Michelle Urry
Encyclopedia
Michelle Urry was the cartoon editor of Playboy
magazine for over 30 years. Together with Hugh Hefner
, she edited the retrospective Playboy: 50 Years The Cartoons. Among the cartoonists whose career she is credited with developing is B. Kliban
. On learning of her death, Jules Feiffer
told the New York Times she was the "mother superior to cartoonists."
Urry was born in Winnipeg
, Manitoba
. As a child, she collected comic books rather than the dolls favored by other girls of her age. She graduated from UCLA, and after running a dress shop she moved to Chicago
, taking a low-level staff job with Playboy in the late 1960s. By 1971 Urry had become the magazine's cartoon editor, and she held that post until her death.
In 1974, while visiting B. Kliban in his San Francisco studio, Urry was struck by a group of Kliban's offhand cartoons of cats, bought several of them, and prodded Kliban to create a book-length collection of similar work. http://www.eatmousies.com/html/scrapbook1.html Kliban's Cat became a best-selling book the next year, and spawned a wide range of popular merchandise.
She married sculptor Stephen Urry and the couple had one child, Caleb Urry. After Stephen's death in 1993, she married Alan Trustman, a screenwriter who is best known for The Thomas Crown Affair
and Bullitt
.
Aside from her primary job at Playboy, Urry served as a cartoon editor or consulting editor at many other magazines, including Good Housekeeping
and Modern Maturity. http://www.cartoonists.net/news/05_01_Cartoon_Art.html
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
magazine for over 30 years. Together with Hugh Hefner
Hugh Hefner
Hugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...
, she edited the retrospective Playboy: 50 Years The Cartoons. Among the cartoonists whose career she is credited with developing is B. Kliban
B. Kliban
-External links:* * *...
. On learning of her death, Jules Feiffer
Jules Feiffer
Jules Ralph Feiffer is an American syndicated cartoonist, most notable for his long-run comic strip titled Feiffer. He has created more than 35 books, plays and screenplays...
told the New York Times she was the "mother superior to cartoonists."
Urry was born in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
. As a child, she collected comic books rather than the dolls favored by other girls of her age. She graduated from UCLA, and after running a dress shop she moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, taking a low-level staff job with Playboy in the late 1960s. By 1971 Urry had become the magazine's cartoon editor, and she held that post until her death.
In 1974, while visiting B. Kliban in his San Francisco studio, Urry was struck by a group of Kliban's offhand cartoons of cats, bought several of them, and prodded Kliban to create a book-length collection of similar work. http://www.eatmousies.com/html/scrapbook1.html Kliban's Cat became a best-selling book the next year, and spawned a wide range of popular merchandise.
She married sculptor Stephen Urry and the couple had one child, Caleb Urry. After Stephen's death in 1993, she married Alan Trustman, a screenwriter who is best known for The Thomas Crown Affair
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968 film)
The Thomas Crown Affair is a 1968 film by Norman Jewison starring Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway. It was nominated for two Academy Awards and won the Award for Best Song with Michel Legrand's "Windmills of Your Mind"...
and Bullitt
Bullitt
Bullitt is a 1968 American police procedural film starring Steve McQueen, Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Vaughn. It was directed by Peter Yates and distributed by Warner Bros. The story was adapted for the screen by Alan Trustman and Harry Kleiner, based on the 1963 novel Mute Witness by Robert L....
.
Aside from her primary job at Playboy, Urry served as a cartoon editor or consulting editor at many other magazines, including Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping is a women's magazine owned by the Hearst Corporation, featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, health as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Housekeeping Seal," popularly known as the...
and Modern Maturity. http://www.cartoonists.net/news/05_01_Cartoon_Art.html
External links
- New York Times - obituary
- Sequential Comix News - obituary