Lee Ames: My Berndt Toast Connection With Him and His Illustrations for CIRCUS PARADE (1954)

 

Lee Ames (1921- 2011) was a prolific illustrator of many books, including over two dozen of his Draw 50 book series. Lee was also a member of the Long Island National Cartoonists Society chapter, the "Berndt Toast Gang." He retired to California, and although we never met, we chatted on the phone from time to time. Lee was always very friendly and knowledgeable. He was also the guy who coined the phrase "Berndt Toast Gang."

Here is the background on the Berndt Toast Gang, which I originally wrote and is now part of a Wikipedia entry:

"The Berndt Toast Gang, named in honor of Walter Berndt, is a group of Long Island cartoonists who meet on the last Thursday of each month. As explained by cartoonist Lee Ames:


"When the Long Island group, Creig Flessel, Bill Lignante, Frank Springer, Al Micale and I got together to work for Hanna Barbera in the 1960s, we decided to have a Finnegan's Bar lunch every last Thursday of the month. During that period, Creig brought Walter Berndt to join us. We fell in love with the cigar-smoking old-timer (look who's talking!), as he did with us. After a couple of years he passed away and left us grieving. Thereafter, whenever we convened on Thursdays, we'd raise a toast to Walter's memory. On one such, my big mouth opened and uttered, 'Fellas, it's time for the Berndt toast!' I wasn't trying to be cute at the time, but I'm not displeased that it stuck and we became the Berndt Toast Gang, one of the largest branches of the National Cartoonists Society." 

Here's a peek at just one of the books he did the illustrations for.  You can see why, at the age of eighteen, he was all ready working for Walt Disney. The man had an amazing mastery of the pen. CIRCUS PARADE is a collection of short stories selected by Phyllis R. Fenner. It was published in 1954 by Knopf and is copyright that year by them.

Related:

The Comics Reporter obituary

-- This has been an edited version of a May 17, 2021 blog entry.

Ann Telnaes: AI is Theft

Via Ann Telnaes:




I just gave a speech in Lucerne at the Swiss Media Forum about the free press and during the Q&A a question came up about editorial cartoons and AI. The short answer is AI is theft. The longer answer I addressed last year in a graphic essay

Ann Telnaes and Liza Donnelly Gallery Show at the Maison de Dessin de Presse

 

Cartoonists Ann Telnaes and Liza Donnelly exhibit their work at their joint exhibition at the Maison de Dessin de Presse, Morges.

 

Via DailyCartoonist:

"Here we join them in Switzerland as they walk through the exhibit. A pdf guide to the exhibit.

"The pair then traveled to Geneva where they were captivated by cartoonist Patrick Chappatte.

"Liza, Ann, and Patrick sat down for a chat.

 

 

"As Ann explains they were in Geneva for a reason:

"Last night a Geneva audience watched Laura Nix’s documentary “Democracy Under Siege”. Even though I’ve seen it several times during production, the scenes of the January 6th attack still gives me a gut punch.

"Afterwards Patrick Chappatte, the Swiss cartoonist and president of the cartoonists rights organization Freedom Cartoonists, and I did a Q&A where we discussed the current situation for editorial cartoonists and also the impact of the new U.S. administration.

"Patrick, by the way, was honored as the recipient of The 'Genève reconnaissante' Medal last month.

"We are assured that a splendid time was had by all."

 

 

The Garden As of May 15, 2025

The garden as of mid-May. Lotsa blossoms and the bees and baby blackflies are out. As you can see, I demolished the old raised bed, spread the dirt around and planted a bunch of grass seeds. I’m hoping it’ll be a little greener come June. The birds (bluebirds, sparrows, chickadees, red bellied woodpeckers, bluejays, orioles, finches, catbirds, fly catchers, hummingbirds and even a pair of mallards) have returned and I have a couple of new birdhouses for them. At night, we hear the owls in the woods. I should get a nice owl birdhouse for them! I still need to fence the garden. Hopefully there will be some progress by next month when I share more garden pics.

 ... And Cheddar the cat "helping."

Best Cartoons of the Year 1970 edited by Lawrence Lariar

 

Here are some cartoons from Best Cartoons of the Year 1970 edited by Lawrence Lariar. This is the next to the last of the series which had been published annually since 1942. It's copyright 1970 by Mr. Lariar. 

The front cover, by Dennis Renault, is a parody of the then-popular White Rock beverage advertisement.

 

The cartoons are pulled from national magazines, a reminder that back in the day a lot of the leading publications carried gag cartoons. 

Jack Kent:

Vahan Shirvanian:

 

George Dole:

 

Don Orehek:

 

A.S. Habbick:

 

Herbert Brammeier:

 

Alex Graham:

Bud Handelsman:

 

Val:

 

George Wolfe:

 

Norman Thelwell:

 

Irv Hagglund:

Norman Thelwell:

Al Ross:

Vahan Shirvanian:

 

Vahan Shirvanian:

 

Mike Williams:

Bud Handelsman: