Gary Larson
Gary Larson | |
---|---|
Born | Tacoma, Washington, U.S. | August 14, 1950
Area(s) | Cartoonist |
Notable works | The Far Side |
Spouse(s) |
Toni Carmichael (m. 1987) |
Signature | |
thefarside |
Gary Larson (born August 14, 1950) is an American cartoonist who created The Far Side, a single-panel cartoon series that was syndicated internationally to more than 1,900 newspapers for fifteen years.[1] The series ended with Larson's retirement on January 1, 1995. In September 2019, his website alluded to a "new online era of The Far Side".[2] On July 8, 2020, Larson released three new comics, his first in 25 years.[3] His twenty-three books of collected cartoons have combined sales of more than forty-five million copies.[1]
Personal life
Larson was born and raised in
Larson said his family has "a morbid sense of humor",
In 1987, Larson married Toni Carmichael, an anthropologist.[8] Early in their relationship, Carmichael became his business manager.[1]
In The Complete Far Side, Larson says that his greatest disappointment in life occurred when he was at a luncheon and sat across from cartoonist Charles Addams, creator of The Addams Family. Larson was not able to think of a single thing to say to him and deeply regretted the missed opportunity.[9] Addams died in 1988.
Larson is an
Career
Early cartoon work
According to Larson in his 1989 anthology The Prehistory of The Far Side,[11] he was working in a music store[7] when he took a few days off, after finally realizing how much he hated his job. During that time, he decided to try cartooning. In 1976, he drew six cartoons and submitted them to Pacific Search (afterward Pacific Northwest Magazine), a Seattle-based magazine.[7] After contributing to another local Seattle paper, in 1979 Larson submitted his work to The Seattle Times. Under the title Nature's Way, his work was published weekly next to the Junior Jumble.[11]
To supplement his income, Larson worked for the Humane Society as a cruelty investigator.[1]
The Far Side
Larson decided that he could increase his income from cartooning by selling his Nature's Way strip to another newspaper. While on vacation in
The Far Side ran for fifteen years, syndicated initially by Chronicle Features and later by Universal Press Syndicate, until Larson retired with his final strip published on January 1, 1995.
Themes in The Far Side were often surreal. Often, the behavior of supposedly superior humans was compared with animals. For instance, a father explains to his son that a bird song is a territorial marking common to the lower animals, while surrounded by fences and dense housing. Animals and other creatures were frequently presented anthropomorphically. One strip depicts a family of spiders driving in a car with a "Have a Nice Day" bumper sticker, featuring a smiley face with eight eyes.
One of Larson's more famous cartoons shows a
Larson's The Far Side cartoons were syndicated worldwide and published in many collections. They were also reproduced extensively on
The significance of many of Larson's cartoons resulted in a major display of over 400 of his original works at the California Academy of Sciences in 1985.[15]
Retirement
By late 1994, Larson thought the series was getting repetitive and did not want to enter what he called the "Graveyard of Mediocre Cartoons."[4][7] He retired the strip on January 1, 1995, when he was 44 years old. Since retiring from The Far Side, Larson has done occasional cartoon work, including magazine illustrations and promotional artwork for The Far Side merchandise. For the most part, he has also retired from public view: "He refuses to have his picture taken and avoids being on TV", Time magazine wrote in 2003. To Larson, "cartoonists are expected to be anonymous."[16]
There's a Hair in My Dirt!: A Worm's Story
Author | Gary Larson | |
---|---|---|
Illustrator | Gary Larson | |
Publisher | OCLC 42894109 | |
In 1998, Larson published his first post-The Far Side book There's a Hair in My Dirt!: A Worm's Story, an illustrated book with thematic similarities to The Far Side. The short book tells the story of an earthworm who feels that his life is insignificant. The main plot is told by the young worm's father and follows the beautiful (but slightly dim) human maiden Harriet, who takes a stroll across a woodland trail, encountering different aspects of the ecological world.[7][17] She admires it but knows little about the land around her, and that eventually leads to her downfall.
The story became a New York Times Best Seller on May 24, 1998.[18]
Other works and interests
Larson has been playing jazz guitar since his teen years.[7] He took advanced lessons from jazz guitarists Remo Palmier[19] and Herb Ellis. In exchange for guitar lessons from Ellis, Larson provided him with the cover illustration for the album Doggin' Around (Concord, 1988) by Ellis and bassist Red Mitchell.[20]
Larson drew a cover for the November 17, 2003, edition of The New Yorker magazine, an offer he felt was too prestigious to refuse.[21][22]
Larson voices himself in The Simpsons 2010 episode "Once Upon a Time in Springfield".
