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Jules Ralph Feiffer (born January 26, 1929)''
Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The publ ...
'' #1650; February 2009; Page 107
is an American
cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...
and author, who was considered the most widely read satirist in the country. He won the
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
in 1986 as North-America's leading editorial cartoonist, and in 2004 he was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame. He wrote the animated short ''
Munro A Munro () is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nev ...
'', which won an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for
Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year 1 ...
in 1961. The
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...
has recognized his "remarkable legacy", from 1946 to the present, as a cartoonist, playwright, screenwriter, adult and children's book author, illustrator, and art instructor. When Feiffer was 17 (in the mid-1940s) he became assistant to cartoonist
Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series ''The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was not ...
. There he helped Eisner write and illustrate his comic strips, including '' The Spirit''. In 1956 he became a staff cartoonist at ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
'', where he produced the weekly
comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...
titled ''Feiffer'' until 1997. His cartoons became nationally syndicated in 1959 and then appeared regularly in publications including the ''Los Angeles Times'', the ''London Observer'', ''The New Yorker'', ''Playboy'', ''Esquire'', and ''The Nation''. In 1997, he created the first op-ed page comic strip for the ''New York Times'', which ran monthly until 2000. He has written more than 35 books, plays and screenplays. His first of many collections of satirical cartoons, ''Sick, Sick, Sick,'' was published in 1958, and his first novel, ''Harry, the Rat With Women'', in 1963. He wrote ''The Great Comic Book Heroes'' in 1965: the first history of the comic-book superheroes of the late 1930s and early 1940s and a tribute to their creators. In 1979, Feiffer created his first graphic novel, ''Tantrum''. By 1993, he began writing and illustrating books aimed at young readers, with several of them winning awards. Feiffer began writing for the theater and film in 1961, with plays including '' Little Murders'' (1967), ''Feiffer's People'' (1969), and '' Knock Knock'' (1976). He wrote the screenplay for ''
Carnal Knowledge Carnal knowledge is an archaic or legal euphemism for sexual intercourse. In modern statutes, the term " sexual penetration" is widely used, though with various definitions. Biblical source The term derives from ''carnal'', meaning "of the fles ...
'' (1971), directed by
Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude fo ...
, and ''
Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New ...
. Besides writing, he is currently an instructor with the MFA program at Stony Brook Southampton.


Early life

Feiffer was born in
The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...
, New York City, on January 26, 1929. His parents were David Feiffer and Rhoda (
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Davis), and Feiffer was raised in a Jewish household with a younger and an older sister.Silvey, Ed. ''The Essential Guide to Children's Books and Their Creators'', Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2002) p. 154 His father was usually unemployed in his work as a salesman due to the Depression. His mother was a fashion designer who made watercolor drawings of her designs which she sold to various clothing manufacturers in New York. "She'd go door to door selling her designs for $3," recalls Feiffer. The fact that she was the breadwinner, however, created an "atmosphere of silent blame" in the home. Feiffer began drawing at the age of 3. "My mother always encouraged me to draw", he says.Feiffer, Jules
"The Return of Cartoonist Jules Feiffer"
''Wall Street Journal'', June 16, 2015
When he was 13 his mother gave him a drawing table for his bedroom. She also enrolled him in the
Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may st ...
to study anatomy. He graduated from James Monroe High School in 1947. He won a
John Wanamaker John Wanamaker (July 11, 1838December 12, 1922) was an American merchant and religious, civic and political figure, considered by some to be a proponent of advertising and a "pioneer in marketing". He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a ...
Art Contest medal for a
crayon A crayon (or wax pastel) is a stick of pigmented wax used for writing or drawing. Wax crayons differ from pastels, in which the pigment is mixed with a dry binder such as gum arabic, and from oil pastels, where the binder is a mixture of w ...
drawing of the
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...
Western hero
Tom Mix Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were silent films. He w ...
.Feiffer, Jules. ''The Great Comic Book Heroes'' (The
Dial Press The Dial Press was a publishing house founded in 1923 by Lincoln MacVeagh. The Dial Press shared a building with '' The Dial'' and Scofield Thayer worked with both. The first imprint was issued in 1924. Authors included Elizabeth Bowen, W. ...
, New York, first trade paperback edition, 1977), p. 12. . Ellipses after "Green Hornet" in original text.
He wrote in 1965 about his childhood: Feiffer says that cartoons were his first interest when young, "what I loved the most." He states that because he couldn't write well enough to be a writer, or draw well enough to be an artist, he realized that the best way to succeed would be to combine his limited talents in each of those fields to create something unique. He read comic strips from various newspapers which his father might bring home, and was mostly attracted to the way they told stories. "What I loved best about these comics was that they created a very personal world in which almost anything could take place", Feiffer says. "And readers would accept it even if it had nothing to do with any other kind of world. It was the fantasy world I loved." Among his favorite cartoons were '' Our Boarding House'', '' Alley Oop'' and '' Wash Tubbs''.Feiffer, ''The Great Comic Book Heroes'', pp. 12–13 He began to decipher features of different cartoonists, such as the sentimental naturalism of ''
Abbie an' Slats ''Abbie an' Slats'' is an American comic strip which ran from July 12, 1937, to January 30, 1971, initially written by Al Capp and drawn by Raeburn Van Buren. It was distributed by United Feature Syndicate. Publication history ''Abbie an' Slat ...
'', the reston
Sturges Sturges is a surname, and may refer to: * Alberta Sturges (1877–1951), American heiress and, by marriage, 9th Countess of Sandwich * Graeme Sturges (born 1955), Australian politician * Herbert Sturges (1882–1958), statistician * Jock Sturges ( ...
-like characters and plots of others, with cadenced dialogue. He recalls that
Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series ''The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was not ...
's '' Spirit'' rivaled them in structure. And no strip, except
ilton Ilton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south-east of Taunton, and north of Ilminster in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 854. The parish includes the hamlets of Ilford and Cad Green w ...
Caniff's '' Terry nd the Pirates', rivaled it in atmosphere."Feiffer, ''The Great Comic Book Heroes'', p. 13


