by Mike Rhode
COVID-19 has killed over 1,834,356 people in the world, and at least 303,823 in the U.S. as of December 31, 2020. We normally list the people who have passed in the comic book and strip, animation, editorial & political cartoon fields. This year, the list is probably the longest we've ever run. This list is excerpted from the Comics Research Bibliography (available here) which is updated daily on Facebook. 1/8/21: Additions marked with *.
Deaths in 2020 (with
thanks to Randy Tischler of the Baltimore Comic Con, D.D. Degg of the Daily
Cartoonist, Cartoon Brew’s animation list by Alex Dudok de Wit, and Animation Magazine’s list) included voice actress Patricia Alice
Albrecht, comics journalist Bob “Mr. Media” Andelman, “Thomas & Friends” narrator
Michael Angelis, comic strip artist and animator Román Arámbula, animator Kelly
Asbury, Golden Age artist Allen Bellman, Vagrancy Comics’ Justin Benedict, voice
actress Julie Bennett, assistant animator Dorris Bergstrom, Belgian cartoonist
Arthur “Berck“ Berckmans, "Comics I Don't Understand" blogger Bill
Bickel, cartoonist and comics historian Ed Black, animation matte painter Denise
Blakely Fuller, “Black Panther” actor Chadwick Boseman, Frank Bolle, Claire
Bretécher, “Norse by Norsewest” strip writer John Brinkerhoff, “Dear Basketball”
star Kobe Bryant, animation background
artist Alfred Budnick, editorial & sports cartoonist Bil Canfield, “Snow
White” model Marge Champion, French cartoonist André Chéret, animation
character designer and story artist Curtis Cim, Ron Cobb, comics collector &
publisher Russ Cochran, 102-year-old “Buck Rogers” fan Jim Coffeen, Richard
Corben, animator Doug Crane, Croatian cartoonist Alem Ćurin, Nick Cuti, animation
& gag cartoonist Dan Danglo, animator Bill Davis, voice actor Jason Davis, British
illustrator Jon Davis, Marvel television art director Matteo De Cosmo, animator
Gene Deitch, French comic book creator François Dermaut, Mort Drucker, voice
actor William Dufris, Ralph Dunagin, animator Tony Eastman, comic book artist Hy
Fleishman, “PS Magazine” editor Paul Fitzgerald, Latin America specialist
scholar David William Foster, German historian and translator Wolfgang J. Fuchs,
Bob Fujitani, Carl Gafford, gag cartoon and fumetti writer Gerald Gardner, illustrator Hector Garrido, underground comix
cartoonist David Geiser, Thomas Gianni, Pixar’s Rob Gibbs, Argentine comic book
artist Juan Giménez Lopez, animator Mark Glamack, DC Comics logo designer
Milton Glaser, Peanuts correspondent Harriet Glickman, Swedish cartoonist Rolf
Gohs, voice actor Danny Goldman, homeless cartoonist Ronnie Goodman, Archie
Comics editor-in-chief Victor Gorelick, amateur cartoonist Carl Granath, X-Men
cartoon’s Magneto voice actor David Hemblen, animator & Astrodome
scoreboard cartoonist Ed Henderson, “Bill and Sue” comic strip illustrator
Dorothy Henry, animator Harry “Bud” Hester, Grand Comics Database indexer and
editor Jerry Hilligas, cartoon editor & gag writer Phil Hirsch, Marvel vice
president Mike Hobson, voice actor Sir Ian Holm, animation director Cullen
Blaine Houghtaling, political cartoonist Sandy Huffaker, gag writer Choc
Hutcheson, Jim Janes, comic book & strip cartoonist Frank Johnson, African-American
editorial cartoonist Samuel Joyner, French cartoonist Edmond Kiraz, Canadian
animator Blair Kitchen, animator Bill Knoll, animator Helen Komar, Canadian animator/director
Hana Kukal, SpongeBob ‘Sweet Victory’ songwriter Bob Kulick, Jiro Kuwata, voice
actor David Lander, animation artist Nancy Lane, *Golden Age collector Lamont
Larson, *Congressman and ‘March’
writer John Lewis, Belgium’s Ronald “Bing” Libin,
editorial cartoonist Robert "RWL" Light, British small press
cartoonist Marleen Starksfield Lowe, illustrator Annie Lunsford, Richard A.
