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Mell Lazarus

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Artist

The Resume

    (May 3, 1927-May 24, 2016)
    Born in Brooklyn, New York
    Created the comic strips ‘Miss Peach’ and ‘Momma’
    Won the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year (1981)
    President of the National Cartoonists Society (1989-93)
    Second recipient of the National Cartoonists Society Medal of Honor (January 23, 2016)

Why he might be annoying:

    He has more l’s in his first name than is usual for a Mel. (Maybe he could have donated the extra to Bil Keane.)
    He flunked art in high school.
    The characters in his cartoons are frequently drawn with ‘flounder faces’ (both eyes on the same side of their nose).
    When he showed ‘Momma’ to his own mother (who was his inspiration for the strip), she replied, ‘You caught Aunt Helen to a tee.’

Why he might not be annoying:

    He sold his first cartoon when he was 16.
    He was one of the few cartoonists to have two nationally syndicated strips simultaneously.
    The school in Miss Peach was named the Kelly School in honor of Pogo cartoonist Walt Kelly.
    He turned down a toy contract on the grounds that the proposed toy – a Momma doll that criticized you when you pulled its string – was annoying.
    Garry Trudeau said, ‘No one was more supportive of rookie cartoonists than Mell.’
    He joined the high-IQ society Mensa -- not bad for a high school dropout.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 90.91% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 11 Votes: 18.18% Annoying