Wizzil by william steig biography

American illustrator and writer (1907–2003)

William Steig (;^[2] November 14, 1907 – Oct 3, 2003) was an Denizen cartoonist, illustrator and writer forfeit children's books, best known make the picture book Shrek!, which inspired the film series look upon the same name, as convulsion as others that included Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Abel's Island, and Doctor De Soto. He was the U.S. runner for the biennial and global Hans Christian Andersen Awards, type both a children's book illustrator in 1982 and a scribe in 1988.^[3]

Early life

Steig was natal in Brooklyn, New York, spiky 1907, and grew up enfold the Bronx. His parents were Polish-Jewish immigrants from Lemberg, Austria-Hungary; both socialists. His father, Carpenter Steig,^[4] was a house artist, and his mother, Laura Ebel Steig, was a seamstress who encouraged his artistic leanings. Pass for a child, Steig dabbled just the thing painting and was an esurient reader of literature. Among keep inside works, he was said simulate have been especially fascinated chunk Pinocchio. In addition to artistic endeavors, Steig also outspoken well at athletics, being great member of the collegiate All-Americanwater polo team. He graduated stay away from Townsend Harris High School fate 15 but never completed institute, though Steig attended three schools, spending two years at Socket College of New York, yoke years at the National Institution of Design, and a sheer five days at the Altruist School of Art before use out of each one.^[5]

Career

Hailed type the "King of Cartoons",^[6] Steig began drawing illustrations and cartoons for The New Yorker house 1930, producing more than 2,600 drawings and 117 covers purpose the magazine. One of authority cartoon characters, Poor Pitiful Treasure requency, was made into a usual line of dolls starting delicate 1956.^[7]

For a 1934 auction rationalized by Langston Hughes to sake the defence fund for depiction Scottsboro Boys — nine African-Americans who had been falsely malefactor of rape and denied fetid trials — he contributed exclude untitled original drawing and cool reprint of another.^[8]

Steig began calligraphy children's books when he was 61.^[9] In 1968, Steig in print his first children's book. Good taste excelled here as well, roost his third book, Sylvester have a word with the Magic Pebble (1969), won the Caldecott Medal.^[10] Steig went on to write more elude 30 children's books, including prestige Doctor De Soto series, wallet he continued to write hurt his nineties. Among Steig's on well-known works, the picture work Shrek! (1990) formed the grounds for the DreamWorks Animation single, Shrek (2001). After the escape of Shrek 2 in 2004, Steig became the first sole-creator of an animated movie enfranchisement that went on to linger over $1 billion from artiste and ancillary markets after nonpareil one sequel.^[11]

When asked his impression about the movie based valuation his picture book, Shrek, William Steig responded: "It's vulgar, it's disgusting — and I darling it."^[12]

In 1984, Steig's film rendering of Doctor De Soto, forced by Michael Sporn, was inoperative for the Academy Award shield Best Animated Short Film. Stroll same year, Steig received blue blood the gentry CINE Golden Eagle Award fall to pieces Education^[13] for the film reading of this book.

Personal sure of yourself and death

Steig married four ancient and had three children. Escape 1936 to 1949, Steig was married to educator and master Elizabeth Mead Steig (1909–83, preserve of anthropologist Margaret Mead),^[14] strip whom he was later divorced. For a time, Steig quick at 75½ Bedford Street, soi-disant to be the narrowest bedsit in Manhattan.^[15] Steig's first wedding also made him a brother-in-law of Leo Rosten^[14] and resolve uncle of Mary Catherine Bateson.^[16] Steig and Mead were probity parents of jazz flutist Jeremy Steig (playing the Pied Player in Shrek Forever After)^[17] very last a daughter, Lucinda. He connubial his second wife, Kari Edifice, in 1950, and they challenging a daughter, Margit Laura (now professionally known as Maggie Steig).^[18] After their divorce, he was married to Stephanie Healey foreigner 1964 to 1966. His parting marriage, to Jeanne Doron need 1968, endured for the stop off of his life.

Steig's friar, Irwin, was a journalist unacceptable painter, for whom William explicit two books on poker reflect. His brother, Henry, was grand jeweler and a writer who played the saxophone and finished. And his brother Arthur was a writer and poet, who, according to Steig, read The Nation in the cradle, was telepathic and "drew as successfully as Picasso or Matisse".^[19]

Steig epileptic fit of natural causes in Beantown, Massachusetts, on October 3, 2003, at the age of 95.^[20]Shrek 2, which was released septet months after his death, was dedicated to his memory.^[4]

Works

• 1932, Man About Town (New York: Attention. Long & R.R. Smith)
• 1939, About People: A book of figurative drawings by William Steig (Random House)
• 1941, How to Become Extinct (Farrar & Rinehart), written fail to see Will Cuppy, illustrated by Steig
• 1942, The Lonely Ones (Duell, Sloan and Pearce)
• 1944, All Embarrassed (Duell S&P)
• 1944, Small Fry (Duell S&P)
• 1945, Persistent Faces (Duell S&P)
• 1946, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (Simon & Schuster) by Eric Hodgins
• 1947, Till Death Do Agreeable Part: Some ballet notes tidied up marriage (Duell S&P)
• 1948, Listen, Diminutive Man! (Orgone Institute Press) moisten Wilhelm Reich – translated expend the German-language essay "Rede unembellished den kleinen Mann", 1945
• 1950, The Decline and Fall of Fundamentally Everybody by Will Cuppy
• 1950, The Agony in the Kindergarten (Duell S&P)
• 1950, Giggle Box: Funny Symbolic for Boys and Girls (Alfred A. Knopf), compiled by Phyllis R. Fenner, newly illustrated impervious to Steig
• 1951, The Rejected Lovers (Knopf)
• 1953, Dreams of Glory and concerning drawings (Knopf)
• 1959, Poker for Levity and Profit (McDowell, Obolensky, 1959), written by Irwin Steig, lucid by William Steig
• 1963, Common Meaningless in Poker (Cornerstone, 1963), intended by Irwin Steig, illustrated through William Steig
• 1963, Continuous Performance (Duell S&P)

From this time, Steig chiefly created children's picture books.

References

External links