Jerry Dumas
| Jerry Dumas | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Gerald John Dumas June 6, 1930 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died |
November 12, 2016 (aged 86) Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | artist, writer |
Notable works | Sam and Silo |
| Awards | full list |
| Signature | |
 | |
Gerald John "Jerry" Dumas (June 6, 1930 – November 12, 2016) was an American cartoonist, best known for his Sam and Silo comic strip. Dumas was also a writer and essayist, and a columnist for the Greenwich Time.
Biography
Born in Detroit, Dumas started drawing cartoons when he was nine years old. In 1954, after acquiring a degree in English from Arizona State University, where he contributed drawings to the State Press, he worked as a text editor on Mort Walker's comic strips (Hi and Lois and Beetle Bailey).[1]
Together with Walker, he created Sam's Strip in 1961. It only lasted until 1963 but was resurrected as Sam and Silo in 1977, still with Walker. Dumas continued the comic strip on his own from 1995 on. In 1968, he also cooperated on all aspects of Boner's Ark. Apart from his work with Walker, Dumas also worked on other comic strips like Benchley with Mort Drucker and Rabbits Rafferty and McCall of the Wild with Mel Crawford.
In between his comics work, Dumas made numerous illustrations and cartoons. First selling them to the local Teen magazine, he soon was published in magazines and newspapers like The Washington Post, The New Yorker and The New York Times.[1] As a writer, he contributed essays to the Atlantic Monthly, the Smithsonian, and The Connoisseur.[2] He also published a childhood memoir, An Afternoon in Waterloo Park.
Dumas lived in Greenwich, Connecticut with his wife Gail, with whom he had three sons.[1] He died on November 12, 2016 from neuroendocrine cancer at the age of 86.[3]
Awards
- 1971: A talented handball player, Dumas has won numerous titles, including the New England championship in 1971.
- 1985: Adamson Award for his work on Sam's Strip and Sam and Silo[4]
- 2005: Convocation Speaker of the Arizona State University College of Liberal Arts & Sciences[5]
References
External links
- Anne W. Semmes interview with Jerry Dumas (March 19, 2010)
- Lambiek: Jerry Dumas
- Dumas' Greenwich Time columns
- National Cartoonists Society: Jerry Dumas