Oliver 'Ollie' Harrington, pioneering black cartoonist, dies at 84 in Berlin

Jet, Nov 27, 1995

Pioneering Black cartoonist, Oliver "Ollie" Harrington, best known for the 1930s comic character Bootsie, recently died at his home in Berlin. He was 84.

Harrington began his career as a cartoonist during a time when few Blacks were entering the profession. His interest in cartooning began as a young boy in school when he drew caricatures of a teacher he considered a bigot.

A graduate of Yale University, Harrington continued his studies at the National Academy of Design.

Bootsie, the cartoon Harrington became best known for, was created in 1936. A cartoon of a Black man he described in a 1964 book as "a jolly, rather well-fed but soulful character," Bootsie was developed when Harrington was hired as a temporary cartoonist at The Amsterdam News in New York City.

The cartoon appeared in The Pittsburgh Courier and many other newspapers.

His criticism of what he called nationwide apathy about legislation against lynching came under questioning from the FBI during the McCarthy era. Eventually, Harrington left the United States and lived for some years in Paris where he was part of a group of Black American expatriates which included authors Richard Wright and Chester Himes. During his years abroad, he wrote articles for American periodicals.

In 1961, Harrington moved to what was formerly East Berlin, where he lived until his death.

The late internationally acclaimed writer-poet Langston Hughes, a friend of Harrington's, once described him as America's most popular Black cartoonist and a first-rate social satirist.

Harrington is survived by his wife, the former Helga Richter, a son, Oliver W. Jr. of Berlin, and a sister, Earthaline Williamson of Bronx, NY.