November 11, 2011
Terry Willers, 1934/35-2011
Terry Willers, the widely-published Irish cartoonist perhaps best known for his frequent, award-winning appearances cartooning on television,
died at his home in the village of Rathdrum in eastern Ireland. He was 76 years old.
Willers was born in England, and as a teenager became an intern with one of the studios doing work for Disney animation. His first high-profile work came with the Toonder Studios in the 1960s. His 1960s comics work included
Panda,
Tom Poes (where in 1963 he succeeded Dick Matena, staying on until 1965),
Kappie, one more stint on
Tom Poes and at least one story for
Donald Duck.
Willers eventually moved to Rathdrum where he lived for more than 40 years. He became a widely-published cartoonist in various Irish news publications, including the
Sunday Independent and
Evening Herald. He was a well-known presence on television shows in the 1970s and 1980s, including RTE's Hall's Pictorial Weekly and The Mike Murphy Show, where he charmed viewers with his drawings and provided many younger cartoonists with a face to place on that career. He won a Jacob's Award -- an Irish television award program established in the 1960s -- for those appearances. He illustrated several books, including
Twelve Days Of Chaos (1997) and
Stop Howling At The Moon (2007).
Willers also organized his adopted hometown's Guinness International Cartoon Festival for several years, starting in 1992.
A collection of his 1990s strips for the
Evening Herald are held at the National Library Of Ireland.
Willers is survived by a wife, and daughter and a son. He will be buried in Rathdrum this weekend.
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