If the super-sophisticated, super-cosmopolitan, and super-intellectual New Yorker magazine ever needed an antidote to its own super-sophicosmointellectualism, the editors had to look no further than its own George Booth, the cartooning champion of (and occasional apologist for) the Forgotten Man, the Forgotten Woman, and Forgotten Man's and Forgotten Woman's Forgotten Pets (though the latter bunch could often be pretty damn unforgettable.) CBS Sunday Morning did a profile of Booth a few years back. He doesn't disappoint:
The phrase "Brooklyn hipster" caught my attention. Whatever happened to Greenwich Village? Excuse my ignorance, but I've never been to New York City so all I know about Brooklyn hipsters is what I've...
...seen on TV.
Eh...We better leave the rest of the artwork to George Booth. Delve into these delightfully dingy drawings:
The above cartoon reminds me that...
...he died too. But back to Booth:
Finally, here's a Booth cartoon that's been widely anthologized:
I think I accidentally submitted my comment as I was writing it. Please avoid publishing (delete) the partial comment. I will begin again.
Thanks for the reaper report, good buddy! Until this morning, I did not know the name George Booth. After watching that Today segment and viewing examples of Booth's work, I am confident that I will never forget him. Although not a regular reader of The New Yorker, I am certain that I have seen Booth's cartoons over the years. His humor appeals to me. I immediately "got" nearly every ironic punchline. The peer interviewed by the reporter in the Today piece got it right. George was a gifted humorist and writer. Combined with pictures that tell thousand word stories within a single frame, his brief one sentence captions complete the gag. As I viewed examples of Booth's work, I found myself smiling, smiling "hard" and, at times, even chuckling aloud. I found Booth charming and genuinely humble and likable in that Today interview. It's nice to note that he lived a long life, reaching age 96, before passing away at the start of this month. Booth's legacy is assured.
I never got into the shtick of prop comedian Gallagher, but I am sad to learn that he also died yesterday at the too young age of 76. Maybe its just me, but I never understood why audiences loved watching Gallagher smash watermelons on stage, spraying them with juice. In the early years of his late night show, Letterman used to hurl melons from atop tall buildings. Now THAT'S funny! .
Your subject line caused me to look up the word lumpenproletariat in my Funk & Wagnalls. I can't help wondering if Lumpenproletariat is Lumpy Rutherford's birth name. It describes him to a tee.
Shady, though at first glance they may seem one and the same, the lumpenproletariat should not be confused with the Trumpenproletariat. The former doesn't bother to vote, whereas the latter not only votes but storms the Capitol when the results aren't to their liking. This past Tuesdays results were just BARELY to their liking, and once everything's counted, might not be to their liking at all. Maybe this time they'll just settle for storming the License Bureau.
I used to find Gallagher funny, but thought he got kind of desperate for laughs as time went on (unlike this blog, which was desperate for laughs from the very beginning.)
I should have pointed this out in the post, but I'll do it here instead. It's appropriate that the video clip was introduced by Jane Pauley, herself the wife of a cartoonist (can you guess which one?)
Oh, a couple more things, Shady. My favorite Letterman stunt was when he was covered with Alka-Seltzer and lowered into a tank of water. As far as prop comedians go, Gallagher ad nothing on the highly underrated Rip Taylor, who was a comedy prop unto himself.
The more grotesque the cartooning style, Mike, I think the more difficult it becomes to draw attractive women or, for that matter, attractive men. If that's all somebody wants to draw, best they concentrate on superhero comics instead.
In order to keep the hucksters, humbugs, scoundrels, psychos, morons, and last but not least, artificial intelligentsia at bay, I have decided to turn on comment moderation. On the plus side, I've gotten rid of the word verification.
Hi Kirk!
ReplyDeleteI think I accidentally submitted my comment as I was writing it. Please avoid publishing (delete) the partial comment. I will begin again.
Thanks for the reaper report, good buddy! Until this morning, I did not know the name George Booth. After watching that Today segment and viewing examples of Booth's work, I am confident that I will never forget him. Although not a regular reader of The New Yorker, I am certain that I have seen Booth's cartoons over the years. His humor appeals to me. I immediately "got" nearly every ironic punchline. The peer interviewed by the reporter in the Today piece got it right. George was a gifted humorist and writer. Combined with pictures that tell thousand word stories within a single frame, his brief one sentence captions complete the gag. As I viewed examples of Booth's work, I found myself smiling, smiling "hard" and, at times, even chuckling aloud. I found Booth charming and genuinely humble and likable in that Today interview. It's nice to note that he lived a long life, reaching age 96, before passing away at the start of this month. Booth's legacy is assured.
I never got into the shtick of prop comedian Gallagher, but I am sad to learn that he also died yesterday at the too young age of 76. Maybe its just me, but I never understood why audiences loved watching Gallagher smash watermelons on stage, spraying them with juice. In the early years of his late night show, Letterman used to hurl melons from atop tall buildings. Now THAT'S funny! .
Your subject line caused me to look up the word lumpenproletariat in my Funk & Wagnalls. I can't help wondering if Lumpenproletariat is Lumpy Rutherford's birth name. It describes him to a tee.
Have a great weekend, good buddy Kirk!
Shady, though at first glance they may seem one and the same, the lumpenproletariat should not be confused with the Trumpenproletariat. The former doesn't bother to vote, whereas the latter not only votes but storms the Capitol when the results aren't to their liking. This past Tuesdays results were just BARELY to their liking, and once everything's counted, might not be to their liking at all. Maybe this time they'll just settle for storming the License Bureau.
DeleteI used to find Gallagher funny, but thought he got kind of desperate for laughs as time went on (unlike this blog, which was desperate for laughs from the very beginning.)
I should have pointed this out in the post, but I'll do it here instead. It's appropriate that the video clip was introduced by Jane Pauley, herself the wife of a cartoonist (can you guess which one?)
Oh, a couple more things, Shady. My favorite Letterman stunt was when he was covered with Alka-Seltzer and lowered into a tank of water. As far as prop comedians go, Gallagher ad nothing on the highly underrated Rip Taylor, who was a comedy prop unto himself.
DeleteEddie Haskell grew up to be Alex Jones.
No. I take it back. Eddie ended up as the My Pillow guy.
DeleteI stand corrected, good buddy. I always thought Eddie Haskell went on to become porn legend John Holmes. :)
DeleteOh, I recognize those demonic pets, LOL! "Abstinence!" "No pets" and "Whistle, you dumb bastard" are pure genius.
ReplyDelete"Abstinence!" was definitely my favorite, Debra.
DeleteI remember some of these, but what an assortment. Oh, to have a creative, comical, observant and weird mind like that.
ReplyDeleteIt's why a First Amendment is a good thing to have, Mitchell, or else someone like George Booth may very well have been institutionalized.
DeleteThe last toon shows he really could draw a decent looking female.
ReplyDeleteOnce the YouTube video ends it leads you to another video that's a little longer.
The more grotesque the cartooning style, Mike, I think the more difficult it becomes to draw attractive women or, for that matter, attractive men. If that's all somebody wants to draw, best they concentrate on superhero comics instead.
DeleteHe was a clever cartoonist. The last speaks loudly.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, maybe this would have helped that guy on the steps:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBk79X3rMyc