Jules Feiffer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, playwright, and children's book author, has died at age 95.
His wife, JZ Holden, confirmed the news, saying that Feiffer died Jan. 17 at his home in Upstate New York. The cause of death was congestive heart failure, The Washington Post reported.
Feiffer's iconic comic strip "Feiffer," originally titled "Sick, Sick, Sick," ran in the Village Voice from 1956 to 2000. In a previous interview with the Times, he said his work, often compared to the likes of Woody Allen and Lenny Bruce, explored "how people use language not to communicate, and the use of power in relationships."
Feiffer won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning in 1986. A strong liberal, he was one of the first to criticize the Vietnam War in mainstream media. One cartoon showed LBJ justifying bombing to a child with a lollipop. In his 2010 memoir, Feiffer said his mother influenced his political views.
Feiffer's 1959 book "Munro," about a 4-year-old boy mistakenly drafted into the Army, became an Oscar-winning animated short in 1961, with Feiffer writing the script. His most famous screenplay, "Carnal Knowledge" (1971), explored the sexual lives of two men, played by Jack Nicholson and Art Garfunkel, from college to middle age.
Feiffer was born on Jan. 26, 1929, in the Bronx to Jewish immigrant parents. His father struggled during the Depression, while his mother sold fashion drawings. As the Times noted, Feiffer admired comic creator Will Eisner and eventually became his apprentice. Eisner ultimately led Feiffer to write for The Spirit and create his own strip, "Clifford."
Feiffer was drafted into the Army in 1951 and tried to fake a breakdown to avoid combat duty in Korea. After his discharge in 1953, he struggled to get his comic work published, taking odd jobs and collecting unemployment. In 1956, he approached the Village Voice, where his comic strip ran for years without pay before garnering success.
Feiffer was married three times, with children from each, including daughter Kate Feiffer, who co-wrote children's books with him.
Feiffer was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1995 and won the National Cartoonists Society's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.
Feiffer also wrote the comic "Boom!" and graphic novels like "Passionella" and "Tantrum." His screenwriting credits included "Popeye" (1980) and "Little Murders" (1967), which became a cult hit after a short Broadway run. He later became known for children's books like "Bark, George" (1999).
In 2014, Feiffer published "Kill My Mother," a noir graphic novel. Reflecting on his career, he said his success came from being "backed into a corner," with no clear direction.
In an interview with People, he said, "It keeps changing on me, and I enjoy it because it's not the same old, same old."