Career


Cartoonist


With Will Eisner (1946–1956)

After Feiffer graduated from high school at 16, he was desperate for a job, and went unannounced to the office of one of his favorite cartoonists,
Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series ''The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was not ...
. Eisner was sympathetic to young Feiffer, as Eisner had been in a similar situation when he first started out. He asked Feiffer, "What can you do?" He answered, "I'll do anything. I'll do coloring, or clean-up, or anything, and I'd like to work for nothing."Schumacher, Michael. ''Will Eisner: A Dreamer's Life in Comics'', Bloomsbury Publishing (2010) pp. 98–100 However, Eisner wasn't impressed by Feiffer's art abilities and didn't know how he could employ him. But then he decided to give him a low-paying job when he found out that Feiffer "knew more about him than anybody who had ever lived," said Feiffer. "He had no choice but to hire me as a groupie." Eisner considered Feiffer a mediocre artist, but he "liked the kid's spunk and intensity", writes Eisner biographer Michael Schumacher. Eisner was also aware that they both came from similar backgrounds, despite his being twelve years older. They both had fathers who struggled to support their family, and both their mothers were strong figures who held the family together through hardships. "He had a hunger for comics that Eisner rarely saw in artists", notes Schumacher. "Eisner decided that there was something to this wisecracking kid." When Feiffer later asked for a raise, Eisner instead gave him his own page in ''The Spirit'' section, and let him do his own coloring.Feiffer, Jules. ''Backing into Forward: A Memoir'', Doubleday, 2010. As Eisner recalled in 1978: They collaborated well on ''The Spirit'', sharing ideas, arguing points, and making changes when they agreed. In 1947, Feiffer also attended the
Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was founded in 1887 ...
for a year to improve his art style. Over time, Eisner valued Feiffer's opinions and judgments more often, appreciating his "uncanny knack" for capturing the way people talked, without using contrived dialogue. Eisner recalls that Feiffer "had a real ear for writing characters that lived and breathed. Jules was always attentive to nuances, such as sounds and expressions" which made stories seem more real.


