Jon Kennedy (1918- ) is an American editorial cartoonist who worked at the Arkansas Democrat for over 40 years.
Born in Springfield, Missouri on August 19, 1918, Kennedy started his career as a staff artist at the Springfield (Mo.) Leader-Press while still in high school. After several years in the art department there (1935-1941), Kennedy moved on to become editorial cartoonist in August 1941 for the Arkansas Democrat in Little Rock. In 1943, Kennedy enlisted in the Army and was discharged in April 1946. While in the military, Kennedy cartooned, drew training materials, and painted.
Kennedy considered working in comic strips through the Newspaper Enterprise Association and also at the Chicago Sun Times . But he returned to his position at the Democrat in 1946 where he would remain until his semi-retirement. On September 16, 1988 his final cartoon appeared. Kennedy returned to cartooning in 1992 for Arkansas Business, eventually retiring because of vision problems in 2005.
In addition to his newspaper work, Kennedy also maintained a graphic arts and poster business (1963-1992), where he distributed his "Dropout Blues" posters to schools and libraries nationally in an effort to reduce school dropout rates. Hoping to avoid bias, Kennedy sought to keep his commercial work separate from his editorial cartoons by working from a studio not connected with the Arkansas Democrat .
Jon Kennedy joined the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists 1957 as a charter member and published a book of cartoons "Look Back and Laugh" in 1978. He was recognized as "Arkansas Journalist of the Year" in 1988 and in 2006 he was interviewed for the Arkansas Democrat Project, sponsored by the Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History at the University of Arkansas.
From the guide to the Jon Kennedy Cartoons., 1968-1969., (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)
