Stanley McMurtry

Stanley McMurtry MBE (born 4 May 1936),[1] known by his pen name Mac, is a British cartoonist. McMurtry is best known for his controversial work for the British Daily Mail newspaper, from 1971 to 2018.[2]

Stanley McMurtry
Born (1936-05-04) 4 May 1936
Edinburgh, Scotland
OccupationCartoonist
Spouse(s)Liz

Career

McMurtry was born in Edinburgh on 4 May 1936.[3] His family moved to Birmingham when he was eight years old and he studied at Birmingham College of Art.[3] He undertook National Service with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps from 1954 to 1956.[3]

He adopted the pen name "Mac" while working as a cartoonist for the Daily Sketch in the 1960s. That publication was absorbed by the Daily Mail in 1971, and he worked there for the rest of his career. McMurty was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2004 New Year Honours for "services to the newspaper industry".[4][5]

He appeared as a castaway on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs on 23 March 2008.[6]

Work

McMurtry viewed his role as making "dreary news copy of the daily paper brighter, by putting in a laugh", and claimed that his work was apolitical despite its frequent engagement with issues of race, gender, and sexuality.[7] His practice was to produce three or more drafts each day, on differing topics, from which his editor would choose one to be drawn to finished standard. In most of his daily cartoons, Mac included a small portrait of his wife hidden within the picture.[8]

Controversy

McMurtry's cartoons have frequently drawn condemnation for alleged homophobia, racism, and sexism. In 2001, the British Medical Association received an apology from the Daily Mail for its publication of a McMurtry cartoon which depicted a black, immigrant "witch doctor" jumping on the bed of a shocked, white NHS patient.[9]

In November 2015, Mac was accused of "spectacular racism"[10] for his cartoon featuring caricatures of African tribes people selling shrunken heads, which referred to the news that singer Tom Jones would undergo tests to discover whether he had black ancestry. Later the same month, following the Paris attacks by Jihadists, Mac produced a cartoon depicting refugees with exaggerated noses crossing the EU's borders with rats at their feet. Some journalists suggested the imagery evoked that used by Nazi propagandists, including in their notorious film The Eternal Jew (1940).[11]

Retirement

Mac retired from the Daily Mail in December 2018. His last cartoon, published on 20 December, was autobiographical, depicting Mac physically resisting being forced into the "Sunset Home for Retired Cartoonists". An eight-page supplement commemorating his work had been included in the previous day's edition of the paper.

Mac came out of retirement in December 2020 to work for the Mail on Sunday.

Publications
  • Bryant, Mark; McMurtry, Stanley (2018). 50 years of MAC: a half century of British life. ISBN 978-1472141620.

References
  1. "Mac (Stanley McMurtry) (Born 1936)". Chrisbeetles.com. c. 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  2. Goodley, Simon (25 November 2005). "People". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  3. "Stan McMurtry [Mac]". British Cartoon Archive. University of Kent. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  4. "MBEs: I-M". BBC. 31 December 2003. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
  5. "No. 57155". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2003. p. 20.
  6. "Desert Island Discs - Castaway : Stanley McMurtry". BBC Online. BBC. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  7. "Desert Island Discs - This weeks guest". BBC. 23 March 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  8. Room, Adrian. "Cummings, (Arthur Stuart) Michael". oxforddnb.com. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  9. Butler, Patrick (23 August 2001). "The Guardian". Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  10. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/11/03/daily-mail-mac-cartoon-tom-jones-race-black_n_8460604.html
  11. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/daily-mail-criticised-by-social-media-users-for-cartoon-on-refugees-a6737976.html
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