# Ray Osrin

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American cartoonist

Ray Osrin Born Raymond Harold Osrin (1928-10-05)October 5, 1928 Brooklyn, New York Died April 3, 2001(2001-04-03) (aged 72) Delray Beach, Florida Nationality American Area Penciller, Inker Pseudonym Drake Waller Awards National Headliners Club's award for editorial cartooning, 1971

**Raymond Harold Osrin** (October 5, 1928 – April 3, 2001)[1] was an American [comic book artist](/source/Comics_artist) and [cartoonist](/source/Cartoonist). He was most notable for his work in the [Golden Age of Comic Books](/source/Golden_Age_of_Comic_Books). Later, he took a position as the [editorial cartoonist](/source/Editorial_cartoonist) for the Cleveland *[Plain Dealer](/source/The_Plain_Dealer)*, where his political cartoons appeared daily for more than 30 years.

## Biography

Osrin was born in [Brooklyn, New York](/source/Brooklyn%2C_New_York) and studied at the [School of Industrial Art](/source/School_of_Industrial_Art) and the [Art Students League](/source/Art_Students_League_of_New_York). He was a staff [inker](/source/Inker) at [Jerry Iger](/source/Jerry_Iger)'s comics shop from 1945 to 1949. In the 1940s, his work appeared at [Fiction House](/source/Fiction_House) and [Fox](/source/Fox_Feature_Syndicate).

In 1950 Osrin worked as an inker on *[It Rhymes with Lust](/source/It_Rhymes_with_Lust)*, a newsstand publication that was the first [graphic novel](/source/Graphic_novel). Called a "picture novel" on the cover and published by the [comic book](/source/Comic_book) and [magazine](/source/Magazine) company [St. John Publications](/source/St._John_Publications), it was written by [Arnold Drake](/source/Arnold_Drake) and [Leslie Waller](/source/Leslie_Waller) (together using the pseudonym **Drake Waller**), with black-and-white art by [Matt Baker](/source/Matt_Baker_(artist)).

In the mid-1950s, he drew for [Archie Comics](/source/Archie_Comics) (*[Pat the Brat](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pat_the_Brat&action=edit&redlink=1)*), [Charlton Comics](/source/Charlton_Comics) (*[Blue Beetle](/source/Blue_Beetle)*, *[Crime and Justice](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crime_and_Justice_(comic)&action=edit&redlink=1)*, romance and suspense stories) and [Dell/Gold Key](/source/Dell_Comics) (*[Snuffy Smith](/source/Snuffy_Smith)* and *[Barney Google](/source/Barney_Google)*, *[Supercar](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Supercar_(comic)&action=edit&redlink=1)*). In the 1960s he was also a [ghost artist](/source/Ghost_writer#Visual_art) on the *[Morty Meekle](/source/Morty_Meekle)* daily. In 1957 Osrin moved from [New York City](/source/New_York_City) to [Pittsburgh](/source/Pittsburgh), where he was involved in [television](/source/Television) [animation](/source/Animation) and [industrial film](/source/Industrial_film) making. He was a staff cartoonist of the *[Pittsburgh Press](/source/Pittsburgh_Press)* from 1958 to 1963.

In 1963, he "blindly applied for a job in the art department"[2] of *[The Plain Dealer](/source/The_Plain_Dealer)* and was hired to replace editorial cartoonist [Ed Kuekes](/source/Ed_Kuekes). Osrin moved to [Cleveland](/source/Cleveland%2C_Ohio) to work as a cartoonist and "wait for his predecessor to retire."[2] He became the [editorial cartoonist](/source/Editorial_cartoonist) of *The Plain Dealer* in 1966,[3] and remained there until retiring on April 2, 1993.

Osrin won the [National Headliners Club](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Headliners_Club&action=edit&redlink=1)'s award for editorial cartooning in 1971. In a 1972 interview, Osrin said "I'm influenced by [Oliphant](/source/Pat_Oliphant) and [Mauldin](/source/Bill_Mauldin) and [Herblock](/source/Herblock), (and) a fellow named [Wright](/source/Don_Wright_(cartoonist)) on a [Miami](/source/Miami) newspaper."[4] Other influences include [Paul Conrad](/source/Paul_Conrad), [Milt Caniff](/source/Milt_Caniff), [Frank Robbins](/source/Frank_Robbins), and [Matt Baker](/source/Matt_Baker_(artist)).[5]

Upon retirement, he moved to [Boca Raton, Florida](/source/Boca_Raton%2C_Florida). He donated collections of his cartoons to [Cleveland State University](/source/Cleveland_State_University) and the [Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum](/source/Billy_Ireland_Cartoon_Library_%26_Museum) at [Ohio State University](/source/Ohio_State_University) in the hopes that his work would "mean something later on and somebody can enjoy it."[2] He died from complications due to [heart disease](/source/Heart_disease) and [diabetes](/source/Diabetes) on April 3, 2001, in [Delray Beach, Florida](/source/Delray_Beach%2C_Florida).[6]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-SNAC_1-0)** ["Osrin, Raymond Harold, 1928-2001"](http://socialarchive.iath.virginia.edu/ark:/99166/w60c76fk). *SNAC*. [Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities](/source/Institute_for_Advanced_Technology_in_the_Humanities). Retrieved January 31, 2017.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Raymond_H_1992_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Raymond_H_1992_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Raymond_H_1992_2-2) Political cartooning: Raymond H. Osrin interviewed by Dan O'Brian (March 4, 1992) [Youngstown State University](/source/Youngstown_State_University) [Oral History](/source/Oral_History) Program, O.H. 1490

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** *[The Plain Dealer](/source/The_Plain_Dealer)*, August 29, 1976

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** *[Montage](/source/Montage_(TV_series))* documentary "Wizard of Osrin", 1972.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [WhosWho](http://www.bailsprojects.com/(S(pt1unu4512g52l5545qulx55))/whoswho.aspx)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Obituary, *The Plain Dealer* (April 4, 2001).

## External links

- [The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum : Ray Osrin Collection Guide](http://ead.ohiolink.edu/xtf-ead/view?docId=ead/OhCoUCR0011.xml;query=billy%20ireland%20cartoon%20library%20and%20museum;brand=default)

- [Lambiek.Net](http://lambiek.net/artists/o/osrin_ray.htm)

- [*Panel to Panel* article on "It Rhymes with Lust"](http://paneltopanel.net/shop/article_info.php?articles_id=13&osCsid=82903e3b4679a4fec9cd638e22fb0065)[*[dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

- [Cleveland State University's Catalog of Ray Osrin Cartoon Collection](http://www.csuohio.edu/CUT/osrin2.htm)

- [Youngstown State University Oral History Digital Program](http://www.maag.ysu.edu/oralhistory/oral_hist.html) (see Political Cartoons)

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND WorldCat National United States Other SNAC

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ray Osrin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Osrin) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Osrin?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.