Paul Conrad

Paul Conrad, along with his identical twin James, was born in Cedar Rapids in 1924, son of a railroad worker and amateur artist. After serving with the US Army Corps of Engineers in the Pacific theatre during World War II Conrad attended the University of Iowa where he majored in art and drew cartoons for the college paper the Daily Iowan. After graduating with a B.A. in Art in 1950, Conrad joined the staff of the Denver Post where he worked for 14 years before decamping for Los Angeles where he joined the staff of the Los Angeles Times where he was the chief editorial cartoonist from 1964 to 1993. During his tenure as a political cartoonist, Conrad won three Pulitzer Prizes (1964, 1971 and 1984). His work angered every President from Truman to George W. Bush. One of the highlights of career was appearing on the infamous Nixon's Enemies List where he kept company with the likes of Paul Newman and CBS's Daniel Schorr. Upon Nixon's resignation, Conrad drew a cartoon that depicted Nixon's helicopter leaving the White House. The caption read "One flew over the cuckoo's nest." Conrad married Kay King, the former society writer for the Denver Post. They had 4 children, two sons and two daughters. Paul Conrad was the author of six books which include: "When In The Course Of Human Events With Malcolm Boyd" (1973), "The King And Us" (1974), "Pro And Conrad" (1979), "Drawn And Quartered" (1985), "CONartist" (1993), and "Drawing The Line" (1999). In addition to his three Pulitzers, his other honors include seven Distinguished Service Awards for Editorial Cartooning from the Society of Professional Journalists/Sigma Delta Chi [SDX] (1963, 1968, 1970, 1980, 1981, 1986 and 1987); two Overseas Press Club awards (1970 and 1981); four Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards for Editorial Cartooning (1985, 1990, 1992 and 1993); the University of Southern California Journalism Award (1972); the Los Angeles Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, Print Journalist of the Year Award (1992); and the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award for Print Journalism (1990). Conrad in his later years was acclaimed for his limited-edition bronze sculptures of political leaders ranging for Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.