


21st century

Until 2019, Jaffee continued to do the Fold-In for ''Mad'', as well as additional artwork for articles. His last original Fold-In appeared in the June 2019 issue, which was one that had originally been rejected from the June 2013 issue due to sensitivity about
gun violence Gun-related violence is violence against a person committed with the use of a firearm to inflict a gunshot wound. Gun violence may or may not be considered criminal. Criminal violence includes homicide (except when and where ruled justifiable ...
. Since August 2019, ''Mad'' has been either reprinting old Fold-Ins or publishing new ones by Johnny Sampson. In December 2019, Al's original work was featured in the magazine for the last time. ''Mad''s oldest regular contributor, Jaffee's work appeared in 500 of the magazine's first 550 issues, a total unmatched by any other writer or artist. He said, "I work for a magazine that's essentially for young people, and to have them keep me going, I feel very lucky ... To use an old cliché, I'm like an old racehorse. When the other horses are running, I want to run too." He retains the record for being longest tenured contributor to the history of Mad magazine. In August 2008, Jaffee was interviewed for an NY1 feature about his career. He said, "It astonishes me that I still am functioning at a fairly decent level. Because there were a lot of dark days, but you have to reinvent yourself. You get knocked down and you pick up yourself and you move on." A four-volume hardcover boxed set, ''The Mad Fold-In Collection: 1964–2010'', was published by Chronicle Books in September 2011, . Jaffee announced in June 2020 that he would be retiring. To honor this, ''Mad'' published a tribute issue that month.


Frequent themes

Will Forbis wrote: "This is the core of Jaffee's work: the idea that to be alive is to be constantly beleaguered by annoying idiots, poorly designed products and the unapologetic ferocity of fate. Competence and intelligence are not rewarded in life but punished." In the book ''Inside Mad'', fellow ''Mad'' writer Desmond Devlin called Jaffee "the irreplaceable embodiment of ''Mad Magazine''s range: smart but silly, angry but understanding, sophisticated but gross, upbeat but hopeless. ... He's uncommonly interested in figuring out how things work, and exasperated because things NEVER work." Jaffee contributed to hundreds of ''Mad'' articles as either a writer or an artist and often both. These included his long-running "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions", which present multiple putdowns for the same unnecessary or clueless inquiry, and several articles on
invention An invention is a unique or novelty (patent), novel machine, device, Method_(patent), method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It m ...
s and gadgets, which were presented in an elaborately detailed "blueprint" style.
Sergio Aragonés Sergio Aragonés Domenech ( , ; born 6 September 1937 in Sant Mateu, Castellón, Spain) is a Spanish-Mexican-American cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' magazine and creating the comic book ''Groo t ...
said of Jaffee, "He is brilliant at many things, but especially inventions. When he draws a machine for ''Mad'', no matter how silly the idea, it always looks like it works. He thinks that way because he is not only an artist, but a technician as well ... He is the guy who can do anything." In a patent file for a self-extinguishing cigarette, the inventor thanked Jaffee for providing the inspiration. Other actual inventions that have since come to pass had appeared earlier in Jaffee articles, such as telephone redial and address books (1961), snowboarding (1965), the computer spell-checker (1967), peelable stamps, multi-blade razors (1979), and graffiti-proof building surfaces (1982). "I could imagine those things," Jaffee told an interviewer. "I never had the problem of trying to figure out how to manufacture them." During the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, Jaffee also created the short-lived gag cartoon ''Hawks & Doves'', in which a military officer named Major Hawks is antagonized by Private Doves, an easygoing soldier who contrives to create surreptitious peace signs in various locations on a military base. In a 1998 issue, all the ''Hawks & Doves'' strips were republished, along with an original strip in color on the back of the issue. Some of Jaffee's features were expanded into stand-alone books, including a 1997 collection of Fold-Ins titled ''Fold This Book!'' and eight "Snappy Answers" paperbacks. Referring to the latter, Jaffee said, "I was going through a divorce when I started that. I got a lot of my hostility out through Snappy Answers."


