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Gahan Wilson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Wilson at the World Horror Convention in 2007 | |
| Born | Gahan Allen Wilson (1930-02-18)February 18, 1930 Evanston, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | November 21, 2019(2019-11-21) (aged 89) Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S. |
| Known for | Cartoonist |
| Spouse | |
Gahan Allen Wilson[1] (February 18, 1930 – November 21, 2019) was an American author,cartoonist and illustrator known for his cartoons depicting horror-fantasy situations.
Wilson was born inEvanston, Illinois, and was inspired by the work of the satiricMad andPunch cartoonists, and 1950s science fiction films. His cartoons and prose fiction appeared regularly inPlayboy,Collier's andThe New Yorker for nearly 50 years. He was a regular contributor to theNational Lampoon humor magazine. He published cartoons and film reviews forThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. From 1992 through end of publication, he prepared all the front covers for the annual bookPassport to World Band Radio.[citation needed] Wilson was a movie review columnist forThe Twilight Zone Magazine and a book critic forRealms of Fantasy magazine.
Wilson wrote and illustrated a short story forHarlan Ellison'santhologyAgain, Dangerous Visions (1972). He also contributed short stories to other publications; including "M1" and "The Zombie Butler" both of which appeared inThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and were reprinted inGahan Wilson's Cracked Cosmos (1975).[citation needed]In 1975 he designed a small trophy, a bust ofH. P. Lovecraft, to be given to winners of theWorld Fantasy Award; the bust was retired following the 2015 awards amid complaints about Lovecraft's history of racism. A new statuette designed byVincent Villafranca depicting a tree in front of a full moon was released in 2017.
Wilson created a computer game,Gahan Wilson'sThe Ultimate Haunted House, withByron Preiss. He wrote the 1992 animated shortDiner.[2][better source needed]
In 2009, Fantagraphics Books releasedGahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons, a slipcased, three-volume collection of Wilson's cartoons and short stories for that magazine. A collection of his work,Fifty Years of Gahan Wilson, was published in 2010.
In 2005, Wilson was recognized with a lifetime achievement award from the World Fantasy Awards.[1] He received theWorld Fantasy Convention Award (in the form of the bust ofH. P. Lovecraft that he had designed as the award trophy in 1975) in 1981. He also received theNational Cartoonists Society's Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.
Wilson is the subject of a feature-length documentary film,Gahan Wilson: Born Dead, Still Weird, directed bySteven-Charles Jaffe.
He was an influence on later alternative cartoonists, includingGary Larson,John Callahan andBill Plympton.[citation needed]
Wilson was married to author Nancy Winters (née Nancy Dee Midyette) from 1966 until her death in March 2019.[3][4]
In 2019, Wilson's stepson Paul Winters announced that Wilson was suffering from advanceddementia.[4] Wilson died from complications of dementia on November 21, 2019, inScottsdale, Arizona.[5][6]
Some bibliographical information derived fromThe Encyclopedia of Fantasy ed.John Clute andJohn Grant.
