Gus Arriola Gus Arriola was born in July of 1917, in the Northern part of Mexico, now known as Arizona. At the age of eight, La Familia Arriola followed the well-beaten path of the Conquistadores to La Cuidad de Nuestra Senora, La Reina de Los Angeles. Gus graduated from high school and moved directly into the cartoon animation business. He spent his first year at Screen Gems, drawing for Krazy Kat, and then moved to MGM's cartoon department doing story-sketching for the cat and mouse series Tom and Jerry. After three years Arriola left MGM to produce the Gordo cartoon series, which United Features Syndicate bought in 1941. In 1942 both Mary Frances Sevier and Uncle Sam pointed their fingers at Gus. He married Frances and was hustled off by the other for three and a half years of animating training films for the Air Force. In 1946 Arriola resumed production of his "Gordo" strip while living in La Jolla and Phoenix. The family finally settled on the Monterey Peninsula, a beautiful place to hang their sombreros while plotting their next trips to Mexico. Gus was juried into the Carmel Art Association in 1986. Arriola received the Distinguished Artist Citation from Artists Club of San Francisco 1957, in recognition of his pioneering work to bring design and color to a new high mark in the field of comic strips. He was also awarded with two National Cartoonists Society awards for Best Humor Strip in 1957 and 1965, as well as the "Inkpot Award" for "Outstanding Achievement" from the San Diego Comic Convention in 1981. He was once quoted: "Throughout my career I have tried to maintain a daily awareness of the culture of our Southern neighbor, creating an interest in its art and history through humorous, human interest situations." With his innate sense of humor, he once told the CAA that his two hobbies were cooking and losing weight. He added that he one day hoped "to have time for art without that "$!!*@" daily deadline." That day arrived when Gus Arriola retired in March of 1985. He exhibited at the Carmel Art Association, Phoenix Art Center, Richmond Art Center, Museum of Man in San Diego, and the Monterey Museum of Art. Nitty Gritty Press published eight Gordo cartoon paperback books, and a collection titled Gordo's Cat was produced by Oak Tree Productions, San Diego.