Robert "Buck" Brown, 71, Cartoonist drew Playboy's 'Granny'
wazzzy
Artist who grew up in Chicago drew naughty old lady character for
magazine for decades
Cartoonist Buck Brown's most famous character was "Granny," a naughty
little old lady who hung out in the pages of Playboy magazine for
decades.
Mr. Brown never gave her that name, it just happened, said his
daughter, Tracy Hill.
"She was just an older woman my father drew," she said. "But every
time he would go into the Playboy offices, the receptionist would
laugh and say, 'I love that little granny of yours.' And the name
stuck."
Robert "Buck" Brown, 71, died Monday at St. James Hospital and Health
Centers in Olympia Fields, after suffering a stroke June 23.
Since the 1960s, Mr. Brown's cartoons had appeared in Playboy, Ebony,
Jet, Dollars and Sense, Esquire, the New Yorker and the Chicago Sun-
Times.
"He had many characters," his daughter said. "Granny was just one of
them."
Moved to Chicago
His characters frequently would offer a little social commentary along
with a laugh or two. During the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, a
young African-American man was pictured admonishing a young boy: "I
know my name is Thomas, and I know you are my nephew. But don't ever
call me that again!"
The artist was born Bobby Brown in Morrison, Tenn.
"A teacher changed his name," Hill said. "She said, 'What's your
name?' And he said, 'Bobby,' and she said, 'Your name is Robert.' He
went home and said, 'Momma, teacher changed my name.' "
His family moved to Chicago, where he graduated from Sexton Elementary
School and Englewood High School. In 1955, he enlisted in the Air
Force and found superiors who encouraged his constant sketching and
gentle humor.
After the service, Mr. Brown attended Wilson Junior College and drove
a Chicago Transit Authority bus. He then enrolled at the University of
Illinois at Urbana and continued to send his cartoons to national
magazines. He received a degree in fine arts in 1966.
His cartoons on campus life were published in the Daily Illini student
newspaper, including one during a final exams week that showed a
student poised on a building ledge. At a window was a woman, a
policeman and a priest, who said: "Don't jump, son, you can always go
to Southern."
Officials of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale were not
amused and registered a protest.
Mr. Brown moved back to Chicago, and his first cartoon appeared in
Playboy in March of 1962. He was one of the magazine's most prolific
contributors, with nearly 600 cartoons. His latest is in the August
2007 issue.
He also did more serious paintings, which were bought by celebrities
including comedian Bill Cosby, singer Johnny Mathis and composer Henry
Mancini, his daughter said.
"One of several paintings bought by Cosby was a scene on a beach," his
daughter said. "Out in the ocean was a big ship. He had all of these
Africans coming out to greet the ship, and they were all dressed as
basketball players. There was a coach standing there with them."
Loved golf
In 1973, Mr. Brown did a two-page color spread on golf cartoons in the
Sun-Times, including a scene of a water-hole baptism, with the
preacher saying, "I don't mind y'all playin' a little golf, but one of
the balls almost hit Sister Jackson."
Mr. Brown loved golf. His daughter hated it because it took him away
from home on weekends, she said.
While Mr. Brown was widely acclaimed as a leading African-American
cartoonist, some of the fans of the pale-skinned "Granny" were
surprised to discover that her creator was a black man, his daughter
said.
Playboy once ran a reader's letter complaining that they allowed a
white guy to make fun of blacks. Underneath it was a picture of Brown
with the caption "WHITEY UNMASKED."
Mr. Brown retired several years ago but continued to work on his
personal art and to play poker every week with a group of friends.
Besides his daughter, survivors include his wife, Mary Ellen; a son,
Robert Brown III; his mother, Doris Lemmings; a brother, Ted
Edingburg; a sister, Willa White; six grandchildren and two nieces.
Services have been held.
BY LARRY FINLEY Staff Reporter
July 8, 2007
Hyfler/Rosner
"wazzzy" <enter...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1183888376.4...@j4g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
> http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/459676,CST-NWS-XBROW08.article
>
> Artist who grew up in Chicago drew naughty old lady
> character for
> magazine for decades
Terrific obit. Thanks.
Rick B.
@j4g2000prf.googlegroups.com:
> http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/459676,CST-NWS-XBROW08.article
Cartoonist triad with J.B. Handelsman and Howie Schneider...