George Gladir

George Gladir, Cartoonist and Comic Book Writer, Dies George Gladir brought Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge, Archie Andrews and Jughead Jones, and all the folks in the mythic comic book town of Riverdale to life for three generations of comic book readers. He was also the creator of the character Sabrina the Teenage Witch, a savvy girl who could handle the issues of puberty and adolescence with the wave of her magic wand. Sabrina's lively confidence showed a generation of young girls that the troubles surrounding growing up could be managed, and could even be fun. In fact, Sabrina helped her readers to understand that they—young girls—could be capable of changing the world for the better. Gladir gained much of his inspiration and insight about adolescent girls through watching his only daughter, Nina Gladir-Anderson, grow up. George Gladir died on April 3, after a three-week illness. He had recently celebrated his 87th birthday, an occasion he marked by sending illustrated cards showing a cartoonist tearing his hair out. In fact, he had an enviable head of thick hair. Until several weeks ago, Gladir was still hard at work, still writing for Archie, where he began in 1959, as well as writing The Three Stooges comics. A legend in the comic book industry, Gladir was always an immensely popular draw at Comic-Con, where, his son-in-law, John Anderson, remembers, "he could cut through the throngs on the floor like a ninja." Gladir got his start in the early Fifties, writing gags, or one-panel cartoons. Eventually, the gags evolved into longer stories, and he was on his way to comic book fame. Over the years, he was also a Contributing Writer at Mad magazine, and eventually became head writer for Cracked, where he wrote more than 2,000 pages. More recently, he collaborated with artist Stan Goldberg on a one-shot comic book set in Japan, and called Cindy and Her Obasan. At the 2007 Comic Con, Gladir received the Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing. He grew up in New York City, the child of Russian immigrants, and was able to secure an early acceptance to the tough-to-get-into Stuyvesant High School. He served in World War II as an enlisted man in the 94th Division, participating in one of the later waves of the Normandy invasion. He was captured by a German unit in St. Malo, France, and was held as a prisoner of war. After the war, he returned to New York City, where he studied art at the School of Visual Arts, and met fellow cartooning enthusiasts, who remained his friends throughout his life. Following his graduation, he re-enlisted in the Army and was stationed in Germany, as an intelligence officer, during the Korean War. Until several weeks ago, Gladir was swimming daily, as well as maintaining a regular walking regimen. He continued to be full of optimism, as he had been throughout his writing career. "As a father, he taught me how to read, how to cook, and how to value the importance of family," recalls his daughter, Nina Gladir-Anderson. "He and my mother were just months away from celebrating their 50th anniversary, and Dad was full of plans. He wanted to get back to Normandy and Germany, to revisit the places he knew in the war," she said. His wife, Mary Gladir, recalls a recent conversation that he had with long-time friend Morty Fleischman, an executive at NBC Entertainment. "They were sharing jokes, just like they did 50 years ago. They looked like a couple of 12- or 13-year-old boys, full of life's freshness and optimism. "Perhaps that was George's greatest gift. He was always full of optimism. He gave people hope," she said. A Graveside Service will be held at Mission San Luis Rey, Oceanside, California, on Tuesday, April 9, at 1:30 p.m.