Saxon was born Charles David Isaacson in Brooklyn;[1][2] both his parents were musicians, and his great-uncle had been court violinist to the British Queen Victoria.[3]
Career and education
He played drums and worked in jazz bands while at Columbia University, which he entered at 15;[3] he became editor of its humor magazine, Jester.[2]
After earning his B.A. he worked at Dell Publishing as editor of the satire magazine Ballyhoo before serving as a bomber pilot in the Army Air Corps during World War II, flying 40 missions over Germany.[2][3][4] After the war he rejoined Dell, left to edit This Week for a year, and returned to edit Modern Screen.[2] He also began drawing cartoons on weekends, selling them to The Saturday Evening Post. His first appearance in The New Yorker was a spot illustration in 1943; after becoming a full-time cartoonist in 1955, he joined their staff in 1956 and over more than 30 years drew 92 covers and more than 700 cartoons for the magazine.[2][3] Much of his New Yorker work gently pokes fun at the privileged denizens of prosperous suburbs; unusually, he wrote his own words, often highlighting clichés, as in an image of well-fed executives in a boardroom, the chairman stating "Of course, honesty is one of the better policies."[2][5] After The New Yorker was taken over and William Shawn left the editorship, his work was rarely published there.[2][6] He published three collections of his cartoons for the magazine: Oh, Happy, Happy, Happy! (1960), One Man's Fancy (1970), and Honesty Is One of the "Better" Policies: Saxon's World of Business (1984).
He was married to Nancy Lee Saxon, née Rogers, a sculptor and portraitist, and illustrated her children's books; they had three children.[2][3][7]
Death
Saxon died of heart failure on December 6, 1988, at St. Joseph Medical Center in Stamford, Connecticut.[3] He spoke his last words to paramedics after suffering a heart attack at home: "I guess I'd better die; I just broke our best lamp."[3][11]
References
^Cullen Murphy (2017). Cartoon County: My Father and His Friends in the Golden Age of Make-Believe. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 186. ISBN978-0-374-29855-5.
Finding aid to the Charles Saxon papers at the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University.
Obituary by Lee Lorenz, The New Yorker, December 26, 1988, p. 98 (subscription required)
May 10, 2023
charles, saxon, charles, david, saxon, november, 1920, december, 1988, american, cartoonist, known, work, yorker, borncharles, david, isaacson, 1920, november, 1920brooklyn, york, city, dieddecember, 1988, 1988, aged, stamford, connecticut, nationalityamerican. Charles David Saxon November 13 1920 December 6 1988 was an American cartoonist known for his work for The New Yorker Charles SaxonBornCharles David Isaacson 1920 11 13 November 13 1920Brooklyn New York City U S DiedDecember 6 1988 1988 12 06 aged 68 Stamford Connecticut U S NationalityAmericanAlma materColumbia University B A OccupationCartoonistKnown forCartoons for The New Yorker and various advertisementsSpouse s Nancy Lee Saxon nee RogersChildren3AwardsReuben Award 1980 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career and education 3 Personal life 4 Death 5 References 6 External linksEarly life EditSaxon was born Charles David Isaacson in Brooklyn 1 2 both his parents were musicians and his great uncle had been court violinist to the British Queen Victoria 3 Career and education EditHe played drums and worked in jazz bands while at Columbia University which he entered at 15 3 he became editor of its humor magazine Jester 2 After earning his B A he worked at Dell Publishing as editor of the satire magazine Ballyhoo before serving as a bomber pilot in the Army Air Corps during World War II flying 40 missions over Germany 2 3 4 After the war he rejoined Dell left to edit This Week for a year and returned to edit Modern Screen 2 He also began drawing cartoons on weekends selling them to The Saturday Evening Post His first appearance in The New Yorker was a spot illustration in 1943 after becoming a full time cartoonist in 1955 he joined their staff in 1956 and over more than 30 years drew 92 covers and more than 700 cartoons for the magazine 2 3 Much of his New Yorker work gently pokes fun at the privileged denizens of prosperous suburbs unusually he wrote his own words often highlighting cliches as in an image of well fed executives in a boardroom the chairman stating Of course honesty is one of the better policies 2 5 After The New Yorker was taken over and William Shawn left the editorship his work was rarely published there 2 6 He published three collections of his cartoons for the magazine Oh Happy Happy Happy 1960 One Man s Fancy 1970 and Honesty Is One of the Better Policies Saxon s World of Business 1984 Saxon also drew numerous ads including for Chivas Regal American Airlines Bankers Trust IBM and Xerox 2 As his obituary in The New York Times noted So ubiquitous was his advertising work in the late 1970s that one edition of The Wall Street Journal featured ads by Mr Saxon for three different companies 3 Saxon had one man shows at the Nicholls Gallery He was awarded a gold medal by the Art Directors Club of New York in 1963 and an honorary doctorate by Hamilton College in 1972 3 7 He received the National Cartoonist Society Advertising Award for 1977 8 and their Gag Cartoon Award for 1980 1986 and 1987 9 For his work with The New Yorker he received their Reuben Award for 1980 3 10 Personal life EditHe was married to Nancy Lee Saxon nee Rogers a sculptor and portraitist and illustrated her children s books they had three children 2 3 7 Death EditSaxon died of heart failure on December 6 1988 at St Joseph Medical Center in Stamford Connecticut 3 He spoke his last words to paramedics after suffering a heart attack at home I guess I d better die I just broke our best lamp 3 11 References Edit Cullen Murphy 2017 Cartoon County My Father and His Friends in the Golden Age of Make Believe New York Farrar Straus and Giroux p 186 ISBN 978 0 374 29855 5 a b c d e f g h i Edward Sorel November 1997 It Was Nice American Heritage 48 7 a b c d e f g h i j Glenn Collins December 7 1988 Charles Saxon 68 a Cartoonist For 92 Covers of The New Yorker The New York Times p D24 Murphy p 103 Murphy pp 186 87 Murphy pp 188 89 a b Charles Saxon National Cartoonist Society Retrieved June 25 2018 NCS Awards Advertrising Illustration National Cartoonist Society Archived from the original on 2006 01 06 Retrieved 2018 11 30 NCS Awards Gag Cartoons National Cartoonist Society Archived from the original on 2006 01 15 Retrieved 2018 11 30 NCS Awards The Reuben National Cartoonist Society Archived from the original on 2006 01 06 Retrieved 2018 11 30 Murphy p 189 External links EditFinding aid to the Charles Saxon papers at the Rare Book amp Manuscript Library Columbia University Obituary by Lee Lorenz The New Yorker December 26 1988 p 98 subscription required Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Charles Saxon amp oldid 1073475348, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
