Ben Wicks, (born Alfred Wicks; October 1, 1926 – September 10, 2000) was a British-born Canadian cartoonist, illustrator, journalist and author.
Biography
Wicks was a
Cockney
Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...
born into a poor,
working-class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
family in London's
East End
The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
near
London Bridge
Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...
. He learned to play the
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
in the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
and toured Europe in a band with author Leonard Bigg also from London. He immigrated to Canada in 1957 with his wife
Doreen Wicks Doreen Mary Wicks, (''née'' Curtis; 1935 – March 1, 2004) was a Canadian nurse, humanitarian and Citizenship Judge. Her husband was the cartoonist Ben Wicks.
Born in Bristol, England, she moved to Canada with her husband in 1957, settling i ...
with just $25. He found work as a milkman in
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
and then joined the
Canadian Army
The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...
as a musician and began studying cartooning from books. Wicks came across a list in a library of magazines willing to purchase cartoons and began trying his hand—his first major success was being published by the ''
Saturday Evening Post
''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...
''.
In 1963, he travelled to Toronto to assess cartooning possibilities and met Toronto Telegram 'The Giants' daily illustrated feature cartoonist, Norman Drew, who advised him to move to Toronto. Wicks then moved to Toronto to work for the ''
Toronto Telegram
''The Toronto Evening Telegram'' was a conservative, broadsheet afternoon newspaper published in Toronto from 1876 to 1971. It had a reputation for supporting the Conservative Party at the federal and the provincial levels. The paper competed wit ...
'' and his cartoon, ''The Outcasts'', was soon syndicated in over 50 newspapers. His cartoons were simply drawn but were very topical and witty and became popular with readers and were picked up by the ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'' after the Telegram ceased operations in 1971. At its height, his daily cartoon, now called ''Wicks'' was carried by 84 Canadian and more than 100 American newspapers.
Wicks had a self-effacing but charming personality and became a popular guest on television and radio shows and had his own television show on the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
in the 1970s. He also created and illustrated the ''
Katie and Orbie
''Katie and Orbie'' is a Canadian animated television series aimed at preschoolers, originally broadcast in Canada from 1994 to 2002 by Family Channel and later aired in the USA on PBS from 1995 to 1997 and cable television network Disney Chann ...
'' series of children's books written by his daughter Susan which in 1994 were turned into an animated series for
Family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
in Canada and for
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
in the United States.
Canada Games published a board game in collaboration with Ben called "Quick Picks With Ben Wicks" which is similar in game play to
Pictionary
''Pictionary'' (, ) is a charades-inspired word-guessing game invented by Robert Angel with graphic design by Gary Everson and first published in 1985 by Angel Games Inc. Angel Games licensed Pictionary to Western Publishing. Hasbro purchas ...
.
He also opened a
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
in Toronto's
Cabbagetown district named ''The Ben Wicks''. The
Parliament Street pub was sold to new owners July 2013. However, a
blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
commemorating Wicks has been installed on the railing and a wall-sized outdoor cartoon by Wicks has been retained.
Wicks was also known for his humanitarian work. He used his illustrations to publicize the plight of civilian sufferers of the
Biafran War
The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...
in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, and became a supporter of
Oxfam
Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International.
History
Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...
. During the
1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia, he organized Cartoonists for Africa raising money and awareness. Wicks spent much time in his later decades promoting literacy among children.
In 1986, he was made a Member of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
.
In 1997, he donated material to the
Ryerson University
Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...
archives.
Wicks died of
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
in 2000 at age 73.
In Wicks' memory, the annual "Ben Wicks Award" was given from 2001 to 2010 to young talented cartoonists by
Regional Maple Leaf Communications.
In May 2007, Wicks was the subject of a court case, as his children tried to reclaim 2,408 vintage drawings left behind in a 1992 move. The family won the case and the court ordered the drawings to be returned to them.
Works
* ''Waiting for the All Clear'', Bloomsbury, London, 1990,
* ''No Time to Wave Goodbye'', Stoddart, Toronto, 1988,
* ''
Katie and Orbie
''Katie and Orbie'' is a Canadian animated television series aimed at preschoolers, originally broadcast in Canada from 1994 to 2002 by Family Channel and later aired in the USA on PBS from 1995 to 1997 and cable television network Disney Chann ...
Save the Planet'', 1991 (as illustrator), , , ,
* The Day They Took the Children, Stoddart, Toronto,1989,
* DAWN OF THE PROMISED LAND, The Creation of Israel, Stoddart,1997,
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wicks, Ben
Canadian comic strip cartoonists
1926 births
2000 deaths
English emigrants to Canada
Members of the Order of Canada
People from the City of London
English expatriates in Canada