At ''The Village Voice'' (1956–1997)

1976 candid After working with Eisner for nearly a decade, he chose to start creating his own comic strips. In 1956, after again first proving his talent by working for free, he became a staff cartoonist at ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
'' where he produced the weekly comic strip titled Feiffer. Feiffer's strips ran for 42 years, until 1997, at first titled ''Sick Sick Sick'', then as ''Feiffer's Fables'', and finally as simply ''Feiffer''. After a year with the ''Voice'', Feiffer compiled a collection of many of his satire cartoons into a best-selling book, ''Sick Sick Sick: A Guide to Non-Confident Living'' (1958), a dissection of popular social and political neuroses. The success of that collection led to his becoming a regular contributor to the '' London Observer'' and ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
'' magazine."The Jules Feiffer Interview"
''The Comics Journal 124'', 1988.
Director
Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
, a fellow Bronx native, invited Feiffer to write a screenplay for ''Sick, Sick, Sick'', although the film was never made. After first becoming aware of Feiffer's work, Kubrick wrote him in 1958: By April 1959, ''Feiffer'' was distributed nationally by the
Hall Syndicate Publishers-Hall Syndicate was a newspaper syndicate founded by Robert M. Hall in 1944. Hall served as the company's president and general manager. Over the course of its operations, the company was known as, sequentially, the Hall Syndicate (1944 ...
, initially in ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', '' Minneapolis Star Tribune'', ''
Newark Star-Ledger Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-th ...
'' and '' Long Island Press''.Feiffer, Jules. ''Explainers: The Complete Village Voice Strips (1956–1966)'', Fantagraphics Books, 2008. Eventually, his strips covered the nation, including magazines, and were published regularly in major publications such as the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'', ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
'', ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
'' and ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...
''. He was commissioned in 1997 by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' to create its first op-ed page comic strip, which ran monthly until 2000. Feiffer's cartoons were typically mini satires, where he portrayed ordinary people's thoughts about subjects such as sex, marriage, violence and politics. Writer Larry DuBois describes Feiffer's cartoon style: Feiffer's work is represented b
R. Michelson Galleries
located in Northampton, Massachusetts.


Author

Feiffer published the hit ''Sick, Sick, Sick: A Guide to Non-Confident Living'' in 1958 (which featured a collection of cartoons from about 1950 to 1956), and followed up with ''More Sick, Sick, Sick'' and other strip collections, including ''The Explainers'', ''Boy Girl, Boy Girl'', ''Hold Me!'', ''Feiffer's Album'', ''The Unexpurgated Memoirs of Bernard Mergendeiler'', ''Feiffer on Nixon'', ''Jules Feiffer's America: From Eisenhower to Reagan'', ''Marriage Is an Invasion of Privacy'' and ''Feiffer's Children''. ''Passionella'' (1957) is a graphic narrative initially anthologized in ''Passionella and Other Stories'', a variation on the story of '' Cinderella''. The protagonist is Ella, a chimney sweep who is transformed into a Hollywood movie star. ''Passionella'' was used as one part of the 1966
Sheldon Harnick Sheldon Mayer Harnick (born April 30, 1924) is an American lyricist and songwriter best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on musicals such as ''Fiorello!'' and '' Fiddler on the Roof''. Early life Sheldon Mayer Harnick was ...
and
Jerry Bock Jerrold Lewis Bock (November 23, 1928November 3, 2010) was an American musical theater composer. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical ''Fiorello!'' and the To ...
Broadway musical ''
The Apple Tree ''The Apple Tree'' is a series of three musical playlets with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and a book by Bock and Harnick with contributions from Jerome Coopersmith. Each act has its own storyline, but all three are tied toge ...
'' His cartoons, strips and illustrations have been reprinted by Fantagraphics as ''Feiffer: The Collected Works''. ''Explainers'' (2008) reprints all of his strips from 1956 to 1966. David Kamp reviewed the book in ''The New York Times'': Feiffer has written two novels (1963's ''Harry the Rat with Women'', 1977's ''Ackroyd'') and several children's books, including ''Bark, George''; ''Henry, The Dog with No Tail''; ''A Room with a Zoo''; ''The Daddy Mountain'' and '' A Barrel of Laughs, a Vale of Tears''. He partnered with
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on Octobe ...
and writer Andrew Lippa to adapt his book ''The Man in the Ceiling'' into a musical. He illustrated the children's books ''
The Phantom Tollbooth ''The Phantom Tollbooth'' is a children's fantasy adventure novel written by Norton Juster, with illustrations by Jules Feiffer, first published in 1961. The story follows a bored young boy named Milo who unexpectedly receives a magic tollboo ...
'' and ''The Odious Ogre''. His non-fiction includes the 1965 book ''The Great Comic Book Heroes''. Feiffer also wrote and drew one of the earliest
graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
s, the hardcover ''Tantrum'' (
Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers i ...
, 1979), described on its dustjacket as a "novel-in-pictures". Like the trade paperback ''The Silver Surfer'' ( Simon & Schuster/Fireside Books, August 1978), by Marvel Comics'
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
and
Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...
, and the hardcover and trade paperback versions of
Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series ''The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was not ...
's ''
A Contract with God ''A Contract with God and Other Tenement Stories'' is a graphic novel by American cartoonist Will Eisner published in 1978. The book's short story cycle revolves around poor Jewish characters who live in a tenement in New York City. Eisner pro ...
, and Other Tenement Stories'' (Baronet Books, October 1978), this was published by a traditional book publisher and distributed through bookstores, whereas other early graphic novels, such as ''
Sabre A sabre (French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as t ...
'' (
Eclipse Books Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market. It was ...
, August 1978), were distributed through some of the first comic-book stores. His autobiography, ''Backing into Forward: A Memoir'' (Doubleday, 2010), received positive reviews from ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' and ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'', which wrote: He has had retrospectives at the
New York Historical Society The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museu ...
, the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...
and The School of Visual Arts. His artwork is exhibited at and represented by Chicago's Jean Albano Gallery. In 1996, Feiffer donated his papers and several hundred original cartoons and book illustrations to the Library of Congress. In 2014, Feiffer published ''Kill My Mother: A Graphic Novel'' through
Liveright Publishing Boni & Liveright (pronounced "BONE-eye" and "LIV-right") is an American Publishing#Book publishing, trade book publisher established in 1917 in New York City by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright. Over the next sixteen years the firm, which chan ...
. ''Kill My Mother'' was named a ''Vanity Fair'' Best Book of 2014 and a ''
Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'' Best Fiction Book of 2014. In 2016, Feiffer published ''Cousin Joseph: A Graphic Novel'', a prequel to ''Kill My Mother''. ''Cousin Joseph'' was also published through Liveright Publishing, and was a ''New York Times'' Bestseller, named one of ''The Washington Post'''s Best Graphic Novels of the Year, and was nominated for the Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize. A third book in the series, ''The Ghost Script: A Graphic Novel'', was published by Liveright in 2018. Feiffer's picture book for young readers, ''Rupert Can Dance'', was published by FSG in 2014.


