George Woodbridge

For the British actor, see George Woodbridge (actor).

George Woodbridge
George Woodbridge
Birth name	George Woodbridge
Born	1930 (1930) Flushing, Queens, New York City, New York
Died	Jan 19, 2004 (2004-01-20) New York City
Nationality	American
Field	Illustration
Training	School of Visual Arts, New York City

George Woodbridge's drawing of a Bacon's Rebellion soldier in 1675

George Woodbridge (1930-January 19, 2004) was an American illustrator known for his exhaustive research and historical accuracy. He is sometimes referred to^[where?] as "America's Dean of Uniform Illustration" because of his expertise in drawing military uniforms.^[1]

Born in Flushing, Queens, Woodbridge studied illustration at Manhattan's School of Visual Arts.^[2] In later years, he lived on Staten Island, where he created his detailed drawings of military uniforms, insignia and equipment.

Military history

He illustrated many military history books, including the Time/Life Civil War history, George Neumann's Collector's Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Revolution and Frederick P. Todd's three-volume American Military Equipage, 1851-1872: A Description by Word and Picture of What the American Soldier, Sailor and Marine of These Years Wore and Carried. He was named a fellow of the Company of Military Historians in 1961.^[3]

Mad

In March 1957, Woodbridge began as a freelancer to Mad when Al Feldstein was the editor. Woodbridge remained with Mad for five decades.

Pages from the Mad Style Guide (1994) show Woodbridge's drawings of the Mad Zeppelin.

Woodbridge also illustrated Mad books, such as Dick DeBartolo's A Mad Guide to Leisure Time and Mad's Cradle to Grave Primer (Warner Books, 1973), written by Larry Siegel and edited by Nick Meglin. When Bhob Stewart edited the Mad Style Guide in 1994, he gave Woodbridge the assignment of drawing the Mad Zeppelin from three different angles as a detailed guide for any company that might one day market a miniature model of the airship.^{[citation needed]}

Woodbridge died of emphysema at age 73, on January 19, 2004, in a Staten Island hospital. He was survived by his second wife, Deborah, and by his first wife Ines and their sons, George, Curtis (also a professional illustrator), and Christopher Woodbridge.^[2]

George Woodbridge self portrait

References

External links

• Complete list of Woodbridge's MAD work
• Mark Evanier on George Woodbridge
• 43-man Squamish at madcoversite.com
• Frank Meyer on George Woodbridge animation
• Curtis Woodbridge

sv:George Woodbridge