“Dick” Lupoff, Disney animation artist Sue Nichols Maciorowski, British pocket
cartoonist Ken Mahood, Viz anime production assistant Peer Makepeace, comic
book store owner Tommy Maletta, Belgian comic book author Malik (aka William
Tai), Italian animator and cartoonist Ro Marcenaro, gag cartoonist Henry
Martin, “Doc and Raider” webcartoonist Sean Stephane Martin, Izumi Matsumoto, amateur
cartoonist Duane McKenna, comic book artist Frank McLaughlin, animation concept
artist Syd Mead, Mexican voice actor Luis Alfonso Mendoza, Croatian animator Vatroslav Mimica, indy
cartoonist Kurt Mitchell, animation timer Maureen Mlynarczyk, animation cel servicer
Francisca Moralde, voice actor Kirby Morrow, British amateur cartoonist Rose
Mortleman, Minnesota comics and animation fan & historian David Mruz, “The
Climax” comic panel cartoonist Ted Mullings, color flatter Garth Murphy, comic
book artist Daniel Nakrosis, “Funny Fizzles” cartoonist Bill Nellor, Japanese
voice actress Kumiko Okae (aka Kumiko Owada), sports cartoonist Murray Olderman,
Denny O’Neill, animation storyboard artist Dominic Orlando, animation ink &
paint supervisor Joan Orloff, Cuban animator Juan Padrón, Martin Pasko,
animation checker Lisa Poitevint, illustrator Jason Polan, political cartoonist Stu Pomeroy, Wall Street
Journal cartoon editor Charles Preston, Russian animator Anatoly Prokhorov, Malibu
Times editorial cartoonist Fred Purucker, Canadian amateur cartoonist Qinni
Qing, Quino, visual effects producer Rebecca Ramsey, “Pete’s Dragon” actress
Helen Reddy, Grand Comics Database member Gene Reed, Canadian animator Nick
Rijgersberg, gag and editorial cartoonist Marty Riskin, African-American political
cartoonist Ron Rogers, Italian comic book artist Giovanni Romanini, stop-motion costumer and puppet maker Cesar
Romero, executive director of Toronto Animation Arts Festival International John
Rooney, Savannah political cartoonist and animator Jim Rose, Jumbo Pictures
production manager Pamela Ross, animator Joe Ruby, Richard Sala, “Bev Hills”
cartoonist Janet Salter, Russian animator Boris Savin, animation songwriter
Adam Schlesinger, advertising artist Don Schnably, effects animator and
teacher Gary Schumer, editorial cartoonist Tip Sempliner, Joe Sinnott, Sesame Street
animation sound designer Jerry Slick, New York animator Ed Smith, animator Ken
Spears, Canadian voice actor Norm Spencer, German cartoonist Uli Stein, underground
cartoonist Steve Stiles, animation layout and background artist and art
director Herbert Stott, animation designer and background and layout artist
Marty Strudler, Disney animator Ann Sullivan, animation checker Rudy Tomaselli, animator Tuck Tucker, Asterix creator Albert Uderzo, Belgian animation
designer and director Pino Van Lamsweerde, comic book inker Juan Vlasco, minicomics
cartoonist Morgan Vogel, Alex Raymond background artist Mary Frances “Mae” Von
Egidy, Wonder Woman TV show’s Lyle Waggoner, British cartoonist Brian Walker, animatio
writer Phillip Walsh, Tom Ward, comics collector and Grand Comics Database member
Gary Watson, Bob Weber Sr., voice actor Fred Willard, TV animation writer David
Wise, animation director William “Bill” Wolf, No Huddle comic strip writer Sam
Wyche, sports and editorial cartoonist Joe Yeninas, voice actress Hikari Yono, editor
and translator of Tintin albums in Spain Conchita Zendrera, “B.C.” and “Wizard
of Id” gag writer Elmer Zinner, Belgian comic artist Ward Zwart. Cartoon Brew
listed the following people as “other members of the animation community” -
Patricia Blackburn, Maureen Crane, James P. Finch, Hubert Gagnon, Michèle
Pauzé, Al Sens, Craig Welch, and Catherine Zar - without any additional
information as to their roles in the field.