Jerry W. Holbert (November 9, 1958 – August 2, 2022) was an American cartoonist best known for his political cartoons. Holbert had a
syndicated
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
editorial comic strip. He received the
National Cartoonist 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 ...
Editorial Cartoon Award for the year 2000.
Holbert was born in
Long Branch, New Jersey
Long Branch is a beachside city in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 30,719, and grew up in
Middletown Township, New Jersey
Middletown Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township had a total population of 67,106, making it the most-populous municipality in the county and the state's 16t ...
.
Holbert worked for the ''
Boston Herald
The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Puli ...
'' newspaper, where he published
editorial cartoon
A political cartoon, a form of editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combine ...
s. In October 2014, Holbert came under criticism for what many people viewed as a racist depiction of United States President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
which used the
watermelon stereotype
The watermelon stereotype is a stereotype that African Americans have an unusually great appetite for watermelons.
History
The first published caricature of Black people reveling in watermelon is believed to have appeared in ''Frank Leslie's ...
: Holbert pictured a White House intruder using the president's bathtub while recommending to Obama the use of watermelon-flavored toothpaste. After negative public reaction, Holbert and the ''Boston Herald'' apologized. The nationally syndicated version of the cartoon changed the toothpaste flavor prior to the cartoon's release, but the ''Herald'' version was not changed
.
In 2015, Holbert began manifesting symptoms of
frontotemporal dementia
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), or frontotemporal degeneration disease, or frontotemporal neurocognitive disorder, encompasses several types of dementia involving the progressive degeneration of frontal and temporal lobes. FTDs broadly present a ...
. As a result, he retired from the ''Herald'' in 2018, but with his wife's assistance, continued drawing for
Andrews McMeel
Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC (formerly Andrews, McMeel and Parker (1975–1986) and Andrews and McMeel (1986–1997)) is a company that publishes books, calendars, and related toys. It is a part of Andrews McMeel Universal (which comprises AM ...
Boston Herald
The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Puli ...
''; published January 6, 2020; retrieved May 13, 2024
Holbert died in
Derry, New Hampshire
Derry is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 34,317 at the 2020 census. Although it is a town and not a city, Derry is the most populous community in Rockingham County and the fourth most populous in the ...