Tony Auth facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tony Auth
Auth, working in front of sketches of his cartoons, 1980
Born	William Anthony Auth Jr. May 7, 1942 Akron, Ohio
Died	September 14, 2014(2014-09-14) (aged 72) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Area(s)	Editorial cartoonist
Awards	Pulitzer Prize (1976), Herblock Prize (2005)

William Anthony Auth Jr. (born May 7, 1942 – died September 14, 2014) was an American artist. He was famous for drawing political cartoons and illustrating children's books. Tony Auth worked for The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper from 1971 to 2012. His cartoons were also published in many other newspapers. He won important awards like the Pulitzer Prize in 1976 and the Herblock Prize in 2005 for his amazing work.

About Tony Auth

Growing Up

William Anthony "Tony" Auth Jr. was born on May 7, 1942, in Akron, Ohio. When he was five years old, Tony got sick with rheumatic fever and had to stay in bed for many months.

During this time, his mom encouraged him to draw. He loved drawing and was inspired by comic books. His parents made sure he always had plenty of paper, pencils, and crayons.

When Tony was nine, his family moved to Los Angeles, California. He continued his schooling there. Later, he went to UCLA university. In 1965, he earned a degree in biological illustration. While at UCLA, he also worked for the school newspaper, the Daily Bruin.

Tony Auth was married to Eliza Drake Auth, who is an artist too. They had two children together. The family lived in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.

His Career as a Cartoonist

After graduating from college, Tony Auth worked as a medical illustrator. He drew pictures for doctors at a hospital in California. While doing this, he started drawing political cartoons.

He began by drawing one political cartoon a week for a local newspaper. Soon, he was drawing three cartoons a week for the UCLA Daily Bruin newspaper.

In 1971, The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper hired Tony Auth as their main political cartoonist. He worked for this newspaper for 41 years!

Auth's cartoons appeared in the Inquirer five days a week. His work was also sent out to many other newspapers across the country. This is called syndication.

Tony Auth used his cartoons to comment on politics and society. He often criticized politicians from all sides when they made mistakes. He spoke out against unfair money practices, racism, and gun violence. He used clever humor and a simple drawing style to make his points clear.

He used a special tool called a light table to create his final drawings. He wanted his finished cartoons to look like quick, rough sketches. His cartoons were sharp and used irony to highlight his political messages.

In 1976, Tony Auth won the Pulitzer Prize for his cartoons. This is a very important award for journalists and artists. He was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize two more times, in 1983 and 2010. In 2005, he won the Herblock Prize, another major award for political cartoonists.

Tony Auth retired from The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2012. After that, he started working for NewsWorks.org, an online news site. He became their first digital artist-in-residence, creating art for their website.

He also drew comic strips like Full Disclosure (1982-1983) and Norb (1989). Besides his newspaper work, Auth published several books of his political cartoons. He also illustrated eleven children's books. Tony Auth passed away on September 14, 2014, when he was 72 years old.

Awards and Honors

Tony Auth received many awards during his career, including:

• five Overseas Press Club Awards
• Sigma Delta Chi Award for excellent journalism
• Thomas Nast Prize
• Herblock Prize (2005)
• Pulitzer Prize (1976)

In 2012, the University of the Arts in Philadelphia gave Tony Auth an honorary doctorate. This is a special degree given to people who have achieved great things, even if they didn't study at that university.

His Published Works

Tony Auth wrote and illustrated many books. Here are some of them:

• Behind the Lines: Cartoons. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1977.
• That Game from Outer Space: The First Strange Thing that Happened to Oscar Noodleman. With Stephen Manes. New York: Dutton, 1983. —A story for young readers.
• Mean Murgatroyd and the Ten Cats. With Nathan Zimelman. New York: Dutton, 1984. —A story for young readers.
• The Gang of Eight. (He contributed to this book.) Boston: Faber and Faber, 1985.
• Lost in Space: The Reagan Years. Kansas City, MO: Andrews and McMeel, 1988.
• Mission impossible?: An Illustrated Guide to Defense Planning in the 1990s: A Report. With Stephen Daggett. Washington, DC: Committee for National Security, 1989.
• Sleeping Babies. Racine, WI: Western Publishing Co., 1989. —A story for young readers.
• NORB. With Daniel Manus Pinkwater. Seattle, WA: MU Press, 1991.
• Kids' Talk. With Linda K. Harris. Kansas City, MO: Andrews and McMeel, 1993. —A story for young readers.
• The Tree of Here. With Chaim Potok. New York: Alfred A. Knopf/Random House, 1993. —A story for young readers.
• The Sky of Now. With Chaim Potok. New York: Alfred A. Knopf/Random House, 1994. —A story for young readers.
• A Christmas Quartet: Four Modern Tales of the Holiday. With Chris Satullo. Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia Inquirer, 2000.
• My Curious Uncle Dudley. With Barry Yourgrau. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2004.
• The Hoboken Chicken Emergency. With Daniel Manus Pinkwater. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007. —A story for young readers.
• A Promise is a Promise. With Florence Parry Heide. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2007. —A story for young readers.
• Topsy-Turvy Bedtime. With Joan Goldman Levine. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2008.
• A Bedtime Story. With Joan Levine. London: Walker, 2008. —A story for young readers.
• Uncle Pirate. With Douglas Rees. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2008. —A story for young readers.
• The Art of Tony Auth: To Stir, Inform and Inflame. With David Leopold. Philadelphia: Camino Books, 2012.