Jules Feiffer, the world-renowned and Pulitzer-winning cartoonist, has passed away after suffering from congestive heart failure. He was 95 years old.
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The late artist’s wife, JZ Holden, confirmed to the Washington Post that he passed away at his upstate New York home on Friday, Jan. 17.
Feiffer is known for his weekly comic strip in the Village Voice, Feiffer, which grew in popularity from the late 1950s until 1997. It later appeared in various publications, including the New Yorker and Esquire.
Along with the comic strip, Feiffer illustrated the children’s novel The Phantom Tollbooth, written by his friend Norton Juster. He also released various graphic novels, including Passionella, Sick, Sick, Sick: A Guide to Non-Confident Living, and Ackroyd. His latest graphic novel, Amazing Grapes, was released last year.
His artistic ability was recognized in 1986 when he received the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning. More than twenty years later, the Writers Guild of America awarded him a lifetime achievement award.
Feiffer is survived by his wife, Holden, whom he married in 2016, and his three children, including actress, playwright, and television writer Hailey Feiffer.
Jules Feiffer Recently Revealed His Initial Goal Wasn’t to Be a Political Cartoonist
Jules Feiffer reflected on his career while speaking to the Nation in 2024.
“I didn’t set out to be a political cartoonist, but when I started work in 1956,” he explained. “It was after two years in the army. The entire thinking class – or the young thinking class that I knew around my age group – were very cautious about ever expressing their opinions one way or another.”
Feiffer stated he didn’t want to hold back his true thoughts.
“People were afraid of getting into trouble or saying out loud what they really thought,” he pointed out. “And what I really thought was: “What kind of bullshit is this, and what can I do about it? And so, with the cartoon, I had just begun in The Village Voice, with no particular thoughts of how I was going to proceed, I was already set on a political track.”
Feiffer admitted that he wasn’t always so brave when it came to speaking out.
“Well, when I was young, it didn’t much matter what I thought,” he noted. “Because I was scared of my shadow, and I wouldn’t have done anything about anything.”
Regarding being present for historic events, including the 1968 Democratic National Convention Riots, Feiffer said he looked for change.
“I was there because I f***ing wanted to change everything,” he shared. “And I was trying to figure out how best to do that. So many of the conversations I had with some of the people, particularly Black and brown people, I knew at that time were: ‘What’s next? What do we do?’”
“And it wasn’t as if we ever helped each other learn anything in particular,” he added. “But we gave each other a sense of support that we certainly needed.”