Randy Glasbergen (February 20, 1957 – August 11, 2015) was an American cartoonist and humorous illustrator best known for three decades of newspaper syndication as well as a freelance career. He produced the syndicated strip '' The Better Half'' from 1982 to 2014. Glasbergen's work appeared in magazines, newspapers, greeting cards, calendars, social media, websites, textbooks, video screens and advertising worldwide. Thousands of Glasbergen's cartoons and comic illustrations have been used by clients including ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...

'', ''

China Daily ''China Daily'' () is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Overview ''China Daily'' has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China. T ...

'', ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Hous ...

'',

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

, Dow Jones, Standard & Poor's,

Time Warner Cable Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, operat ...

, the ''

Harvard Business Review ''Harvard Business Review'' (''HBR'') is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University. ''HBR'' is published six times a year and is headquartered in Brighton, Ma ...

'' '' Funny Times'',

American Greetings American Greetings Corporation is a privately owned American company and is the world's second largest greeting card producer behind Hallmark Cards. Based in Westlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, the company sells paper greeting cards, electr ...

Hallmark Cards Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a private, family-owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is the oldest and largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was award ...

, America Online, and many others around the globe. In addition to cartooning, Randy Glasbergen wrote text for hundreds of greeting cards for Hallmark Cards, American Greetings, and others.

Biography

Glasbergen began his professional cartooning career at age 15. While still in high school, his cartoons were published regularly in many major magazines, including the '' Saturday Review'', ''

'', '' Kiplinger’s Changing Times'', the '' Saturday Evening Post'', ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

'', Weight Watchers, ''

'', and ''

New Woman The New Woman was a feminist ideal that emerged in the late 19th century and had a profound influence well into the 20th century. In 1894, Irish writer Sarah Grand (1854–1943) used the term "new woman" in an influential article, to refer to ...

''. After two semesters of journalism studies at Utica College of Syracuse University, he left school to pursue a full-time career as a freelance cartoonist in 1976. Glasbergen's comic panel '' The Better Half'' (originated by Bob Barnes in 1956) was syndicated by King Features Syndicate for 32 years, starting in 1982. From 1982 to 1992, Glasbergen did the strip under the pseudonym "Jay Harris," so as not to confuse publishers who were familiar with his different style of humor and character design. ("Harris" was his wife's maiden name.) At the end of syndication, ''The Better Half'' was appearing seven days a week in approximately 150 print and online newspapers around the world. With newspapers losing more and more readers to the Internet, Glasbergen retired ''The Better Half'' at the end of 2014 to devote more time and energy to his cartoon licensing operation, Glasbergen Cartoon Service. His ''Glasbergen Cartoons'' feature was syndicated online by

GoComics GoComics is a website launched in 2005 by the digital entertainment provider Uclick. It was originally created as a distribution portal for comic strips on mobile phones, but in 2006, the site was redesigned and expanded to include online strips ...

. Glasbergen's ''Thin Lines'' health and fitness cartoons also appeared on GoComics as a weekly cartoon panel. Daily Glasbergen cartoons were found on his own website and sponsored editions of his cartoons appeared regularly on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job se ...

, and other social media outlets.

Personal life

Glasbergen lived in

Sherburne, New York Sherburne is a town in Chenango County, New York, United States. The population was 4,048 at the 2010 census. The town contains two villages, Sherburne and Earlville. The town is at the northern border of Chenango County. History The area ...

, a small rural town, with his wife and three basset hounds. He worked at home on the third floor of a very old house that once served as a boarding house for local school teachers. He died on August 11, 2015 of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and poss ...

following admission to a hospital for an infection. Glasbergen's cartoons are still being used around the world in presentations, textbooks, newsletters and all forms of social media thanks to his family and their desire to continue his legacy.

Bibliography

More than a dozen collections of Glasbergen's cartoons were published in paperback and hardcover book form in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, and China. He was also the author of three bestselling North Light Books about the art and business of cartooning: ''Getting Started Drawing and Selling Cartoons'', ''How To Be A Successful Cartoonist'', and ''TOONS!'' Glasbergen's cartoon books have been published in the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, and China. The following is a list of his cartoon books: * ''Attack of the Zit Monster'' (Intervarsity Press) * ''Technology Bytes'' (CCC Publications) * ''Are We Dysfunctional Yet?'' (CCC Publications) * ''Oh Baby!'' (CCC Publications) * ''The Better Half'' (CCC Publications) * ''Your Computer Thinks You’re An Idiot!'' (CCC Publications) * ''The Weird and Wonderful World of Animals'' (Lagoon Books) * ''The Weird and Wonderful World of Work'' (Lagoon Books) * ''The Weird and Wonderful World of Love'' (Lagoon Books) * ''The Weird and Wonderful World of Diets'' (Lagoon Books)

References

External links

*
Thin Lines
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glasbergen, Randy American cartoonists 1957 births 2015 deaths People from Sherburne, New York