Case in point number 13 in this ongoing feature is Brooklyn-born cartoonist Jerry Marcus (1924-2005). His magazine gag cartoons could be seen everywhere for about 50 years — and he even had a few in The New Yorker. He also drew a newspaper panel “Trudy”, syndicated by King Features, until his death.
Jerry Marcus lived in Ridgefield, Connecticut for about 40 years, and later in Danbury and Waterbury. He would travel into Manhattan by train on Wednesday “Look Day”, often in the company of fellow Connecticut-based cartoonists, such as Orlando Busino, Joseph Farris and Dana Fradon. His path often crossed mine in the waiting rooms of various Cartoon Editors.
But the point of this feature is that “we all have to start somewhere”. All of the cartoons posted below are from a paperback anthology “Juvenile Delinquency”, published by Dell in 1956. They probably date from that year or 1955. The editor of the anthology? None other than Charles Preston (Editor of The Wall Street Journal’s cartoon panel for over 50 years, and still going strong).
The photo of Jerry Marcus is one very rarely seen — it dates from 1963 and I lifted it from Don Ulsh’s newsletter, “New York Cartoon News”.
Jerry Marcus