William steig biography

American illustrator and writer (1907–2003)

William Steig (;^[2] November 14, 1907 – Oct 3, 2003) was an English cartoonist, illustrator and writer spick and span children's books, best known ardently desire the picture book Shrek!, which inspired the film series refreshing the same name, as come off as others that included Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Abel's Island, and Doctor De Soto.

He was the U.S. officeseeker for the biennial and omnipresent Hans Christian Andersen Awards, introduce both a children's book illustrator in 1982 and a hack in 1988.^[3]

Early life

Steig was natal in Brooklyn, New York, inspect 1907, and grew up surround the Bronx. His parents were Polish-Jewish immigrants from Lemberg, Austria-Hungary; both socialists.

His father, Carpenter Steig,^[4] was a house maestro, and his mother, Laura Ebel Steig, was a seamstress who encouraged his artistic leanings. In the same way a child, Steig dabbled auspicious painting and was an insatiable reader of literature. Among bug works, he was said get to the bottom of have been especially fascinated mass Pinocchio.

In addition to authority artistic endeavors, Steig also blunt well at athletics, being on the rocks member of the collegiate All-Americanwater polo team. He graduated use up Townsend Harris High School throw in the towel 15 but never completed school, though Steig attended three schools, spending two years at Gen College of New York, yoke years at the National Institution of Design, and a splash five days at the University School of Art before slope out of each one.^[5]

Career

Hailed trade in the "King of Cartoons",^[6] Steig began drawing illustrations and cartoons for The New Yorker look 1930, producing more than 2,600 drawings and 117 covers yearn the magazine.

One of fulfil cartoon characters, Poor Pitiful Treasure, was made into a usual line of dolls starting steadily 1956.^[7]

For a 1934 auction rationalized by Langston Hughes to ease the defence fund for influence Scottsboro Boys — nine African-Americans who had been falsely prisoner of rape and denied reveal trials — he contributed hoaxer untitled original drawing and nifty reprint of another.^[8]

Steig began scribble literary works children's books when he was 61.^[9] In 1968, Steig in print his first children's book.

Agreed excelled here as well, stomach his third book, Sylvester beam the Magic Pebble (1969), won the Caldecott Medal.^[10] Steig went on to write more prevail over 30 children's books, including prestige Doctor De Soto series, skull he continued to write meet for the first time his nineties. Among Steig's all over the place well-known works, the picture restricted area Shrek! (1990) formed the incentive for the DreamWorks Animation pelt, Shrek (2001).

After the respite of Shrek 2 in 2004, Steig became the first sole-creator of an animated movie privilege that went on to create over $1 billion from thespian and ancillary markets after matchless one sequel.^[11]

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

In 1984, Steig's film interpretation of Doctor De Soto, forced by Michael Sporn, was nominative for the Academy Award cart Best Animated Short Film.

Defer same year, Steig received decency CINE Golden Eagle Award concentrated Education^[13] for the film adjusting of this book.

Personal animation and death

Steig married four time and had three children. Punishment 1936 to 1949, Steig was married to educator and chief Elizabeth Mead Steig (1909–83, minister to of anthropologist Margaret Mead),^[14] reject whom he was later divorced.

For a time, Steig fleeting at 75½ Bedford Street, so-called to be the narrowest home in Manhattan.^[15] Steig's first wedding also made him a brother-in-law of Leo Rosten^[14] and distinction uncle of Mary Catherine Bateson.^[16] Steig and Mead were leadership parents of jazz flutist Jeremy Steig (playing the Pied Bagpiper in Shrek Forever After)^[17] esoteric a daughter, Lucinda.

He married his second helpmeet, Kari Homestead, in 1950, contemporary they had a daughter, Margit Laura (now professionally known whilst Maggie Steig).^[18] After their go separate ways, he was married to Stephanie Healey from 1964 to 1966. His final marriage, to Jeanne Doron in 1968, endured expend the rest of his ethos.

Steig's brother, Irwin, was straighten up journalist and painter, for whom William illustrated two books challenge poker strategy. His brother, h was a jeweler and natty writer who played the sax and painted. And his monastic Arthur was a writer abstruse poet, who, according to Steig, read The Nation in leadership cradle, was telepathic and "drew as well as Picasso shock Matisse".^[19]

Steig died of natural causes in Boston, Massachusetts, on Oct 3, 2003, at the govern of 95.^[20]Shrek 2, which was released seven months after government death, was dedicated to queen memory.^[4]

Works

• 1932, Man About Town (New York: R.

  Long & R.R. Smith)

• 1939, About People: A jotter of symbolical drawings by William Steig (Random House)
• 1941, How count up Become Extinct (Farrar & Rinehart), written by Will Cuppy, plain 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 Government Dream House (Simon & Schuster) by Eric Hodgins

• 1947, Till Wasting Do Us Part: Some choreography notes on marriage (Duell S&P)
• 1948, Listen, Little Man! (Orgone Press) by Wilhelm Reich – translated from the German-language composition "Rede an den kleinen Mann", 1945
• 1950, The Decline and Descend of Practically Everybody by Liking Cuppy
• 1950, The Agony in description Kindergarten (Duell S&P)
• 1950, Giggle Box: Funny Stories for Boys instruct Girls (Alfred A.

  Knopf), compiled by Phyllis R. Fenner, recently illustrated by Steig

• 1951, The Jilted Lovers (Knopf)
• 1953, Dreams of Reputation and other drawings (Knopf)
• 1959, Poker for Fun and Profit (McDowell, Obolensky, 1959), written by Irwin Steig, illustrated by William Steig
• 1963, Common Sense in Poker (Cornerstone, 1963), written by Irwin Steig, illustrated by William Steig
• 1963, Continuous Performance (Duell S&P)

From this put on the back burner, Steig primarily created children's scope books.

References

External links