Private Eye cartoonist Barry Fantoni dies aged 85

Leader Live

21-05-2025

The artist, who was also a jazz musician, designer, author and broadcaster, died on Tuesday at his home in Turin, Italy, from a heart attack.
Private Eye editor Ian Hislop said: 'Barry was a brilliant multi-talented writer, artist and musician.
'He was an integral part of Private Eye's comic writing team from the early days in the sixties and I hugely enjoyed collaborating with him when I joined the magazine later on.
'He created formats and characters and jokes that are still running and he was for a long time the voice of the great poet and obituarist E J Thribb. So Farewell then Barry.'
Fantoni was a long-term stalwart of the Private Eye editorial team from 1963 and created some of its most famous characters, most notably fictitious obituary poet-in-residence, E J Thribb.
Best known for his work with the satirical magazine, Fantoni was also a diary cartoonist for news publication the Times and produced caricatures for listings magazine Radio Times from the mid 1960s.
Entertainer Sir Bruce Forsyth, former prime minister Harold Wilson, DJ Tony Blackburn and comedian Sir Ken Dodd were among the stars he turned into caricatures.
Born on February 28 1940, he studied at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts from the age of 14 after accepting the Wedgewood Scholarship for the Arts.
Following expulsion he moved to the prestigious Slade School of Fine Art and became a figure in the 1960s pop art movement.
In the early half of the decade he wrote scripts for the BBC's satirical show, That Was the Week That Was, before presenting the corporation's fashion and music programme, A Whole Scene Going, which reflected on the tastes and times of Britain's under 21s and included big names like The Who, Sandie Shaw and Twiggy.
He also had stints as the Times' art critic and was a record reviewer for Punch magazine in the 1970s.
In 2010 he announced his retirement from Private Eye after 47 years.
Speaking to the Independent about his departure, he said: 'It was just time to leave. I'd done it. The establishment isn't even worth puncturing any more.'
In 2011 the cartoonist, who was also the author of several detective books, had his archive of 3,500 original Times cartoons auctioned at Bonhams for £4,200.
He leaves behind his partner Katie.