Michael John Heath is a British strip

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 ...

and illustrator. He has been cartoon editor of ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' since 1991.

Biography

Heath was born on 13 October 1935, in

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

, London. His father, George Heath, was also a cartoonist of boy's

adventure comics ''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), ...

, a job he detested. Heath's relationship with both his parents was distant and neither birthdays nor Christmas were celebrated. During the war Heath was evacuated to his grandmother's house in

Torcross Torcross is a village in the South Hams district of south Devon in England. It stands at grid reference at the southern end of Slapton Sands, a narrow strip of land and shingle beach which separates the freshwater lake of Slapton Ley from St ...

, in Devon. In 1947 the family moved to

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. While studying at

art college An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, including fine art – especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. Art schools can offer elementary, secondary, post-second ...

, which he loathed, Heath sold his first cartoons to ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' for two guineas. He later got work illustrating album covers for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

and drew a strip called "Nelly Know-all" for the '' Women's Sunday Mirror''. By the 1960s he was part of the

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

social crowd that included

Jeffrey Bernard Jeffrey Joseph Bernard (; 27 May 1932 – 4 September 1997) was an English journalist, best known for his weekly column "Low Life" in ''The Spectator'' magazine, and also notorious for a feckless and chaotic career and life of alcohol abu ...

Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. He was born in Berlin, the son of Jewis ...

and

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

. His work has appeared in numerous British publications including ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'', '' Lilliput'', the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'', '' The Evening News'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'', ''

The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. It is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK and was launched in 1982 by Lord Rothermere. Its sister paper, the '' Daily Mail'', was first pu ...

'', and ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...

''; all his work is signed simply as "HEATH". He has been cartoon editor of ''The Spectator'' since 1991, and the cartoons which are published have not always adhered to the magazine's conservative politics. Heath's own political cartoons have also appeared in ''The Independent''. In August 2016 he was the guest for the long-running

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

programme ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...

.'' His favourite choice was " Criss Cross" by

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

. His other choices were "Dance of the Infidels" by

Bud Powell Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Along with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke and Dizzy Gillespie, Powell was a leading figure in the development of modern ...

, "

Teddy Bears' Picnic "The Teddy Bears' Picnic" is a song consisting of a melody by American composer John Walter Bratton, written in 1907, and lyrics added by Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy in 1932. It remains popular as a children's song, having been recorded by num ...

" by Henry Hall & His Orchestra, "Max In An Air Raid (I Never Slept A Wink All Night)" by Max Miller, "Take a Step" by

Jack Buchanan Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1891 – 20 October 1957) was a Scottish theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George G ...

, "

All the Things You Are "All the Things You Are" is a song composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics written by Oscar Hammerstein II. The song was written for the musical ''Very Warm for May'' (1939)

" by The Quintet, "

Funny Face ''Funny Face'' is a 1957 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Stanley Donen and written by Leonard Gershe, containing assorted songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Although having the same title as the 1927 Broadway musical ''Funny F ...

" by Fred and Adele Astaire, with Julian Jones & His Orchestra and " Lover" by

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

. His book choice was ''

The Diary of a Nobody ''The Diary of a Nobody'' is an English comic novel written by the brothers George and Weedon Grossmith, with illustrations by the latter. It originated as an intermittent serial in ''Punch'' magazine in 1888–89 and first appeared in book for ...

'' by George and Weedon Grossmith and his luxury item was an artist's painting set. Heath has been married three times, the first time for 32 years, the second time for 18 years. He has four daughters in total, two from each of his first two marriages. He kept a black and tan

Dachshund The dachshund ( or ; German: "badger dog"), also known as the wiener dog, badger dog, and sausage dog, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, and comes in a variety of c ...

, Charlie, for many years until Charlie's death in August 2019. Michael now lives with his third wife, Hilary (née Penn), in Bloomsbury.

