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Charles Bell, 1916-2011
posted June 6, 2011
Charlie Bell, a one-time cartoonist for the
Regina Leader-Post that moved into editorial positions over the course of a 35-year career with the newspaper,
died on January 25 in Regina General Hospital. He was 94 years old.
Bell was born in Portage La Prairie; the Bell family moved to Regina in 1924. Educated in local schools, Bell served during World War 2 after being called up from the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve. Although he joined the
Leader-Post as a cartoonist in 1947, the bulk of his career was spent in editorial positions, becoming Managing Editor in 1962 and taking an Associate Editor position closer to his retirement in 1982. He spearheaded the computer's move to a computer-oriented newsroom starting in 1974.
Bell contributed cartoons to the
Leader-Post before being hired; in fact, the cartoon submissions put his previous position in danger and taking a job with the newspaper seemed a natural move. Although he placed well in at least one national cartoonist contest early while at the paper, Bell was much better known to local art curators and collectors for his landscape paintings.
He was preceded in death by a wife, Marjorie, and is survived by a pair of nieces.