Nick Meglin
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Nick Meglin (July 30, 1935 – June 2, 2018) was an American writer, humorist, and artist. He was known for his work as a contributor, comics writer, illustrator and editor for the satirical magazine '' Mad''. He also scripted ''Superfan'', a 1970s comic strip by Jack Davis. He was active as a lyricist of musical theatre, and had columns in various specialized magazines about culture and sports.


Biography

Meglin graduated from
Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...
and earned a certificate from the
School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...
. Meglin spent most of his career at ''Mad'', on whose editorial staff he worked for 48 years. His progress can be observed by studying the magazine's masthead, which moved him from "Ideas" to "War Correspondent" (during an army stint) to "Editorial Associate" to "Associate Editor" to "Editor," a position which he held for 20 years. His business cards used to identify him as ''Mad''s Tennis Editor. After retiring from that job in 2004, Meglin was listed as a Contributing Editor. During the course of his career with ''Mad'', he discovered and mentored artists such as
Sam Viviano Sam Viviano (born March 13, 1953 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American caricature artist and art director. Viviano’s caricatures are known for their wide jaws, which Viviano has explained is a result of his incorporation of side views as well a ...
."Mad Remembers Nick Meglin 1935 - 2018", '' Mad'' (Vol 2) #3 (October 2018).
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, pp. 46-47.
Although he had fewer than ten official bylines in 48 years, Meglin was a major behind-the-scenes contributor to the satirical magazine's contents and direction. Following his death, ''Mad'' Senior Editor
Charlie Kadau Charlie Kadau, is an American comedy writer and editor. Along with his writing partner, Joe Raiola, Kadau has been a member of the editorial staff of ''Mad'' magazine since 1985 and currently holds the title of Senior Editor. Early life Born ...
wrote, "Through his guidance of the writers and artists for so many years,
e was E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plu ...
most responsible for that thing we call the “MAD Voice.” They say ''Mad'' influenced our culture. Well, it was Nick Meglin who influenced ''Mad''." ''Mad'' artists often caricatured themselves and their compatriots. Meglin was often portrayed as a tennis player due to his love of the sport, particularly by
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and in Dave Berg's "The Lighter Side" feature. In addition to his work on ''Mad'', Meglin wrote for the musical theater. He wrote book and lyrics for ''Tim and Scrooge'', a musical sequel to ''
A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...
'' with music by Neil Berg. He also collaborated with Berg and librettist Dan Remmes on ''Grumpy Old Men: The Musical''. Meglin was also an art instructor at the
School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...
in New York City; his books include ''The Art of Humorous Illustration'' and ''Drawing from Within''. His marriage to Lucille Guerriero ended in divorce. Later in his life, Meglin lived in
Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...
, where he taught illustration. On June 2, 2018, Meglin died of a heart attack at the age of 82. A two-page tribute to him, consisting of testimonials by his colleagues, was included in the October 2018 issue of ''Mad''.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meglin, Nick 1935 births 2018 deaths American comics writers American columnists American magazine publishers (people) Comic book publishers (people) American lyricists American editors American cartoonists American satirists American parodists Artists from Brooklyn Writers from Brooklyn Writers from Durham, North Carolina Military personnel from New York City School of Visual Arts alumni School of Visual Arts faculty Mad (magazine) people Brooklyn College alumni United States Army soldiers