Eugene Gray Payne (January 29, 1919 – October 14, 2010) was a Pulitzer Prize winning American political cartoonist and writer. He attended

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

on an art scholarship. After college he served in the Army Air Forces as a weather scout. In 1958 Payne began working for ''

The Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. It is owned by Chatham Asset ...

'' as their first cartoonist. He was their full time cartoonist from 1960–1971. Publisher Rolfe Neil said Payne "Had a loyal following of readers, particularly people interested in local issues and local government." He won the 1967

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 ...

for a cartoon of President

Lyndon B Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served as ...

on a bus holding a crying baby labeled "

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 ...

" while the bus driver said " Dr. King says, would you please move to the back of the bus". The cartoon implied that the Vietnam War was secondary to civil rights issues in America. In 1968 Payne 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 a group of ten cartoons that focused on the Vietnam War and Civil Rights Issues. One of Payne's most famous cartoons was the one he drew in 1965 marking the death of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

. It showed Churchill in a hat with a big cigar rising above the earth with his right hand forming a "V" for victory. ''The Charlotte Observer'' sold more than 8,000 reprints of the cartoon. After an eleven year stint with the ''Charlotte Observer'' Payne went to work at WSOC-TV as an editorial cartoonist. Until 1978 he drew cartoons, wrote and directed documentaries for the station. In 1978 he returned to the ''Charlotte Observer'' where he drew four cartoons per week. As he grew older that number decreased to one cartoon a week. His last cartoon was published in 2009. Payne died in 2010 at the age of 91.

References

Eugene Payne Papers
: J Murrey Atkins Library, UNC Charlotte
Oral History Interview with Payne Part IOral History Interview with Payne Part IIPulitzer Prize Winner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Eugene 1919 births 2010 deaths Syracuse University alumni Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning winners United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II