Orlando Busino (October 10, 1926 – January 11, 2022) was an American cartoonist whose cartoons appeared in '' McCalls'', ''

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'', ''

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'', '' Saturday Evening Post'', and many other magazines. Among his creations were "Gus," the long-running series of cartoons about a large dog that appeared in ''

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'' magazine.

Early life

Busino grew up in Binghamton, New York. His interest in cartooning started at the age of 9 and by age 14 he sold his first cartoon and gag to the ''

New York Daily Mirror The ''New York Daily Mirror'' was an American morning tabloid newspaper first published on June 24, 1924, in New York City by the William Randolph Hearst organization as a contrast to their mainstream broadsheets, the ''Evening Journal'' and ''N ...

''. Busino also won cartoon contests in Open Road for Boys Magazine. In high school, Orlando drew cartoons for the school newspaper, including a regular called "Bulldog, with Central, the Wonder Dog," a super-hero style comic strip. He was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

and served in Panama at the

Albrook Air Force Station Albrook Air Force Station is a former United States Air Force facility in Panama. It was closed on 30 September 1997 as a result of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties which specified that United States military facilities in the former Panama Canal Zon ...

for twenty months from 1945–1947. While there he drew for the army unit newspaper. After leaving the army, Busino went to Triple Cities College of Syracuse University (now Binghamton University) and then the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

, where he graduated in 1952. He drew cartoons both at the Triple Cities College student newspaper and at

The Daily Iowan ''The Daily Iowan'' is an independent, 6,500-circulation student newspaper serving Iowa City and the University of Iowa community. During the 2020–2021 academic year ''The Daily Iowan'' transitioned from printing daily to producing a print ed ...

Career

After graduating, he moved to

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where he enrolled in the Cartoonists and Illustrators School at night, while working during the day in the ad department of the Macmillan Publishing Company. After a year of working there, he sold his first cartoon to the Saturday Evening Post, and remained a freelance cartoonist ever since. Busino also worked for Archie Comics working with

George Gladir George Gladir (September 27, 1925 – April 3, 2013) was an American writer for comic books. Primarily known as a scripter for Archie Comics, he co-created that publisher's character Sabrina Spellman, with artist Dan DeCarlo. Biography George G ...

in the 1960s, doing covers, illustrations, and stories for "Tales Calculated To Drive You Bats." This work was later reprinted in ''Archie's Madhouse''. In addition to contributing cartoons to a number of leading magazines, Orlando Busino had a long-running series of cartoons called "Gus" in ''

''. It was about the antics of a large white dog named Gus. The cartoon first appeared in ''Boys' Life'' in January 1970. It took over the honor spot on the "Think & Grin" page and remained there ever since. Gus appeared on the cover of ''Boys' Life'' in December 1981.

Personal life and death

Busino lived in

Ridgefield, Connecticut Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old community had a population of 25,033 at the 2020 census. The town center, which was formerly a borough ...

. He died on January 11, 2022, at the age of 95.

Awards

He received the National Cartoonist Society Gag Cartoon Award for 1965, 1967, and 1968 for his work.

Books

His cartoons have been anthologized in two books,
Good Boy! and Other Animal Cartoons
' (1980) and
Oh, Gus!
' (1981).

References

External links

NCS AwardsBilly Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Art Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Busino, Orlando 1926 births 2022 deaths American cartoonists American comics artists Artists from Binghamton, New York Binghamton University alumni Harpur College alumni Military personnel from New York (state) People from Ridgefield, Connecticut University of Iowa alumni