John Fischetti
Encyclopedia
John R. Fischetti was an editorial cartoonist for the New York Herald-Tribune and the Chicago Daily News
. He received a Pulitzer Prize
for Editorial Cartooning
in 1969 and numerous awards from the National Cartoonists Society
.
, where his Italian father was a barber. As a teenager during the Great Depression, Fischetti worked various jobs, including one at a hotel where Rollin Kirby, one of his influences, lived. At 19, Fischetti began studying commercial art at the Pratt Institute
in Brooklyn, where he continued his education for three years (1937–1940).
Then he moved to California, where he worked for the Walt Disney
Studio in Burbank. Fischetti's job with Disney lasted only nine months, due to the work's strain on his eyes.
While pursuing freelance work, Fischetti began his career as an editorial cartoonist at the Chicago Sun in 1941. Some of his freelance work appeared in such publications as Esquire
, The Saturday Evening Post
and Collier's
.
Fischetti served from 1942-1945 as a radio operator and Army sergeant during World War II
. In 1945 he joined the staff of Stars & Stripes
as a war-time artist with Dick Wingert and other war-time cartoonists. From 1951 to 1962 he was a syndicated cartoonist for the Newspaper Enterprise Association. He then joined the New York Herald Tribune
, departing in 1967 when that paper folded. In 1967 he moved back to Chicago and joined the Chicago Daily News
, which ceased publication in 1978. He joined Bill Mauldin
at the Chicago Sun-Times
two years before he died of a heart attack in 1980.
He published a compilation of his cartoons Zinga Zinga Za in 1973.
politics, fads and social issues.
for Editorial Cartooning
in honor of the body of his work. He also received the National Cartoonists Society's Editorial Cartoon Award in 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1965.
.
Chicago Daily News
The Chicago Daily News was an afternoon daily newspaper published between 1876 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois.-History:The Daily News was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty in 1875 and began publishing early the next year...
. He received a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for Editorial Cartooning
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
in 1969 and numerous awards from the National Cartoonists Society
National Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...
.
Biography
Born in Brooklyn, New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where his Italian father was a barber. As a teenager during the Great Depression, Fischetti worked various jobs, including one at a hotel where Rollin Kirby, one of his influences, lived. At 19, Fischetti began studying commercial art at the Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
in Brooklyn, where he continued his education for three years (1937–1940).
Then he moved to California, where he worked for the Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
Studio in Burbank. Fischetti's job with Disney lasted only nine months, due to the work's strain on his eyes.
While pursuing freelance work, Fischetti began his career as an editorial cartoonist at the Chicago Sun in 1941. Some of his freelance work appeared in such publications as Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...
and Collier's
Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
.
Fischetti served from 1942-1945 as a radio operator and Army sergeant during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1945 he joined the staff of Stars & Stripes
Stars and Stripes (newspaper)
Stars and Stripes is a news source that operates from inside the United States Department of Defense but is editorially separate from it. The First Amendment protection which Stars and Stripes enjoys is safeguarded by Congress to whom an independent ombudsman, who serves the readers' interests,...
as a war-time artist with Dick Wingert and other war-time cartoonists. From 1951 to 1962 he was a syndicated cartoonist for the Newspaper Enterprise Association. He then joined the New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
, departing in 1967 when that paper folded. In 1967 he moved back to Chicago and joined the Chicago Daily News
Chicago Daily News
The Chicago Daily News was an afternoon daily newspaper published between 1876 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois.-History:The Daily News was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty in 1875 and began publishing early the next year...
, which ceased publication in 1978. He joined Bill Mauldin
Bill Mauldin
William Henry "Bill" Mauldin was a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist from the United States...
at the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
two years before he died of a heart attack in 1980.
He published a compilation of his cartoons Zinga Zinga Za in 1973.
Style
Fischetti, like many of his colleagues, favored heavy use of crayon, pencil or ink brush in a vertical format at the beginning of his post-war career. By the 1960s, as his style matured, he began using a horizontal pen-and-ink style that betrayed his roots in animation, Fischetti satirizedSatire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
politics, fads and social issues.
Awards
In 1969, he won the Pulitzer PrizePulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for Editorial Cartooning
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
in honor of the body of his work. He also received the National Cartoonists Society's Editorial Cartoon Award in 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1965.
John Fischetti Award
The Fischetti Editorial Cartoon Competition Award, usually referred to as the John Fischetti Award, is given annually to a staff, syndicated or regularly published professional cartoonist for cartoons on current social and political subjects (including sports and entertainment) published in a daily or weekly newspaper or regularly published periodical (including Internet publications) in the United States. They are administered by the Journalism Department of Columbia College ChicagoColumbia College Chicago
Columbia College Chicago is one of the largest art colleges in the United States with nearly 12,000 students pursuing degrees within 120 undergraduate and graduate programs...
.
External links
- Official site
- NCS Awards
- John Fischetti Manuscript Collection at Columbia College Chicago (primary source material)
- John Fischetti Cartoons 1962-1967 at Syracuse University (primary source material)
- John Fischetti Papers at the Newberry Library