1988 - North Shore News my spotiicht | o aN West Van editorial cartoonist calls it quits after 30 years tens RAMON ONT Puente HIS GRANDSON claims the character Rodney is really his creator's alter-ego, but cartoonist: Len Norris is nothing like the rotund redneck. EVELYN JACOBS feature writer “Rodney is my most useful character, | have fun with him. My grandson thinks I’m Rodney,’’ chuckles the soft-spoken Norris, as he sits in his comfortable West Vancouver home. Norris has been making British Columbians smile and think daily, with his humorous cartoons that have graced the editorial pages of the Vancouver Sun newspaper for over 30 years. His thin-lined drawings have become famous for depicting the daily foibles of government waste, unemployment, taxation and their effects on people. . Now at 75, the bright-eyed, grandfatherly Norris has only a handful more cartoons to create before he retires next month. “ll be doing another 18 car- toons and then I’m going to quit. I'm getting old and the deadlines are always there. I’d like to get off the hook,” a tired Norris explains. Canadian writer Pierre Berton has credited Norris ‘‘with single-handedly changing news- paper cartooning in Canada.” In- * deed, the artist brought his own approach to cartoons shortly after he began his career in the early 1950s. His well-known Phelps family, a disheveiled-looking mother, a fed up father and a chitd, which has often appeared in his cartcons, has come to symbolize absurd gov- ernment policies and their trying effects on the average Canadian citizen. A social commentator rather than a political pundit, Norris says he is more interested in showing the “effect’’ of such policies on people rather than their ‘‘cause.”’ “My whole approach is less direct, 1 take a more whimsical at- titude. I’m an interpreter of what | see and hear,” he says. It was this subtle approach that kept Norris in cartooning, after coming close to quitting. He was convinced political cartooning wasn’t his forte, believing he wasn’t skilled at portraying politics through symbols. But he stuck with it and soon got going on the idea of showing the effects of politics through the Phelps family and other charac- ters, Unlike his fellow cartoonist Ray Peterson, known for his ruthless portrayal of politicians, Norris is NEWS photo Mike Wakeflotd WEST VANCOUVER editorial cartoonist Len Norris puts the finishing touches on one of his latest draw- ings. anything but nasty. “Some of my pictures protest. None, | hope, preach,” he wrate in an introduction to his most re- cent collection of cartoons. Certainly, Norris’s work is without malice. He sees his role simply as someone who fills up a space on a page with a quick comment — hopefully drawing the reader to the editorial column. He is not out to change the world or influence how people think, he claims. Now as he nears retirement, Norris says if he could do it over, he wouldnt change his approach to cartooning. “The new breed of editorial cartoonists don’t think about being the nice guy. They really go after politicians. My approach is dif- ferent, and like ! say, if it ain't broke don’t fix it.’’ Unquestionably, Norris has his own following. He pulls out a folder of awards to show the respect he has earned from his peers. “Here's a National Newspaper Award for Cartooning. | received a Doctor of Laws from the Universi- ty of Windsor ...oh yes, | was elected to the News Hall of Fame.” The Public Archives in Ottawa has recently purchased over 700 of his original drawings. Since 1950 Norris has occupied an office in the Pacific Press building where he now works every Monday and Friday, turning out three rough sketches by the 11:30 a.m. deadline. He's his own boss — “car- toonists can’t draw to order,” he says. And though he has churned out an endless number of cartoons — one collection annually for the last 28 years — he still says draw- ing is hard work. “After you've done 20 Christmas Eves you wonder if there's any other ideas left in the in.” But looking back on the vast ar- ray of his drawings should be enough to make even the most Rodney-like curmudgeon smile with appreciation. YOU KNOW It’s where you look that gets results! When you read the North Shore News Classified Section, you get the connections you need to find what you're looking for. Every issue, the North Shore News connects you with buyers and sellers all over the North Shore. People just like you who want to buy a new home or sell a used. car, look . to the North Shore News Classifieds to make their connections with the marketplace. You'll find jobs, education, rental opportunities and more! Ali those connections, right at your fingertips in an organized and easy to read format. 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