Playwright and screenwriter

Feiffer's plays include '' Little Murders'' (1967), ''Feiffer's People'' (1969), ''Knock Knock'' (1976), ''Elliot Loves'' (1990), ''The White House Murder Case'', and ''Grown Ups''. After
Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude fo ...
adapted Feiffer's unproduced play ''
Carnal Knowledge Carnal knowledge is an archaic or legal euphemism for sexual intercourse. In modern statutes, the term " sexual penetration" is widely used, though with various definitions. Biblical source The term derives from ''carnal'', meaning "of the fles ...
'' as a 1971 film, Feiffer scripted
Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New ...
's ''
Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Alain Resnais's '' I Want to Go Home'', and the film adaptation of ''Little Murders''. The original production of ''Hold Me!'' was directed by Caymichael Patten and opened at The American Place Theatre, Subplot Cafe, as part of its American Humorist Series on January 13, 1977. The production ran on the Showtime
cable network Networking cables are networking hardware used to connect one network device to other network devices or to connect two or more computers to share devices such as printers or scanners. Different types of network cables, such as coaxial cable, o ...
in 1981. Feiffer moved to
Shelter Island, New York Shelter Island is an island town in Suffolk County, New York, United States, near the eastern end of Long Island. The population was 3,253 at the 2020 census. Geography Shelter Island is nestled between the North and South Forks of Long Isl ...
in 2017. He wrote the book for a musical based on a story he wrote earlier "Man in the Ceiling" about a boy cartoonist who learned to pursue his dream despite pressures to conform. The musical was produced and directed by Jeffrey Seller in 2017 at the Bay Street Theatre in neighboring Sag Harbor, New York.


