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| Flip Wilson by Bill Utterback |
Bill Utterback (1931-2010) worked in the design department at
Playboy, and beginning in the mid- sixties, became their unofficial resident in-house caricaturist. He was also considered by many to be the most popular caricaturist living in Chicago. In fact, he was often cited as "The Hirschfeld of the Windy City".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Utterback
In the seventies, his caricatures of "Second City" comedian/improv cast members graced the lobby bar of the legendary Second City Comedy theatre in Chicago, where many famous comedians first got their start.
http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2010/02/12/second-city-caricaturist-is-dead
Beginning in the mid-sixties and lasting into the seventies, Utterback contributed black and white silhouette caricatures, somtimes up to eight per issue, that appeared in
Playboy's offshoot magazine "VIP, The Playboy Club Magazine":
Playboy published VIP, (Very Important Playboys), as a way of keeping members of the Playboy club informed about all things PLAYBOY In particular, the magazine let members know which entertainers were due to perform at their various Playboy clubs. Many of the portraits would then hang in the clubs.
I've long enjoyed these elegant, (and in some cases, very sexy), lush, funny, B&W watercolor caricature portraits of various "hip" comedians and singers (some still famous, some totally forgotten).
Click this link for more Utterback comedians created for VIP:
http://drewfriedman.blogspot.com/2015/05/1960s-comedians-for-vip-magazine-by.html
Bill Utterback also created, (full color), caricatures for the popular annual
Playboy features "That Was The Year That Was" and for their "Playboy Jazz/Pop Poll"
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Henry Mancini for Playboy
Bill Utterback (1931-2010) was an American illustrator most widely known for his contributions to Playboy and The Second City‘s theatre in Chicago.
At the invitation of a friend, Utterback joined the design department of Playboy in the mid-sixties.[1] Utterback was asked to illustrate some caricatures for publication after an art director saw a birthday card Utterback had created for a fellow employee. This led to Bill’s regular feature in “That Was the Year That Was” [2] each April issue. After leaving Playboy, Utterback worked as a freelance illustrator from his home studio in Lisle, Illinois, servicing clients including The Second City until his death in 2010, and painted official portraits of Illinois Senator Pate Phillips which hung in the Illinois State Capitol building.
In later life, Utterback taught workshops at the DuPage Art League in Wheaton, Illinois, and sculpted a portrait likeness of Pate Phillips which was cast in bronze and unveiled in the DuPage County. Utterback died on February 8, 210 , at 79 years of age.
The caricatures he created for VIP magazine have rarely been seen, outside of subscribers to VIP,(which no longer exists), and to member's of the Playboy clubs. So, if these fabulous drawings are new to you, enjoy!
a 1966 album cover by Utterback
Some samples of Utterback's annual All-Star Bands from Playboy: |
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The 1967 Playboy All-Star Jazz band
1973, (the "Jazz" was dropped from the title at this point)
1974
Utterback also illustrated Playboy's annual "That was the year that was" by Judith Wax.
Here's a few samples:
Carol Burnett
for Playboy, 1970
a Playboy spread from 1991 (thanks to John Wendler)
Payboy photo/1991
1960's Utterback cover
mid-seventies album cover art
a 1987 Utterback self-portrait (via Jim Engel)
The VIP drawings... |
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| Joan Rivers |
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| Jackie Mason |
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| Beverly Saunders |
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| Shelley Berman |
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| Florence Henderson |
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| Donna Theadore |
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Bobby Sargent
Tony Bennett |
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| Michael Dees |
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| Diahann Carroll |
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| Misty Walker |
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| Vic Damone |
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| Lonnie Shorr |
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Teri Thornton
Chubby Checker |
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| The Everly Brothers |
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| Mort Sahl |
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| Liza Minnelli |
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| Flip Wilson |
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| Flip Wilson II |
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| Jackie Curtiss |
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| Sammy Davis, Jr. |
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Sonny & Cher
Ann-Margret |
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| Tiny Tim |
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Gabriel Kaplan
Bill Utterback |
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wow. i could look at his stuff for hours.
ReplyDeleteGREAT !
These are wonderful! I've never seen them before. That's what I get for not being a Very Important Playboy.
ReplyDeleteJackie Curtiss was the primary booker, ontop of being a comedian hismelf, for the Playboy Club(s) for several years.
ReplyDeleteI like this blog because it's funny, it salutes great artists of the past, and it even occasionally introduces me to someone I didn't know (or fully appreciate) before. What's a Bill Utterback? I couldn't have told you, but I remember the Playboy jazz poll caricatures, not that you mention 'em.
ReplyDeleteJeez, these are beautiful. Even the ones I don't know here have a specificity about them that tells you it looks just like that person - whoever he or she is. (I first saw Peter Lorre, Edward G. Robinson and Charles Laughton in Bugs Bunny cartoons when I was five. Those caricatures were SO vivid and specific that I knew them instantly later, when I started watching classic films.)
Utterback's style reminds me a little of Al Kilgore. Also, I have a theory: You're not officially a caricaturist until you've done at least one Sammy Davis Jr.
Um, I meant "now that you mention 'em."
ReplyDeleteRackin' frackin' typos...
Mike, all good points but I did mention his Playboy jazz/pop caricatures in the text.
ReplyDelete