Gary Larson Bio (Biography)
Real name:
Gary Larson
Date of birth:
August 14. 1950
Place of birth:
Tacoma, Washington, USA
Astrology Sign:
Leo
Tags:
Biography
Anyone who knows the cartoon strip Far Side probably also knows the name Gary Larson.
The creator of the popular strip claims he always had a taste for drawing.
Before he could write even, he was already doodling on pages. Most of those doodles were of animals, he says.
He also open admits he never took art classes as he never thought he would see the day when his profession would become cartoonist.
Before ending up with that title, Larson, upon graduation from college in 1972, started a jazz band and worked in a music career.
By 1976, though, he had taken up pen and paper again and started sketching a series of six cartoons. He submitted them to a local magazine and was surprised when they told him they wanted to give him almost $100 for them. Ecstatic over this development, he went to another periodical to see him if they would pay him $3 a week for a cartoon submission. Three years later, his art was featured in the Seattle Times in a cartoon entitled Nature's Way.
The San Francisco Chronicle was the birth of Larson's hugely successful The Far Side. They had seen Larson's Seattle submission and wanted to start something unique. They asked him to create a syndicated daily cartoon called The Far Side that would be distributed among 30 different newspapers. Their timing could not be better as Larson returned home to Seattle only to find the Times no longer wanted his cartoon as there had apparently been too many complaints about its dark humor.
By 1983, the cartoon was being published in 80 papers, and that total reached 200 in 1985. In spite of its popularity, many people still disliked it and the audience seemed split down the middle on what they thought of it. This did not stop it from reaching even bigger success as at its peak, The Far Side was published in almost 2,000 newspapers in 17 different languages.
On January 1, 1995, Gary retired from his drawing life. The Far Side legacy had stretched more than 14 years and generated numerous fans, as well as several books filled with the drawings. Today, he is reported to be still enjoying his retirement and spending time with his family.
The creator of the popular strip claims he always had a taste for drawing.
Before he could write even, he was already doodling on pages. Most of those doodles were of animals, he says.
He also open admits he never took art classes as he never thought he would see the day when his profession would become cartoonist.
Before ending up with that title, Larson, upon graduation from college in 1972, started a jazz band and worked in a music career.
By 1976, though, he had taken up pen and paper again and started sketching a series of six cartoons. He submitted them to a local magazine and was surprised when they told him they wanted to give him almost $100 for them. Ecstatic over this development, he went to another periodical to see him if they would pay him $3 a week for a cartoon submission. Three years later, his art was featured in the Seattle Times in a cartoon entitled Nature's Way.
The San Francisco Chronicle was the birth of Larson's hugely successful The Far Side. They had seen Larson's Seattle submission and wanted to start something unique. They asked him to create a syndicated daily cartoon called The Far Side that would be distributed among 30 different newspapers. Their timing could not be better as Larson returned home to Seattle only to find the Times no longer wanted his cartoon as there had apparently been too many complaints about its dark humor.
By 1983, the cartoon was being published in 80 papers, and that total reached 200 in 1985. In spite of its popularity, many people still disliked it and the audience seemed split down the middle on what they thought of it. This did not stop it from reaching even bigger success as at its peak, The Far Side was published in almost 2,000 newspapers in 17 different languages.
On January 1, 1995, Gary retired from his drawing life. The Far Side legacy had stretched more than 14 years and generated numerous fans, as well as several books filled with the drawings. Today, he is reported to be still enjoying his retirement and spending time with his family.