Doug Marlette

Doug Marlette
BornDouglas Nigel Marlette
(1949-12-06)December 6, 1949
Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedJuly 10, 2007(2007-07-10) (aged 57)
Marshall County, Mississippi, U.S.
Area(s)cartoonist
Notable works
Editorial cartoons, Kudzu

Douglas Nigel Marlette (December 6, 1949 – July 10, 2007) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American editorial cartoonist who, at the time of his death, had also published two novels and was "finding his voice in writing long-length fiction."[1] His popular comic strip Kudzu, distributed by Tribune Media Services from 1981 to 2007, was adapted into a musical comedy.

Born in Greensboro, North Carolina, Marlette was raised in Durham, North Carolina; Laurel, Mississippi; and Sanford, Florida.[2]

Marlette began his cartooning career while a student at Seminole Community College where he worked on the student newspaper. He then went on to Florida State University where he drew political cartoons for The Florida Flambeau, from 1969 to 1971.[3] He illustrated the 1970-71 FSU yearbook, Tally Ho, including a wraparound cover.[4]

Marlette was the cartoonist for The Charlotte Observer (1972–1987), The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (1987–89) for which he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1988, New York Newsday (1989–02), The Tallahassee Democrat (2002–06) and The Tulsa World (2006–07).[2]

In 2002, he drew criticism from Islamic groups for drawing a cartoon depicting Mohammed driving a Ryder van with missiles pointed out the back and the caption, "What would Mohammed drive?"[5]

  1. ^ Cartoonist Doug Marlette dies in pickup truck crash Archived 2007-07-15 at the Wayback Machine, an Associated Press story via CNN
  2. ^ a b "Cartoonist Doug Marlette dies in wreck". Raleigh News and Observer. Archived from the original on 2007-07-13. Retrieved 2007-07-16.
  3. ^ FSU alum, nationally-known cartoonist dies - News Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Tally Ho, Volume 24, 1971, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida.
  5. ^ Rytkonen, Helle (2007). Nanna Hvidt & Hans Mouritzen (ed.). Danish Foreign Policy Yearbook 2007 (PDF). Danish Institute for International Studies. p. 99. Retrieved 10 June 2013.[permanent dead link]