A number of news sources reported over the weekend on the passing of Humphrey Lyttleton at the age of 86, known almost universally as Humph. A lifelong jazz player, respected and influential on the British scene, Humph dabbled in many other areas, including cartooning. He met his friend and fellow jazz musician Wally Fawkes in the 1940s on the circuit; Fawkes was also a well-known cartoonist, working under the name Trog, creating cartoons for the Daily Mail, often small inserts to go between columns and stories. When he was promoted to doing a full strip Humph inherited Trog’s previous role, later going on to writing the storyline for Trog’s strip Flook (later fellow colourful jazz muso George Melly would also write for it).
(one of Troog’s Flook cartoons, borrowed from the Lambiek entry)
However despite many artistic endeavours, most notably his music and cartooning Humph is probably best known to millions as the wittily sarcastic host of the long-running ‘antidote to panel games’, BBC radio’s I’m Sorry I Haven’t Got a Clue, a show I have to say I consider essential listening (and which often includes as a guest comedian and writer Barry Took, who also had a stint writing Flook for Trog). The Independent has a very good obituary with a lot more detail here.
Mon, Apr 28, 2008
Comics and cartoons