Leo Cullum, who had a rare combination of being a commercial pilot and a cartoonist for The New Yorker, died on Saturday from cancer at his home in Malibu. He was 68.
Cullum was born Jan. 11, 1942 in New Jersey. He received a degree in English from the College of Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. Following graduation, he entered the Marine Corps and served in Vietnam as a pilot on flight missions.
Cullum began drawing cartoons during layovers in his career as a pilot. His first piece appeared in The New Yorker in 1977. Cullum was the magazine’s most-published cartoonist during the 1990s.
Cullum is survived by his wife Kathy, brother Thomas and daughters Kimberly Berry and Kaitlin Cullum.