Cartoon series

Great Bores of Today

''Great Bores of Today'' was a long-running series in ''Private Eye''. Each has a single frame, in which some immediately recognizable species of modern cultural bore is seen in his or her natural environs, haranguing bystanders, reporters, the viewer, or imagined listeners. Underneath is a lengthy chunk of the logorrhea that the bore utters distinguished in particular by the bland inconsistency of the bore's opinions. (The text is contributed by other ''Private Eye'' regulars.) The series has been resurrected in Richard Ingram's monthly magazine, ''The Oldie'', with illustrations again by Heath.

The Suits

A series that appeared in ''The Spectator'', lampooning the interchangeability and solemnity of men in their suits (or the utter helplessness of the normally besuited when temporarily deprived of their suits).

The Regulars

"The Regulars" ran in ''Private Eye''; the "regulars" are

and the other regular customers of the Coach & Horses pub in

. The cartoons were used in the play '' Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell''.

The Gays

Another series in ''Private Eye'', from the early 1980s.

Style Victims

Published in the London ''Sunday Times'', this series makes fun of the conscious, and unconscious, style or fashion victims. (One frame shows a pair of sour-faced judges in ceremonial clothes and wigs, one grimly asking the other "What is a style victim?")

Numero Uno

A series that ran in ''Private Eye'', "Numero Uno" makes fun of baseball-capped youth, with

Walkman Walkman, stylised as , is a brand of portable audio players manufactured and marketed by Japanese technology company Sony since 1979. The original Walkman was a portable cassette player and its popularity made "walkman" an unofficial term for ...

earphones permanently implanted in ears.

The Outlaw

A short lived strip set in the year 2000, where Michael Common is "the last person to smoke in England". Published in ''The Spectator''.

Partners

Partnership and baby-rearing in the England of the 90s. Published in ''The Independent''.

Henry King

A disturbingly precocious baby, permanently wearing a baseball cap. Published in ''The Spectator''.

Bibliography

Collections of Heath's cartoons

*''Private Eye Michael Heath.'' 1973. *''Book of Bores.'' London: Private Eye & André Deutsch, 1976. *''Michael Heath's Automata.'' London: A. P. Rushton, 1976. *''The Punch cartoons of Heath.'' Harrap, 1976. *''Love All? Michael Heath's Cartoons from the Guardian.'' London: Blond & Briggs, 1982. *''Private Eye's Bores 3.'' London: Private Eye, 1983. *''The Best of Heath.'' Newton Abbott: David & Charles, 1984. *''Welcome to America.'' London: Heinemann, 1985. *''Baby.'' London: Heinemann, 1988. *''The Complete Heath.'' London: John Murray, 1991.Not the complete Heath by any means, but a collection of cartoons from the series "The Suits", "The Regulars", "Style Victims", "Numero Uno", and "Great Bores of Today", as well as political and other topical cartoons. *''Heath's 90s.'' London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1997.Reproduces "The Outlaw", "Partners", "Henry King", new installments of "Great Bores of Today", as well as many political cartoons.

Partial list of works illustrated by Heath

*''Back with Parren,'' E. W. Hildick, London: Macmillan, 1968. *''The Computer People,'' Anne Denny Angus, London: Faber & Faber, 1970. *''Robert Morley's Book of Bricks,''

Robert Morley Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, of ...

, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1978. (Illustrated by Heath and Geoffrey Dickinson.) *''The Job of Acting: A guide to working in the theatre,''

Clive Swift Clive Walter Swift (9 February 1936 – 1 February 2019) was an English actor and songwriter. A classically trained actor, his stage work included performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, but he was best known to television viewers for ...

, London: Harrap, 1979. *''Robert Morley's Book of Worries,'' Robert Morley, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1979. (Illustrations by Heath and Geoffrey Dickinson.) *''Loose Talk: Adventures on the streets of shame,''

Tina Brown Christina Hambley Brown, Lady Evans (born 21 November 1953), is an English journalist, magazine editor, columnist, talk-show host, and author of '' The Diana Chronicles'' (2007) a biography of Diana, Princess of Wales, '' The Vanity Fair Diari ...

