Alfred R. Kilgore (December 19, 1927 - August 15, 1983), who signed his work Al Kilgore, was an American artist who worked as a cartoonist and filmmaker. Born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, Kilgore attended Andrew Jackson High School where he played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

with a young

Bob Cousy Robert Joseph Cousy ( , born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. He played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time NBA ...

. He also met Dolores Preusch at this time, and the couple married in 1958. 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 ...

, he served in the

Fifth Air Force The Fifth Air Force (5 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is the U.S. Air Force's oldest continuously serving Numbered Air Force. The organ ...

. After the war, he entered into art studies, graduating from the Art Career School in 1951.

Comic strips and comic books

He was an artist on the '' Bullwinkle'' comic strip for the Bell-McClure Syndicate between 1962 and 1967. In 1969, he did a syndicated puzzle feature, ''TV Star Screen''.Lambiek: Al Kilgore
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Films

He appeared as an actor in Louis McMahon's serial parody ''Captain Celluloid vs. the Film Pirates'', along with fellow film historians and authors Alan G. Barbour and William K. Everson. This four-part, semi-professional production paid homage to

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...

and its adventure serials, while kidding the vintage film subculture of the 1960s. The plot involved a masked villain named The Master Duper, one of three members of a Film Commission who attempts to steal the only known prints of priceless antique films, and the heroic Captain Celluloid, who wears a costume reminiscent of that of the Black Commando in the Columbia serial The Secret Code and is determined to uncover him. Kilgore produced and scripted ''The World of Hans Christian Andersen'' (1971) which he co-directed with

Chuck McCann Charles John Thomas McCann (September 2, 1934 – April 8, 2018) was an American actor, comedian, puppeteer, commercial presenter and television host. His career spanned over 70 years. He was best known for his work in presenting children's televi ...

. He was a founding member of the Laurel and Hardy appreciation society, The Sons of the Desert, and drew the organization's crest. His caricatures of Laurel and Hardy were used in John McCabe's biography, ''Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy'' (1962). Kilgore and his wife Dolores lived in Long Island's Queens Village. He died in New York in 1983 from an

embolism An embolism is the lodging of an embolus, a blockage-causing piece of material, inside a blood vessel. The embolus may be a blood clot (thrombus), a fat globule (fat embolism), a bubble of air or other gas (air embolism, gas embolism), amniotic ...

Awards

He was awarded 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 ...

Silver T-Square in 1976 for outstanding dedication or service to the Society or the profession and its Special Features Award in 1983 for his ''Elvis the Paper Doll Book''.

References

External links

NCS Awards

1927 births 1983 deaths American comics artists United States Army personnel of World War II Artists from Newark, New Jersey United States Army Air Forces soldiers Deaths from embolism {{US-cartoonist-stub