Anthony "Tony" D'Adamo 1931 - 2025

 

Tony D'Adamo shows some of his great original illustrations at a 2010 Berndt Toast Gang get together.

 

New York Newsday illustrator and fellow Berndt Toast Gang member Anthony "Tony" D'Adamo passed away on September 15, 2025. He was 94 years old. 

 

Tony had been a professional illustrator for over sixty years. He was born June 12, 1931. After earning an art degree at the School of Visual Arts, he worked Fiction House as a comic book artist. After a tour of duty in the army in Korea, he freelanced for many of the leading national magazines, including Women's Day, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Field and Stream and Children's Digest. Publishing Houses such as Random House, McGraw Hill, American Book Company and many others were also clients. For seventeen years he was senior illustrator for Educational Development Laboratories, a division of McGraw Hill. He created illustrations for over two hundred children's books and textbooks. Advertising clients included Coca Cola, Goodrich and IBM. Beginning in 1979, Tony was a staff illustrator for New York Newsday newspaper, creating art and cartoons for sixteen years. He received his first Publisher's Award in Graphic Arts from Newsday. After 1995, he continued freelancing for Prentice-Hall, Dover Publications and many others. 

 

Above: Art by Tony D'Adamo for Jumbo Comics #161 Space Scout Story Page 2, Fiction House, 1952.

 

Tony was always a terrific presence at the monthly Berndt Toast Gang lunches. He was always interested in talking about other artists and what his colleagues were up to. Many times, his wife Carmen accompanied him. I knew his work from Newsday, and I remember what a thrill it was to meet him for the first time way back at one of my first lunches in 2002, connecting that signature with the man. That was when he was "retired," and still very much in demand.

His interest in Long Island's history spawned the feature "Laws Long Ago." These cartoons were about interesting and odd laws from the Colonial era, and ran in Newsday. They were also featured in the book "Long Island, Our Story."

His self-portrait "Eye of the Beholder" at Fine Art America:

Harvey Aronson former senior editor at Newsday about the above:

"D’Adamo’s best wish is a prayerful resolution that this will be the year he parks himself before an easel and commits a self-portrait to canvas. He says he’s had it in mind for years to present to the world D’Adamo as seen by D’Adamo. But the artist’s tongue is firmly cheek-planted: That’s Tony D on the easel; who’s the guy with the brush?”

From his 2017 gallery show "A Potpourri of Paint, Pen and Pencil:"

From Clayton Funeral Home:

Visitation will be held on Friday, September 19th 2025 from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM and on Saturday, September 20th 2025 from 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM at the Clayton Funeral Home, Inc. (25 Meadow Rd, Kings Park, NY 11754). A funeral service will be held on Saturday, September 20th 2025 at 11:00 AM at the St. Joseph's RC Church (59 Church St, Kings Park, NY 11754).

In lieu of flowers, and to honor this care, please consider making a donation to: The VA of Northport, https://www.va.gov or, The Visiting Nurses & Hospice Care in Northport, https://visitingnurseservice.org.