Richard Earl Locher (June 4, 1929 – August 6, 2017) was an American syndicated

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 ...

Early life and career

Locher was born in

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. After high school, he studied at Loras College before studying art at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

. He then graduated with honors from the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. While in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, he became an assistant to Rick Yager, who was drawing ''

Buck Rogers Buck Rogers is a science fiction adventure hero and feature comic strip created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appearing in daily American newspapers on January 7, 1929, and subsequently appearing in Sunday newspapers, international newspapers, b ...

'' at the time. However, he left the job after a few months to enlist in the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, where he became a

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

and later was given an Honorable Discharge as Captain. While at the Air Force, he began freelancing for the '' Stars and Stripes''. In 1957, he began assisting Chester Gould on '' Dick Tracy'', where he inked the figures and colored the Sunday strips. He also contributed to a story that was cited in Gould's 1959 Reuben award. He left the strip in 1961 to work on other areas, including starting an advertising company, where he worked on designing characters for

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. Locher kept in touch with Chester Gould even after leaving the strip. In 1973, an editorial cartoonist position at the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' opened up and Gould recommended Locher to take the position. Despite having no experience in editorial cartooning, the ''Tribune'' hired Locher. Locher retired May 1, 2013. Locher, working with his son John, returned to work on ''Dick Tracy'' in 1983, when its previous cartoonist, Rick Fletcher, died. That same year, he won the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

for Editorial Cartooning. In 2009, Jim Brozman took over the drawing of ''Dick Tracy''; however Locher continued to write the storylines and contributed sketches. In 2011, Locher retired from ''Dick Tracy'' and handed the reins to the new creative team of Mike Curtis and Joe Staton. Locher's last ''Dick Tracy'' strip was published Sunday, March 13, 2011. Dick got honorary doctorates from Benedictine University and Loras College. He was a long-tenured trustee of Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois. In 2006, Locher was inducted into the Oklahoma Cartoonists Hall of Fame in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma by Michael Vance. The Oklahoma Cartoonists Collection, created by Vance, is located in the Toy and Action Figure Museum. In 2008, he was inducted to the Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame. In 2013, Locher helped design and make a 9.5-foot bronze statue of Naperville's founding father, Capt. Joseph Naper. He also designed the Land of Lincoln Trophy, awarded to the winner of the Northwestern-Illinois college football game. Throughout his career, Locher published over 10,000 cartoons.

John Locher Memorial Award

Dick Locher's son, John, who was also a cartoonist, passed away in 1986 at the age of 25. The same year, while appearing at the 1986 Ohio Comic Con at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

, Hy Rosen, Albany Times Union cartoonist, and Andy Donato,

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cartoonist, both of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, suggested the John Locher Award to recognize aspiring college-age cartoonists in remembrance of Locher's son, who helped him on Dick Tracy. The first award competition was launched in 1987.

Personal life

Locher married Mary (née Cosgrove) in 1957. In 1969, they moved to Naperville, Illinois, where they lived until his passing. They had three children: Stephen, who lives in the Chicago area; John, who died in 1986 at age 25; and Jana, who lives in Colorado. Locher died on August 6, 2017, in Naperville, Illinois, aged 88. His death was caused by complications from Parkinson's disease.

Awards

* Scripps Howard Institute Award for Conservation, 1975 *

Sigma Delta Chi Award The Sigma Delta Chi Awards are presented annually by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) (formerly Sigma Delta Chi) for excellence in journalism. The SPJ states the purpose of the award is to promote "the free flow of information vital ...

, Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contributions to journalism and research (Editorial Cartoon), 1982 *

for Editorial Cartooning, 1983 * Overseas Press Club Award, Thomas Nast Award, 1982 and 1983 * Peter Lisagor Award * John Fischetti Editorial Cartoon Award, 1987 * National Cartoonist Society Silver T-Square Award, 2006

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Locher, Dick 1929 births 2017 deaths American comic strip cartoonists American editorial cartoonists American comics artists Artists from Iowa Chicago Tribune people Dick Tracy People from Dubuque, Iowa Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning winners School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni United States Air Force officers University of Iowa alumni