The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cartoonist Locher worked on ‘Dick Tracy’ comic strip
Chicago Times editorial artist also won Pulitzer Prize.
CHICAGO — A longtime editorial cartoonist for the Chicago Tribune who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1983, Richard E. “Dick” Locher also worked on the popular comic strip “Dick Tracy” for more than three decades, both writing and drawing the adventures of the square-jawed private detective.
Locher, 88, died of complications from Parkinson’s disease Sunday at Edward Hospital in Naperville, said his son, Stephen. He had lived in Naperville for more than 45 years.
“Dick was one of the best cartoonists in the nation,” said Tribune editor and publisher Bruce Dold. “He was also one of the nicest people who ever walked through the Tribune newsroom. I most admired the richness of detail in his drawings. His work was funny and incisive and his message often carried a hard pop, but his artwork was always incredibly elegant.”
Born and raised in Dubuque, Iowa, Locher graduated from Loras Academy in Dubuque and then studied at Loras College, the University of Iowa and the Art Center of Los Angeles before earning a degree from the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts.
Locher spent two years on active duty as a test pilot in the Air Force, followed by another 18 years in the Air Force Reserve.
While a Chicago Academy of Fine Arts student in 1957, Locher was tapped to do some inking for Chester Gould, the creator of the “Dick Tracy” strip. He went on to work as Gould’s assistant for the next four years.
“He had regimented working requirements,” Locher said of Gould in a 1981 Tribune interview. “Be in at 7:30 every morning, have everything completed by Friday, no excuses.”
Locher left Gould’s employ in 1961 and eventually headed an art studio in Oak Brook called Novamark. In 1973, despite having no experience as an editorial cartoonist, Locher was hired by the Tribune. He remained on staff until his retirement in 2013, producing more than 10,000 drawings on a raft of topics.
“That’s a whole lot of getting mad six times a week,” Locher quipped to the Tribune upon his retirement.
Locher won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning with work that weighed in on President Ronald Reagan — with whom he once dined in the Oval Office, home computers and the Middle East.
“I’m still numb. I’m still waiting for someone to come in and say they made a mistake,” Locher said upon learning he had won. “My first thoughts were that someone was playing a terrible, cruel gag.”
Locher was pulled back into Dick Tracy’s orbit in 1983 after the death of Rick Fletcher, who had taken over when Gould retired in 1977. Locher continued drawing the strip until 2009 and wrote the storyline until 2011.
Over the years, Locher’s longtime hometown of Naperville became closely associated with Dick Tracy. In 1990, the city’s new police station placed large displays of both the cartoon and the movie in its lobby. And in 2010, a nearly 9-foot-tall statue of Tracy was placed on the Riverwalk in Naperville. Locher created an 11-inch model for the sculpture and helped select its location.
He also designed a sculpture of Naperville founder Joseph Naper, which stands at the site of Naper’s homestead.
Locher’s son John was a cartoonist who worked with his father on Dick Tracy until his death in 1986 at age 25. In his honor, Locher created the John Locher Award for college cartoonists.
Locher also designed the Land of Lincoln Trophy, modeled after Abraham Lincoln’s hat, which has been awarded each year since 2009 to the winner of the college football game between Northwestern University and the University of Illinois.
Locher served on the board of trustees for Benedictine University in Lisle and received honorary degrees from Loras College and Benedictine University.
In addition to his son, Locher is survived by his wife of 60 years, Mary; a daughter, a brother; a sister; five grandchildren, and one great-grandson.