Techniques and materials

When designing his ''Mad'' Fold-Ins, Jaffee started with the finished "answer" to the Fold-In, and then spread it apart and placed a piece of tracing paper over it in order to fill in the center "throw-away" aspect of the image, which is covered up when the page is folded over, using regular pencil at this stage. Jaffee would then trace the image onto another piece of illustration board using
carbon paper Carbon paper (originally carbonic paper) consists of sheets of paper that create one or more copies simultaneously with the creation of an original document when inscribed by a typewriter or ballpoint pen. The email term cc which means "carbon ...
. At this stage he used red or green color pencils, which were distinct from the black pencil of the original drawing, in order to discern his progress. Once the image was on the illustration board, he would then finish it by painting it. Because the illustration board was too stiff to fold, Jaffee did not see the finished Fold-In image until it was published.


Awards and recognition

Jaffee won the
National Cartoonists Society The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...
Advertising and Illustration Award for 1973, its Special Features Award for 1971 and 1975, and its Humor Comic Book Award for 1979. In 2008, he won the Reuben Awards' Cartoonist of the Year. In 2005, the production company Motion Theory created a video for recording artist
Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...
's song "Girl" using Jaffee's ''Mad'' Fold-Ins as inspiration; Jaffee's name appears briefly in the video, on a television screen. The March 13, 2006, episode of ''
The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late night television, late-night Late-night talk show, talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December ...
'' aired on Jaffee's 85th birthday, and comedian
Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...
saluted the artist with a Fold-In
birthday cake A birthday cake is a cake eaten as part of birthday celebrations. While there is no standard for birthday cakes, they are typically highly decorated layer cakes covered in frosting, often featuring birthday wishes ("Happy birthday") followed b ...
. The cake featured the salutary message "Al, you have repeatedly shown artistry & care of great credit to your field." When the center section of the cake was removed, the remainder read, "Al, you are old." AL, , , YOU, HAVE REPEATEDLY SHOWN , A, RTISTRY & CA, RE O, F GREAT CREDIT TO YOUR FIE, LD That was not Jaffee's first interaction with the comedian. In 2010, he recalled: In October 2011 Jaffee was presented with the Sergio Award at a banquet in his honor from the
Comic Art Professional Society The Comic Art Professional Society (CAPS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. The organization's stated primary purposes are "to advance the ideals and standards of professional cartooning in its many forms", "to ...
. In July 2013, during
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...
, Jaffee was one of six inductees into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame. Jaffee, who worked for Eisner in his studio for one of his earliest jobs, was not present during the convention, and the award was accepted by ''Mad'' art director Sam Viviano, who presented it to Jaffee at a later date. The other inductees were
Lee Falk Lee Falk (), born Leon Harrison Gross (; April 28, 1911 – March 13, 1999), was an American cartoonist, writer, theater director, and producer, best known as the creator of the comic strips ''Mandrake the Magician'' and ''The Phantom''. At the ...
,
Mort Meskin Morton Meskin (May 30, 1916 – March 29, 1995)Social Security Death Index, SS# 071-16-1099. was an American comic book artist best known for his work in the 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books, well into the late-1950s and 1960s Silver Age. Early li ...
,
Spain Rodriguez Manuel Rodriguez (March 2, 1940 – November 28, 2012), better known as Spain or Spain Rodriguez, was an American underground cartoonist who created the character Trashman. Influences His experiences on the road with the motorcycle club, the ...
, Joe Sinnott, and
Trina Robbins Trina Robbins ( Perlson; August 17, 1938 – April 10, 2024) was an American cartoonist. She was an early participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the first women in the movement. She co-produced the 1970 underground comic '' I ...
. In April 2014, Jaffee was elected to the
Society of Illustrators The Society of Illustrators (SoI) is a professional society based in New York City. It was founded in 1901 to promote the art of illustration and, since 1959, has held an annual exhibition. Since absorbing the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (M ...
' Hall of Fame. In October 2013,
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
announced that Jaffee had donated most of his archives to the college. On March 30, 2016, it was officially declared that Jaffee had "the longest career as a comics artist" at "73 years, 3 months" by ''
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...
''. ''Guinness'' noted that he had worked continuously, beginning with Jaffee's contribution to the December 1942 issue of ''Joker Comics'' and continuing through the April 2016 issue of ''Mad''. On April 9, 2016, Jaffee received a Life Time Achievement Award - the National Cartoonist Society's Medal of Honor in New York City. Mary-Lou Weisman, a friend of Jaffee for more than three decades, wrote a profile of him for ''Provincetown Arts'', which she later expanded into the biography, ''Al Jaffee's Mad Life'', published in 2010 by It Books, an imprint of
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...
. In addition to reprints of his past work, Jaffee tells his life story to Weisman in an interview style.


