Nationality American Notable works The Flash | Name Harry Lampert Role Writer | |
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Born November 3, 1916
New York City, New York ( 1916-11-03 ) Area(s) Penciller, Inker, Adman, Bridge teacher and writer Died November 13, 2004, Boca Raton, Florida, United States | ||
The Flash
Harry Lampert (November 3, 1916 – November 13, 2004) was an American cartoonist and bridge teacher and writer.
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Born in New York City, Lampert began cartooning when he was sixteen years old, and worked for the legendary Max Fleischer, inking and helping produce Betty Boop, Popeye, and Koko the Clown cartoons. While stationed at Drew Field in Tampa, FL, he created Droopy the Drew Field Mosquito which ran in the Drew Field Echoes from 1942-1944. He began drawing comic books and he is best known in that field for being the artistic co-creator of the DC Comics superhero The Flash. Created in collaboration with writer Gardner Fox, the hero first appeared in Flash Comics #1 in 1940, but Lampert left "The Flash" after drawing only five stories, gravitating towards his preference for humorous work. (After he discovered his fame in the comics world 50 years later, Lampert observed that he didn't own any " 'original' originals", not even a Flash comic book. "It was too expensive.") He also drew the comic book characters "The King", "Red, White and Blue" and "The Atom". Lampert later went on to draw gag cartoons for TIME, The New York Times, Esquire, and The Saturday Evening Post. He was also an instructor for the New York City School of Visual Arts and founded the Lampert Agency, an advertising company which produced award-winning ads for clients such as Olympic Airways, Seagram, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
After his retirement in 1976, Lampert went on to write many instructional books on contract bridge. A Life Master and bridge teacher licensed by the American Contract Bridge League, Lampert spent years giving classes and working the cruise ship circuit teaching bridge to players. In the mid-1990s, Lampert became active in the comic book convention circuit, selling new sketches and autographs and speaking about his famous comic book creation.
Lampert died on November 13, 2004 in Boca Raton, Florida of complications from prostate cancer; he was survived by wife Adele Lampert, daughter Karen Akavan and two grandsons.