Auth Eulogy

Tony Auth on Conrad

Tony Auth's Eulogy for Paul Conrad

Tony Auth, the Pulitzer Prize- and Herblock Prize-winning editorial cartoonist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, delivered the following eulogy for his longtime friend Paul Conrad at Paul's funeral on September 11, 2010.

I got to know 'Conrad' a couple of years before I met Paul Conrad. I got to know him, of course, through his drawings. In 1966 I was 24 years old, and had been doing one drawing a week for a weekly paper started by several former colleagues at the UCLA Daily Bruin. I had fallen in love with political cartooning, and desperately wanted to be…Paul Conrad.

Tony Auth

Kevin Cody photo

The War in Vietnam, the Civil Rights Movement, the Feminist Movement…there was a lot to think about, and a lot to draw about…incredible times, and day after day, week after week, beautiful drawings in stark black and white, expressing fearless opinions, with brutal honesty and brilliant wit appeared on the Times' editorial page over the signature: Conrad.

I thought to myself, as did so many other would-be political cartoonists, “so THAT’S how it’s done.”

I called him on the phone one day, and was answered by a booming voice. “Mr. Conrad, sir”, I said, “I’d like to become a professional editorial cartoonist. Can I bring some work down for you to evaluate?” “C’mon down, kid!” he yelled.

I showed up (“so THIS is where it’s done”) with some 50 drawings. He started going through them, and after looking at nine or ten, I thought I saw a kind of weight lift from his shoulders. “They’re not bad, kid!”

Then, with the same unvarnished honesty he daily applied to his cartoons (how could it be otherwise?) he proceeded to give me the best advice I’ve ever gotten.

“You do one cartoon a week?” “Yes sir.” “And it sits on your drawing board for three or four days, right?” “Right.”

“Kid, you’re loving these drawings to death. A political cartoon has to look like you read the paper, got mad, sat down and in one furious and energetic bout of drawing got your anger out of your system and had a good laugh at the same time. If a reader’s first reaction is ‘boy, this drawing was a lot of work’, they’ll be too tired to look any further. Another thing: anybody can do one cartoon a week. You’ve got to find out if you have five a week in you.”

I tried to follow his advice, and finally, six years later, got a staff position as editorial cartoonist at the Philadelphia Inquirer. I was thrilled, of course, and called Con to share my joy at being finally admitted to the professional fraternity I had longed for so long to join.

When I told him about my good fortune there was a long pause, and then he said, “Hmmm…Philadelphia…What was second prize?”

Years later, during the first Bush administration, a number of us cartoonists were invited to the White House for lunch. Pat Oliphant was fuming in silence, very annoyed that he was there at all. The president wanted to talk about sports, and somehow the subject of beach balls came up, and Conrad’s voice boomed from the end of the table: “Speaking of beach balls, Mr. President, how’s Dan Quayle doing?” Talk about speaking truth to power!

Bill Mauldin once said of political cartooning, “when you do this for a living you get two things: awards and hate mail.” Conrad got his share of both, but how perfectly appropriate, how perfectly Conrad, that he considered his highest honor being on Nixon’s enemies list.

Our country and the world are fortunate indeed, for Paul having been a fount of drawings, sculpture, righteous indignation, humor, wisdom, joy and love; all over the signature: Conrad.