Art instructor

Feiffer is an adjunct professor at Stony Brook Southampton. Previously he taught at the Yale School of Drama and
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
. He has been a Senior Fellow at the
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
National Arts Journalism Program. He was in residence at the
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
Barrett Honors College from November 27 to December 2, 2006. In June–August 2009, Feiffer was in residence as a Montgomery Fellow at
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...
, where he taught an undergraduate course on graphic humor in the 20th century.


Personal life

Feiffer has married three times and has three children. His daughter Halley Feiffer is an actress and playwright. His third marriage took place in September 2016, when he married freelance writer JZ Holden; the ceremony combined Jewish and Buddhist traditions. She is the author of ''Illusion of Memory'' (2013).


Honors and awards

*1961, recipient of a
George Polk Awards The George Polk Awards in Journalism are a series of American journalism awards presented annually by Long Island University in New York in the United States. A writer for Idea Lab, a group blog hosted on the website of PBS, described the awa ...
for his cartoons;Jules Feiffer
Library of Congress
*1961, film ''
Munro A Munro () is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nev ...
'' won
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for animated short; *1969 and 1970, won
Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the ...
and Outer Circle Critics Award for plays ''Little Murders'' and ''The White House Murder Case''; *1986, awarded the
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
for political cartoons *1995, elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...
; *2004, inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame; a *2004, received the
National Cartoonists Society The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...
's Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award; *2006, received the Creativity Foundation's Laureate *2010, won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the
Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Gu ...
.


Selected works

*''Sick, Sick, Sick'' (1958) *''Passionella and Other Stories'' (1959) *''The Explainers'' (1960) *''Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl'' (1961) *''The Feiffer Album'' (1962) *''Hold Me!'' (1962) *''Harry: The Rat with Women, a Novel'' (1963) *''Feiffer's Album'' (1963) *''The Unexpurgated Memoirs of Bernard Mergendeiler'' (1964) *''The Great Comic Book Heroes'' (1965) *''Feiffer on Civil Rights'' (1966) *''The Penguin Feiffer'' (1966) *''Feiffer's Marriage Manual'' (1967) *''Pictures at a Prosecution'' (1971) *''Feiffer on Nixon, the Cartoon Presidency'' (1974) *'' Knock Knock'' (1976) *''Tantrum'' (1979) *''Jules Feiffer's America: From Eisenhower to Reagan'' (1982) *''Marriage Is an Invasion of Privacy and Other Dangerous Views'' (1984) *''Feiffer's Children'' (1986) *''Ronald Reagan in Movie America'' (1988) *''The Man in the Ceiling'' (1993) *''A Barrel of Laughs, A Vale of Tears'' (1995) *''Meanwhile—'' (1997) *''I Lost My Bear'' (1998) * ''Bark, George'' (1999) *''Backing into Forward: A Memoir'' (2010)Brennan, Elizabeth A.; Clarage, Elizabeth C. ''Who's Who of Pulitzer Prize Winners'', Greenwood Publishing Group (1999) p. 156 *''Smart George'' (2020)


References


External links


Jules Feiffer illustration
represented b
R. Michelson Galleries
*
Archival footage of a discussion with Jules Feiffer at a PillowTalk at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in 2009


* *Stossel, Sage
"A Conversation With Jules Feiffer"
''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', March 19, 2010
WebCitation archive
*Adams, Sam
"Interview: Jules Feiffer"
'' The A.V. Club'', July 28, 2008
WebCitation archive
*Transcript of March 24, 2010, Feiffer interview at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, published a
"Backing into Jules Feiffer: An Exclusive Q&A"
FilmFestivalTraveler.com, April 18, 2010
WebCitation archive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Feiffer, Jules Academics from New York (state) American comic strip cartoonists American editorial cartoonists American children's writers 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American humorists American satirists American memoirists American male screenwriters Comics critics George Polk Award recipients Inkpot Award winners Living people Los Angeles Times people Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters The New Yorker cartoonists The New Yorker people The New York Times people Pratt Institute alumni Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning winners Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees 1929 births Playboy cartoonists Jewish American artists Jewish American writers The Village Voice people American male dramatists and playwrights Writers who illustrated their own writing Artists from the Bronx Writers from the Bronx Screenwriters from New York (state) 21st-century American artists 20th-century American artists 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers Screenwriters from California James Monroe High School (New York City) alumni 21st-century American Jews