Editorial Cartoonist Doug Marlette Dies in Auto Accident

On July 10, 2007 Chris Joyner of the Clarion-Ledger [1] (Mississippi) writes:

Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Doug Marlette was killed this morning in a single car accident near Holly Springs in north Mississippi, according to the South Reporter, a weekly newspaper in Holly Springs...

...Marlette, 57, was the editorial cartoonist for The Tulsa World. He previously had been the cartoonist for The Charlotte Observer, New York Newsday, The Tallahassee Democrat and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where he won a Pulitzer in 1988.

According to the South Reporter, the accident occurred at 9:42 a.m. near the West Holly Springs exit on U.S. 78 East.

Marlette was the passenger in the vehicle, according to the newspaper. The driver, who has not been identified, was transported to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford.

Rain may have been a factor in the accident. White said early morning rain had contributed to a number of accidents in north Mississippi today.

The Tulsa World did not have an immediate comment on Marlette’s death. He had worked for the newspaper for more than a year.

Bill Kovach [2], chairman and acting director of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, brought Marlette to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution when he was editor of the newspaper. Marlette’s cartoons carried an emotional punch, he said.

"Marlette, better than any artist I know, understood visual communication and how visual communication forced you to confront issues directly," he said. "We lost a great artist..."

Click here to read Joyner's article in its entirety on the Clarion-Ledger website. [1]

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