Orlando Busino 1926 - 2022

 

 

 

Cartoonist Orlando Busino passed away quietly on January 11th. He was 95, and had just recently celebrated his 70th wedding anniversary with Ann (Darlington) Busino. 

Known for his gag cartoon work for so many publications (including Boys' Life, 1000 Jokes, Reader's Digest, Saturday Evening Post, Good Housekeeping, and many, many others), he created comic books with George Gladir at Archie, as well as comic strips, assisting with Moose Miller and Gil Thorp. 

He was as prolific as he was kind. I was fortunate to have lunch with him on a number of occasions at a restaurant in Westport. Or "Westpork," as his friend and neighbor Bob Weber would say. Bob would be at lunch as well as a few more like Ron Goulart and Frank McLaughlin and Frank Bolle. All of them, legends.

Frank McLaughlin, Orlando Busino, and Frank Bolle.

 

 

 

Orlando grew up in "cow country," in Binghamton, New York. He developed an interest in cartooning at the age of nine, and he sold his first cartoon to the New York Mirror at the age of 14. "Bulldog, with Central, the Wonder Dog" was the name of the comic strip he created for his high school paper. Look at an old copy of the magazine Open Road for Boys, and you will see Orlando's cartoons winning many of their cartoon contests. Orlando was drafted into the army and served in Panama from 1945 to 1947. He drew cartoons for the army unit newspaper there. Returning home, he attended Binghamton State, and then the University of Iowa, drawing cartoons for their school papers.  

Dick Buchanan picks up the story:

"After graduating in 1952, he moved to New York City. He worked in the ad department of the Macmillan Publishing Company. At night he attended the Cartoonists and Illustrators School. A year later he sold his first cartoon to The Saturday Evening Post, launching his career as a freelance cartoonist.

"Busino also worked for Archie Comics in the 1960s, doing covers, illustrations, and stories for "Tales Calculated To Drive You Bats." This work was later reprinted in Archie's Madhouse.

"Orlando Busino’s created 'Gus,' a feature about the antics of a large white dog, which first appeared in Boys' Life in January 1970. It took over the honor spot on the 'Think & Grin' page (the spot headed for nearly 20 years by Clyde Lamb 'Millicent' and briefly by John Gallagher’s 'Cartoon Bug'). Gus appeared on the cover of Boys' Life in December 1981.

"Orlando Busino received the National Cartoonist Society Gag Cartoon Award for 1965, 1967, and 1968."

I've been a fan of Orlando's since my Dad got me a subscription to Boys' Life (1970 or so), where, for 30 years, he'd drawn a cartoon about a big dog titled "Gus."

"I don't know how that translates into dog years, but it's been a long time," Mr. Busino said in Who's Who in Ridgefield, CT. (Link down as of today. Hmm.)

More from Who's Who:

"Aside from his wry sense of humor and his drawing ability, Mr. Busino is well known in the field for his skill at lettering. In recent years, he has done all the lettering on one of the world's most popular serial strips, Gil Thorp.

"'I've never had a real job,' he once joked with an interviewer. 'Once in a while I daydream I might want to direct a movie. But that only lasts for a minute.'

"However, in another, more serious interview, he said: 'I've enjoyed it all the way. Cartooning is not something you go into unless you enjoy it.'"

Related:

The Daily Cartoonist has a great round up of links

Ger Apeldoorn showcases cartoons from Boys' Life and the syndicated Laff-A-Day panel by Orlando (as well as ones by Don Orehek, Bill Yates, Jack Markow, Reamer Keller and others) at his blog.

 

His Lambiek bio