Marlette, Doug, 1949-

Doug Marlette was born in Greensboro, N.C., in 1949. Marlette's father served in World War II and, after the War, as a United States Marine Corps medic. His mother was a homemaker. Marlette has two siblings. In 1980, Marlette married Melinda Hartley; their son Jackson was born in 1986. The Marlettes' home is in Hillsborough, N.C.

During Marlette's childhood, his family followed his father's postings to different Marine Corps stations. From Greensboro, they moved to Durham, N.C. In 1962, the family moved to Laurel, Miss., where Marlette attended Sunday school at Magnolia Street Baptist Church. In 1966, they moved to Sanford, Fla., where Marlette, still in high school, worked as a staff artist for the Sanford Herald, contributing drawings for the sports and editorial pages. From 1968 to 1969, Marlette attended Seminole Community College and began his political cartooning career working for Ralph Dunigan at the Orlando Sentinel-Star . After two years of community college, Marlette transferred to Florida State University in Tallahassee and began working as editorial cartoonist for the Florida Flambeau, the campus newspaper. Marlette then worked for six months as a staff artist and sometimes editorial cartoonist for the St. Petersburg Times in Florida. In 1972, Marlette returned to North Carolina as the editorial cartoonist for the Charlotte Observer .

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