Personal life

Jaffee married Ruth Ahlquist in 1945; they had two children, Richard and Debbie. They divorced in 1967. After the divorce, Gaines provided Jaffee with studio space at the ''Mad'' offices. His oldest younger brother Harry Jaffee (1922–1985), who also had artistic talent, had long been coping with various illnesses—for a time he had been committed to
Bellevue Hospital Center Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States ...
. Harry had been living with the Jaffees at the time. After the divorce, Jaffee took two apartments in Manhattan, one for him, and one nearby for Harry. Jaffee also hired him from 1970 to 1977 to do his background detail and lettering. Harry quit upon Jaffee's remarriage. In 1977, Jaffee married Joyce Revenson, a widow. They lived in Manhattan, summered in
Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown () is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States census, Provi ...
, and wintered in
Puerto Vallarta Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican resort city near the Bahía de Banderas on the Pacific coast of the Mexico, Mexican state of Jalisco. Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadalajara ...
, Mexico. Joyce died in January 2020. Jaffee died of organ failure on April 10, 2023, at a Manhattan hospital. He was 102.


See also

*
List of cartoonists This is a list of cartoonists, visual artists who specialize in drawing cartoons. This list includes only notable cartoonists and is not meant to be exhaustive. Note that the word 'cartoon' only took on its modern sense after its use in Punch maga ...
*
List of illustrators This is an alphabetical list of notable illustrators. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y * Chao Yat * Marianne Young (1811–1897) India et al * Yu Rong Chi ...


References


Citations


Sources

*


External links


"Mad Magazine Contributors"
Doug Gilford's Mad Cover Site.
"Al Jaffee Wins the Reuben Award!"
.
National Cartoonists Society The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...
. May 25, 2008. * Heater, Brian (March 3, 2009)
"Interview: Al Jaffee Pt. 1 (of 3)"
The Daily Cross Hatch. * Heater, Brian (March 9, 2009)
"Interview: Al Jaffee Pt. 2 (of 3)"
The Daily Cross Hatch. * Heater, Brian (March 16, 2009)
"Interview: Al Jaffee Pt. 3 (of 3)"
The Daily Cross Hatch.

''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. October 1, 2010. * Kloeffler, Dan; Abraham, Mary-Rose (February 14, 2014)
"Cartoonist Al Jaffee Reveals the One Fold-In 'MAD Magazine' Wouldn't Run"
Yahoo! News Yahoo News (stylized as Yahoo! News) is a news website that originated as an internet-based news aggregator by Yahoo. The site was created by Yahoo software engineer Brad Clawsie in August 1996. Articles originally came from news services such ...
.
"Al Jaffee Papers, 1945–2018"
Columbia University Libraries Columbia University Libraries is the library system of Columbia University and one of the largest academic library systems in North America. With 15.0 million volumes and over 160,000 journals and serials, as well as extensive electronic resources ...
. Rare Book & Manuscript Library. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaffee, Al 1921 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American artists 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American artists 21st-century American Jews American men centenarians American military personnel of World War II American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent American humorists American satirists American satirical comics artists American satirical comics writers Jewish humorists Comedians from Savannah, Georgia Comedians from Manhattan Comedians from Queens, New York Deaths from multiple organ failure Harvey Award winners for Best Cartoonist Inkpot Award winners Jewish American comics writers Jewish American comics artists Jewish American comedians Jewish male comedians Jewish American military personnel Mad (magazine) cartoonists Mad (magazine) people People from Far Rockaway, Queens Artists from Manhattan Artists from Savannah, Georgia Reuben Award winners The High School of Music & Art alumni United States Army personnel of World War II Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees Jewish centenarians