Eldon Dedini American cartoonist Eldon Dedini was born in King City, California on June 29, 1921. His father was a dairy farmer, his mother, a schoolteacher. Attending Hartnell College in Salinas, he studied under CAA Artist Member and professor Leon Amyx. He then graduated from Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. In 1944 he married fellow art student and painter Virginia Conroy. Dedini's first job was as an artist for Universal Studios. He moved on to work for Disney Studios in the Story Department from 1944-1946. Once Eldon and Virginia moved to the Monterey Peninsula, he worked for the Salinas Index-Journal and the Salinas Morning Post as a staff cartoonist. Subsequently, he was an Esquire magazine cartoonist and gag writer from 1946-1950, His distinction as an award-winning cartoonist is probably best known from his long association with two magazines: The New Yorker, beginning in 1950, and Playboy, beginning in 1960. Dedini juried into the Carmel Art Association in 1957 along with Virginia Conroy. He created cartoons and other artworks up until his death at home in Carmel at age 84, in January 2006. Dedini received Best Magazine Cartoonist award from the National Cartoonists Society, New York City in 1958, 1961 and 1964 and the award for Best Color Cartoon in the Playboy Annual in 1978. He authored and illustrated an album of cartoons called The Dedini Gallery (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1961), A Much Much Better World (Simon & Shuster, 1985) and illustrated books by Max Shulman and Art Buchwald among others. He was also the illustrator of a French Language textbook, La Clef (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1970). His work is featured in a number of cartoon anthologies including The New Yorker and Playboy. Dedini was a member of the National Cartoonists Society, New York, and the Cartoonists Association, New York. He was a contributor to many other popular magazines including Punch, Collier's Saturday Evening Post, Judge, Sports Illustrated, True, Holiday and Art in America. Said Eldon Dedini, “I like to think my cartoons have been and are influenced by Peter Arno and Peter Bruegel, and by the whole Italian Renaissance.” His works are held in the following public and private Collections:The Achenbach CollectionLibrary of CongressJacqueline KennedyHayward KingRobert LescherNew York UniversityRobert KennedyAllen DullesMax Shulman
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