Tony Auth

William Anthony "Tony" Auth, Jr. (May 7, 1942 – September 14, 2014), was an American editorial cartoonist and children's book illustrator. Auth is best known for his syndicated work originally drawn for The Philadelphia Inquirer, for whom he worked from 1971 to 2012. Auth's art won the cartoonist the Pulitzer Prize in 1976 and the Herblock Prize in 2005.

Biography

Early years

William Anthony "Tony" Auth, Jr. was born May 7, 1942 in Akron, Ohio, the son of William Anthony Auth, Sr. and Julia Kathleen Donnelly.

At age five Auth was bedridden with rheumatic fever for a number of months. During this period of protracted convalescence, Auth was encouraged by his mother to take up drawing as an enjoyable and worthy creative past time. Inspired by comic book art, Auth began to draw regularly, making use of an ample supply of paper, pencils, and crayons provided by his parents.

At age nine, he and his family moved to Los Angeles, California where Auth continued his education.

Auth attended UCLA where he earned his bachelor's degree in biological illustration in 1965. At UCLA he also worked on the Daily Bruin, the school newspaper, as well as for various alternative newspapers in the Los Angeles area.