Zarasai boy makes good: Al Jaffee and his Mad Life

Al Jaffee had an itinerant childhood: born in 1921, in Savannah GA, he was shlepped by his heymsick mother (a Gordon) back to Zarasai town in 1927 for a year, and then again in 1929 when they were four years in Zarasai and Slabodka. He eventually became a comic book artist - and winner of the major prizes in the field. He is best known for his fold-ins and other long running features in Mad Magazine.

A biography, Mad Life, has just been published written by Mary-Lou Weisman and illustrated by Al Jaffee - available from Amazon and all good book shops. There is an interesting piece in the New York Times. Al illustrates and recalls life in Zarasai in the interwar period from a unique perspective - as an American kid experiencing shtetl life.

For those of you in the NY area Al Jaffee is appearing at the NY Comic Con October 8-10 and there is a show of his illustrations for the book and other work at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in SoHo from 5 October to 30 January.

Ms Weisman is talking about the book at Fairfield Connecticut Public Library on 13 October and at the Strand Bookstore on 19 October.

LitvakSIG gets a name check - our All Lithuania Database and Zarasai District records were helpful in documenting the family history. Al and Mary-Lou made generous donations to our research funds.