William Hamilton (cartoonist)
Encyclopedia
William Hamilton is an American cartoonist and playwright. He is most closely associated with the magazine The New Yorker
.
. While he came from a moneyed family, his father was an unemployed, free-spending eccentric amateur inventor. The house, inherited from an uncle, was much as it was in 1901, and Hamilton tells of ancient pencils that shattered upon use. Hamilton's interest in cartooning was sparked by stacks of European magazines found in the house.
Hamilton attended Phillips Academy
, where the relatively poor Hamilton studied alongside the children of the wealthy. He said that the experience of being "out of place" was "an ideal experience for going into the arts" and "the process of being an alien gives you the distance to be an artist." He went on to graduate from Yale University
in 1962 with a degree in English and was a member of Skull and Bones
.
While serving in the US Army (1963–5) he sold his first cartoon to The New Yorker
in 1965. In the World Encyclopedia of Cartoons, Richard Calhoun describes Hamilton's work:
In 1969, Hamilton married Candida Vargas, granddaughter of Getúlio Dornelles Vargas, dictator of Brazil
. They separated in 1976. The disintegration of his marriage prompted his turn to playwriting, and his first play, Save Grand Central was "about the middle of the end of a marriage." Hamilton's plays document the same world as his cartoons, and sometimes recycle lines from his cartoons. His play White Chocolate has been described as "a farce about race and class in the upper echelons of New York society."
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
.
Biography
Hamilton grew up on the family estate Ethelwild in St. Helena, CaliforniaSt. Helena, California
St. Helena is a city in Napa County, California, United States. It is part of the northern San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 5,814 at the 2010 census....
. While he came from a moneyed family, his father was an unemployed, free-spending eccentric amateur inventor. The house, inherited from an uncle, was much as it was in 1901, and Hamilton tells of ancient pencils that shattered upon use. Hamilton's interest in cartooning was sparked by stacks of European magazines found in the house.
Hamilton attended Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
, where the relatively poor Hamilton studied alongside the children of the wealthy. He said that the experience of being "out of place" was "an ideal experience for going into the arts" and "the process of being an alien gives you the distance to be an artist." He went on to graduate from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1962 with a degree in English and was a member of Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
.
While serving in the US Army (1963–5) he sold his first cartoon to The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
in 1965. In the World Encyclopedia of Cartoons, Richard Calhoun describes Hamilton's work:
In 1969, Hamilton married Candida Vargas, granddaughter of Getúlio Dornelles Vargas, dictator of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. They separated in 1976. The disintegration of his marriage prompted his turn to playwriting, and his first play, Save Grand Central was "about the middle of the end of a marriage." Hamilton's plays document the same world as his cartoons, and sometimes recycle lines from his cartoons. His play White Chocolate has been described as "a farce about race and class in the upper echelons of New York society."
Cartoons
- The Antisocial Register, Chronicle Books, 1974.
- Terribly Nice People, Putnam, 1975.
- Husbands, Wives and Live-Togethers, Putnam, 1976.
- Introducing William Hamilton, Wildwood (London), 1977.
- Money Should Be Fun, Houghton, 1979.
- The Men Will Fear You, and the Women Will Adore You, St. Martin's Press, 1986.
- Voodoo Economics, Chronicle Books, 1992.
Novels
- The Love of Rich Women, Houghton, 1980.
- The Charlatan, Simon and Schuster, 1985.
- The Lap of Luxury, Atlantic Monthly Press, 1988.