Raymond Ralph Dunagin Jr. (June 19, 1937 – June 24, 2020) was an American cartoonist for the ''

Orlando Evening Star The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

'' and the ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

'' from 1961 to 2001. He was a finalist for 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 ...

twice.

Early life and education

Dunagin was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He graduated from Petal High School in 1955 and then attended

Pearl River Community College Pearl River Community College is a public community college in Poplarville, Mississippi. It was founded as Pearl River County Agricultural High School in 1909 and became the first junior college in Mississippi in 1921. Residents of Hancock, ...

.Quinnelly, Lorrie J
"Petal High graduates get sent to Hall today"
''

Hattiesburg American The ''Hattiesburg American'' is a U.S. newspaper based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, that serves readers in Forrest, Lamar, and surrounding counties in south-central Mississippi. The newspaper is owned by Gannett. History The ''Hattiesburg A ...

'', Hattiesburg, Mississippi, volume 98, number 146, May 26, 1994, City/State section, page 5A. He served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

. After serving in the Marine Corps, he attended the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

Career

He spent about 40 years as the art director and editorial cartoonist for the ''Orlando Sentinel'' as well as an editorial board member. He also created the

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

s '' Dunagin's People'' and ''

Grin and Bear It ''Grin and Bear It'' is a former daily comic panel created by George Lichtenstein under the pen name George Lichty. Lichty created ''Grin and Bear it'' in 1932 and it ran 83 years until 2015, making it the 10th-longest-running comic strip in Am ...

''. He and Dana Summers, another ''Sentinel'' cartoonist who worked with him for 30 years, worked together on the comic strip ''

The Middletons ''The Middletons'' is an American comic strip created by Ralph Dunagin and Dana Summers. The strip debuted on November 3, 1986, in the Orlando Sentinel. Originally distributed by News America Syndicate, it moved to North America Syndicate in 19 ...

''. Dunagin was called a "southern gentleman" and his obituary called his work "witty, relatable drawings." He had

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

and

vascular dementia Vascular dementia is dementia caused by a series of strokes. Restricted blood flow due to strokes reduces oxygen and glucose delivery to the brain, causing cell injury and neurological deficits in the affected region. Subtypes of vascular dement ...

when he died at 83 in 2020 in

Houma, Louisiana Houma ( ) is the largest city in and the parish seat of Terrebonne Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is also the largest principal city of the Houma– Bayou Cane– Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. The city's governme ...

References

1937 births 2020 deaths Artists from Orlando, Florida American editorial cartoonists American comics artists American comic strip cartoonists Artists from Mississippi Deaths from vascular dementia Pearl River Community College alumni People from Hattiesburg, Mississippi United States Marines University of Southern Mississippi alumni {{Florida-bio-stub