Norman Mingo
Encyclopedia
Norman Theodore Mingo was a commercial artist and illustrator. He is most famous for being commissioned to formalize the image of Alfred E. Neuman
for Mad
.
A prolific magazine illustrator in the Norman Rockwell
vein, Mingo resided in the Chicago
area for numerous decades before latterly retiring to Tarrytown, New York
. In his pre-Mad years, he worked as an illustrator for various advertising
agencies and magazines, including American Weekly, Ladies' Home Journal
and Pictorial Review. He provided a bikinied pin-up girl for a 1946 Mennen
Skin Bracer
advert, signed with his distinctive Mingo script. In addition to pin-up art, he also illustrated for paperbacks (Pocket Books
) and paper dolls (Deanna Durbin
).
In 1956 Mingo answered a New York Times ad for an illustrator, and was selected by Mad publisher William M. Gaines and editor Al Feldstein
to create a warmer, more polished version of a public domain character the magazine had been using. Previously, the magazine had printed a rougher image and redrawings of the character, which were randomly dubbed "Melvin F. Coznowski" or "Mel Haney" in addition to "Alfred E. Neuman." The pollyannic simpleton had appeared in many guises and variations since the 19th century, including in dental advertisements that assured the public of minimal tooth-pulling pain. Permanently named Alfred E. Neuman, the character became Mad magazine's mascot with issue #30. In November 2008, Mingo's original cover featuring the first "official" portrait of Neuman sold at auction for $203,150.
Norman Mingo crafted several Mad covers in 1956-7 before leaving the magazine. He returned to Mad in 1962 and painted most of its front covers until 1976. His last Mad cover appeared on issue #211 (December 1979). Fellow cover artists Jack Rickard
and Bob Jones have remarked that Mingo was the only one who could paint the Neuman character perfectly 'on model' every time.
A born again Christian
, Mingo began signing his covers (executed in watercolours) with the ichthys
beneath his name in 1975, beginning with Mad #174.
Although Mingo has been named as the artist who created the definitive Neuman face, he created a dramatic variation in 1979—after the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island. With an exaggerated version of the meltdown
in the background, on the cooling towers, Alfred abandons his trademark grin and says, "Yes...me worry!"
Semi-retired when he took his first Mad magazine cover assignment, Norman Mingo was the only veteran of the First World War ever to write or draw for Mad.
Alfred E. Neuman
Alfred E. Neuman is the fictional mascot and cover boy of Mad magazine. The face had drifted through American pictography for decades before being claimed and named by Mad editor Harvey Kurtzman...
for Mad
Mad (magazine)
Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
.
A prolific magazine illustrator in the Norman Rockwell
Norman Rockwell
Norman Percevel Rockwell was a 20th-century American painter and illustrator. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of American culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios he created for The Saturday Evening...
vein, Mingo resided in the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
area for numerous decades before latterly retiring to Tarrytown, New York
Tarrytown, New York
Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, about north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line...
. In his pre-Mad years, he worked as an illustrator for various advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
agencies and magazines, including American Weekly, Ladies' Home Journal
Ladies' Home Journal
Ladies' Home Journal is an American magazine which first appeared on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States...
and Pictorial Review. He provided a bikinied pin-up girl for a 1946 Mennen
Mennen
Mennen is a brand owned in most parts of the world by the Colgate-Palmolive Company. Its most notable product, Mennen Speed Stick, with its fougère perfume and green wide stick, was the market leader among deodorants and antiperspirants for men for many years...
Skin Bracer
Skin Bracer
Skin Bracer is an aftershave lotion created by Mennen and manufactured by Colgate-Palmolive....
advert, signed with his distinctive Mingo script. In addition to pin-up art, he also illustrated for paperbacks (Pocket Books
Pocket Books
Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.- History :Pocket produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in America in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing industry...
) and paper dolls (Deanna Durbin
Deanna Durbin
Deanna Durbin is a Canadian-born, Southern California-raised retired singer and actress, who appeared in a number of musical films in the 1930s and 1940s singing standards as well as operatic arias....
).
In 1956 Mingo answered a New York Times ad for an illustrator, and was selected by Mad publisher William M. Gaines and editor Al Feldstein
Al Feldstein
Albert B. Feldstein is an American writer, editor, and artist, best known for his work at EC Comics and, from 1956 to 1985, as the editor of the satirical magazine Mad. Since retiring from Mad, Feldstein has concentrated on American paintings of Western wildlife...
to create a warmer, more polished version of a public domain character the magazine had been using. Previously, the magazine had printed a rougher image and redrawings of the character, which were randomly dubbed "Melvin F. Coznowski" or "Mel Haney" in addition to "Alfred E. Neuman." The pollyannic simpleton had appeared in many guises and variations since the 19th century, including in dental advertisements that assured the public of minimal tooth-pulling pain. Permanently named Alfred E. Neuman, the character became Mad magazine's mascot with issue #30. In November 2008, Mingo's original cover featuring the first "official" portrait of Neuman sold at auction for $203,150.
Norman Mingo crafted several Mad covers in 1956-7 before leaving the magazine. He returned to Mad in 1962 and painted most of its front covers until 1976. His last Mad cover appeared on issue #211 (December 1979). Fellow cover artists Jack Rickard
Jack Rickard
Jack Rickard , an illustrator for numerous advertising campaigns, was best known as a key contributor to Mad for more than two decades....
and Bob Jones have remarked that Mingo was the only one who could paint the Neuman character perfectly 'on model' every time.
A born again Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, Mingo began signing his covers (executed in watercolours) with the ichthys
Ichthys
Ichthys, from Koine Greek: , is the Greek word for "fish"....
beneath his name in 1975, beginning with Mad #174.
Although Mingo has been named as the artist who created the definitive Neuman face, he created a dramatic variation in 1979—after the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island. With an exaggerated version of the meltdown
Nuclear meltdown
Nuclear meltdown is an informal term for a severe nuclear reactor accident that results in core damage from overheating. The term is not officially defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency or by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission...
in the background, on the cooling towers, Alfred abandons his trademark grin and says, "Yes...me worry!"
Semi-retired when he took his first Mad magazine cover assignment, Norman Mingo was the only veteran of the First World War ever to write or draw for Mad.