Howard "Shoe" Shoemaker passed away on January 28, 2017. He was 85.
He lived in Nebraska. He used to work for the Omaha-based Bozell & Jacobs advertising agency before cartooning full-time. Mr. Shoemaker was a decades-long contributor to Playboy Magazine, among many others.
In 1964, he created a book of Porsche cartoons, which is now a collector's item commanding hundreds of dollars a copy today.
From the Omaha World-Herald obituary:
He had six children, 13 grandkids and 13 great-grandkids. Shoemaker’s daughter Mareaeric Campagna said the family car was a Porsche. There would be outings in the hills of Council Bluffs, or Shoemaker would wake up his kids and take them out in the car to make the first tracks in fresh snow.
The house was filled with jazz, the Beatles and dance parties, his daughter said. Shoemaker’s drawing board was in the middle of the living room of the house in the Field Club neighborhood.
He jotted down ideas on napkins or his hand — a trait he passed down to children and grandchildren. And he drew cartoons on everything. Bar napkins, tags, cards and envelopes, which amused post office workers. All are treasured now, his daughter said.
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Howard came and presented on career day at his alma mater, Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa 1964. I was lucky enough to be in that art class. He invited anyone that was interested to visit him at his home. Two of us accepted that offer. My friend Ricky and I both went to art school and became graphic artists. Howard got me my first and second job. I saw him at various Artists and advertising club meetings over the years and he always remembered me and I was always grateful for the influence that he had on me. I'll miss you Howard, but you'll be in my thoughts jsut like you have for the last 43 years.
Jerry Thomas
Shoe was my friend from 1972 onward. We shared a love for old Porsches and zany humor, so I'd stop and see him whenever I drove through Omaha. Never knew where to go first--his house or M's Pub. He and a couple of friends (including fellow cartoonist Stan Mott) swapped letters weekly. His collection of Porsche cartoons is very rare and collectable. Luckily I was able to buy (oor was given) several of his cartoons. Best wishes to his wife, Jan, and their kids.
I have about 30 original Shoemaker cartoons for sale, some of the proceeds going to his widow, Jan. Subjects are mostly automotive, and many come from a collector who commissioned them. If anyone is interested, contact me at 303/237-0911 (Mountain Time) or fdb912@gmail.com.
Frank Barrett
Boulder, Colorado
Met Howard in 1963 at the Omaha Sports Car club, he with his Porsche and me with my Tr-4. He invited me and my girl friend over to his house where I met his wife and he showed me some of his work plus an xrated Mothers Day card he made. Some time later we went to a Stan Kenton concert where he presented Stan with a large drawing titled “Artistry in…” XXX rated. Got in touch with him by mail many years later when he was not doing well. He was a super classy guy, still miss him, all my best to his family.❤️
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