Awards and honors
Larson was awarded the Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award by the
On March 15, 1989, a newly discovered
Eighteen years after earning his bachelor's degree at Washington State, Larson gave the commencement address at his alma mater in 1990.[5][23][24][25]
Online presence
Since 1999, Larson has objected to his work being displayed on the internet, and has been sending takedown notices to owners of fan websites and users posting his cartoons.[26] In a personal letter included with the requests, Larson claimed that his work is too personal and important to him to have others "take control of it".[27][26] In 2007, he also published an open letter on the web to the same effect.[28]
In September 2019, The Far Side website stated that "a new online era of the Far Side is coming!"[29][30] On December 17, 2019, www.thefarside.com, authorized by Larson, and dedicated to The Far Side cartoon series went live on the internet. On July 8, 2020, Larson released a new section of The Far Side website entitled "New Stuff".[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Weise, Elizabeth (November 22, 2006). "Larson drawn to wild side". USA Today. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
- ^ Gustines, George Gene (September 17, 2019). "The Far Side Teases Its Return". The New York Times. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
- ^ a b Taylor, Derrick Bryson (July 8, 2020). "'Far Side' Cartoonist Gary Larson Shares First New Work in 25 Years". The New York Times. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Ferguson, Kelly (November 12, 2007). "A Walk on the Far Side: The Life and Times of Gary Larson". Mental Floss.
- ^ a b Olsen, Ken (April 24, 1990). "Larson to give '90 WSU grads unusual sendoff". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 1A.
- ^ Angier, Natalie (April 28, 1998). "An Amateur of Biology Returns to His Easel". Science Times. The New York Times. Vol. 147, no. 51, 141. p. F5.
- ^ Salon. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ^ McCarthy, Susan (December 21, 1999). "Gary Larson". Salon. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ISBN 0-7407-2113-5
- ^ Sailor, Craig (December 18, 2019). "Gary Larson went from Tacoma to 'The Far Side.' Now he's back, but on a new format". The News Tribune. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
- ^ ISBN 0-8362-1851-5
- ISBN 9781440829956.
- ISBN 0-8362-0425-5
- IMDb
- ^ "The Funny, Intelligent and Bizarre World of "The Far Side"". December 11, 1985. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ Stein, Joel (September 29, 2003). "Life Beyond The Far Side". Time.
- ^ "New book rides wave of Viagra jokes". CNN. July 29, 1998. Archived from the original on October 2, 2012.
- ^ "The New York Times Best Seller List - May 24, 1998 Fiction" (PDF). The New York Times. May 24, 1998. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
- ^ "Interview with GARY LARSON cont'd". Fresh Air. NPR. April 30, 1998.
- ^ Mancini, Mark (November 28, 2016). "11 Twisted Facts About "The Far Side"". Mental Floss.
- ^ "The New Yorker November 17, 2003 Issue". The New Yorker.
- ^ Cook, Rebecca. "Gary Larson revisits 'The Far Side'", Associated Press, The Lawrence Journal-World, 30 November 2003.
- ^ Sorensen, Eric (May 13, 1990). "Dare to be weird, Gary Larson tells WSU grads". Spokesman-Review. p. B1.
- ^ Wickline, Michael R. (May 13, 1990). "Wishing you weirdness". Lewiston Morning Tribune. p. 1C.
- ^ Olsen, Ken (May 14, 1990). "'Far Side' creator tells grads: be weird". Idahonian. p. 12A.
- ^ a b Marshall, Rick (March 7, 2008). "Gary Larson and Our 'Far Side' Cease & Desist | ComicMix". www.comicmix.com. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
- ^ "Gary Larson sent me this email". Archived from the original on August 29, 2000. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
- ^ Larson, Gary (February 9, 2007). "A Note from Gary Larson". creators.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
- ^ "The Far Side Comic Strip by Gary Larson - Official Website". TheFarSide.com.
- ^ Gustines, George Gene, The Far Side Teases Its Return, The New York Times, September 16, 2019
External links
- Official website
- Gary Larson at IMDb