Drawing caricatures of people is a natural part of a cartoonist's life. Many earn a good living by specializing in that type of work. Most just draw a few as gags to show and give to fellow artists. All of his life Barks was interested in drawing caricatures and he often had his eye on the celebrities of the day. Sometimes they were drawn quite plainly, sometimes they were slightly disguised, but it is plain to see that he liked the work. On this page you will find a broad selection of celebrities drawn from different stages of Barks' life: from childhood to old age.
SCHOOL | ||||
One of Barks' first caricatures made around 1909 |
American president Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) |
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Young Carl acquired a taste for drawing very early in his life and he spend numerous hours copying cartoon characters from the newspapers. He also drew caricatures of famous people from that time. |
CALGARY EYEOPENER | ||||
Referee: Get up, you big jokel. He didn't even hit you! - Boxer: No, he didn't hit me - but, hell, man, what if he had? |
American boxer Jack Dempsey (1895-1983) |
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Saint Peter: Now, for heaven's sake, don't git to croonin'! |
American singer Rudy Vallee (1901-1986) |
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Barks caricatured a broad variety of persons when he was working for the adult magazine Calgary EyeOpener. Other examples are Mahatma Gandhi and Al Jolson. |
DISNEY'S | ||||
THE AUTOGRAPH HOUND (1939) A number of celebrities were caricatured in this cartoon: Greta Garbo, Mickey Rooney, Sonja Henie, Joan Crawford, Charlie Chan, Henry Armetta, The Ritz Brothers, Shirley Temple, Clark Gable, Charlie McCarthy, Joe E. Lewis, Katherine Hepburn, and the brothers Groucho and Harpo Marx |
Swedish born actress Greta Garbo (1905-1990) |
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DONALD'S TANK (1942) Barks made a memorable parody on Hitler in this cartoon which was never released |
Austrian born Nazi leader Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) |
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A few times during his employment at Disney's Barks made caricatures of celebrities from that era. |
WESTERN | ||||
WDCS098 Frank Bucko |
American animal hunter Frank Buck (1884-1950) |
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WDCS114 Noble X. Ample |
American FBI director J. Edgar Hoover (1895-1972) |
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WDCS245 Jayne Girlsfield |
American actress Jayne Mansfield (1933-1967) |
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WDCS245 Snarlin Grando |
American actor Marlon Brando (1924-) |
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WDCS245 Brigitte van Doren |
French actress Brigitte Bardot (1934-) |
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During his time at Western, Barks put a number of caricatures in the comic book stories. Here are some of the ones he drew. He also just mentioned a few by name such as Perry Cougar (Perry Como), Lizardace (Liberace), and Prince Raindeer (Prince Rainier). |
STUDIO | ||||
35/78 Henry Morgan, Buccaneer |
English pirate Henry Morgan (1635-1688) |
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20/78 Blackbeard the Pirate |
English buccaneer Edward Teach (1680-1718) |
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43/78 Sir William Blackstone |
English lawyer William Blackstone (1723-1780) |
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8/78 Buffalo Bill Cooty |
American buffalo hunter William F. Cody (1846-1917) |
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In his golden years, Barks took up painting inspired by his third wife Garé. Apart from the well known duck paintings he also made a great number of caricatures of famous people. |
http://www.cbarks.dk/THECELEBRITIES.htm | Date 2003-08-19 |