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After a brief period at the Royal College of Art, Gerald Scarfe established himself as a satirical cartoonist, working for Punch magazine and Private Eye, during the early 1960s. In 1967 he began a long association with the Sunday Times as their political cartoonist. Gerald has designed the sets and costumes for many plays, operas and musicals, including Orpheus in the Underworld; the English National Opera at the London Coliseum, and the English National Ballet’s the Nutcracker. His film work includes Walt Disney’s Hercules, and the design and direction of the animation sequences for the film of Pink Floyd’s The Wall. He has received Honorary Degrees from the University of Dundee and University of Kent, is an Honorary Professor of the University of Dundee; and an Honorary Fellow of the London Institute. Gerald was made a CBE in the 2008 Queen’s Birthday Honours.
In this early RDInsights Archive recording from 2006, Gerald Scarfe RDI, one of the world's best-known political cartoonists, is in conversation with Mike Dempsey RDI. He discusses his early years and his long and highly successful career, using his recognisable ink-slashing pen style that pulled no punches when depicting public figures. After 50 years, he ended his weekly cartoon with The Sunday Times in 2017. In 2019, he published "Long Drawn Out Trip: A Memoir by Gerald Scarfe." At 88, he is still inspiring us. He lives with his wife, the actress Jane Asher.
66 mins
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Private Eye cover: Denning Is Served
1963
1963
Yes Minister: BBC television series
Circa 1980s
Circa 1980s
Gordon Brown: Dithering Heights, Published in the Sunday Times
2008
2008
Credits from left to right
© Gerald Scarfe
© Gerald Scarfe