, London: Michael Joseph, 1979. *''The Anti-Booklist,''

Brian Redhead Brian Leonard Redhead (28 December 1929 – 23 January 1994) was a British author, journalist and broadcaster. He was a co-presenter of the Today (BBC Radio 4), ''Today'' programme on BBC Radio 4 from 1975 until 1993, shortly before his death. ...

and

Kenneth McLeish John Kenneth Tyrrell McLeish, known as Kenneth McLeish (1940-1997) was a British writer, playwright and translator. McLeish, "the most widely respected and prolific translator of drama in Britain", translated all the surviving classical Greek pla ...

(eds), London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1981. *''Fanny Peculiar,''

Keith Waterhouse Keith Spencer Waterhouse (6 February 1929 – 4 September 2009) was a British novelist and newspaper columnist and the writer of many television series. Biography Keith Waterhouse was born in Hunslet, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. H ...

, London: Michael Joseph, 1983. *''Second Best Bed,'' Fenton Bresler, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 1983. *''Merde! The real French you were never taught at school,'' Genevieve, London: Angus & Robertson, 1984. *''No Laughing Matter: A collection of political jokes,''

Steven Lukes Steven Michael Lukes (born 1941) is a British political and social theorist. Currently he is a professor of politics and sociology at New York University. He was formerly a professor at the University of Siena, the European University Institute ...

and Itzhak Galnoor, London: Routledge, 1985. *''How's Your Glass? A quizzical look at drinks and drinking,''

Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social an ...

, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1985. *''Waterhouse at Large,'' Keith Waterhouse, London: Michael Joseph, 1985. *''Merde encore! More of the real French you were never taught at school,'' Genevieve, London: Angus, 1986. *''Talking Horses,''

, London: Fourth Estate, 1987. *''Beyond Fear,''

Dorothy Rowe Dr. Dorothy Rowe (née Conn; 17 December 1930 – 25 March 2019) was an Australian psychologist and author, whose area of interest was depression. Born; Newcastle, NSW. Died Sydney, NSW. Biography Rowe came to England in her forties, working at ...

, London: Fontana, 1987. *''Winewise; or, How to be streetwise about wine,'' Alice King, London: Methuen, 1987. *''All Gourmets Great and Small,'' Clive and Angela Russell-Taylor, Southampton: Ashford Press, 1988. *''High Life,'' Taki, London: Viking, 1989. *''Generation Games,''

Laurie Graham Laurie Graham, (born March 30, 1960) is a former Canadian downhill skier. Career She represented Canada at the 1980, 1984 and 1988 Winter Olympics. She won six World Cup victories and three National Downhill titles in her eleven years on the ...

, London: Chatto & Windus, 1990. *''A Parent's Survival Guide,'' Laurie Graham, London: Chatto & Windus, 1991. *''Countryblast,''

Clive Aslet Clive Aslet (born 15 February 1955) is a writer on British architecture and life, and a campaigner on countryside and other issues. He was for many years editor of '' Country Life'' magazine. He is Visiting Professor of Architecture at the Universi ...

, London: John Murray, 1991. *''British Teeth: An excruciating journey from the dentist's chair to the rotten heart of a nation,'' William R. Leith, London: Faber & Faber, 2002. *''The English at Table,''

Digby Anderson Digby C. Anderson (born 25 May 1944) is the founder and former director (until 2004) of the Social Affairs Unit, a public policy organisation/economic think-tank created in 1980. In addition to this role, Anderson served as a long-time contributor ...

, London: Social Affairs Unit, 2006

Notes

References

External links

Michael Heath
Biography at the British Cartoon Archive,

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, Michael 1935 births British cartoonists Private Eye contributors The Spectator people Living people