right Image:GWbacon.jpg '''George Woodbridge''' (1930-January_19, 2004), an American illustrator known for his exhaustive research and historical accuracy, is sometimes referred to as "America's Dean of Uniform Illustration." Born in Flushing, New_York, Woodbridge studied illustration at Manhattan's School of Visual Arts. In later years, he lived on Staten_Island where he created his detailed drawings of military uniforms, insignia and equipment. He illustrated many military history books, including the ''Time/Life Civil War'' history, George Neumann's ''Collector's Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Revolution'' and Frederick P. Todd's three-volume ''American Military Equipage, 1851-1872: A Description by Word and Picture of What the American Soldier, Sailor and Marine of These Years Wore and Carried'' (Company of Military Historians, 1974-78), a definitive depiction of Civil War uniforms. These books are now used by Civil War re-enactors for uniform authenticity. In March, 1957, Woodbridge began as a freelancer to ''Mad'' when Al_Feldstein was the editor. Feldstein observed, "George's strong points were many. He was especially adept at delineating amusing street scenes with crowds and signs and outlandish going-ons, as well as depicting humorous interpretations of just plain people in comedic human situations. The articles he was assigned to illustrate were chosen with those superb talents in mind." Image:Selfwoodbridge.jpg Woodbridge remained with ''Mad'' for five decades. Later ''Mad'' editor John Ficarra noted, "He had a tremendous eye for detail that showed up in his drawings. We especially played to his history knowledge. When we gave him a piece on World War I, he would draw the exact gun and belt buckle they were using then." In ''Mad'' 95 (June, 1965), he drew the sports satire, "43-Man_Squamish." Ficarra commented, "It's arguably our most requested piece to reprint. It struck a chord. Colleges all over formed teams and played this crazy game, with these ridiculous-looking helmets. George captured that lunacy." Sometimes confused with the British actor George Woodbridge (1907-1973), he also illustrated ''Mad'' books, such as Dick_DeBartolo's ''A Mad Guide to Leisure Time'' and ''Mad's Cradle to Grave Primer'' (Warner Books, 1973), written by Larry Siegel and edited by Nick_Meglin. For the ''Mad Style Guide'' (1994), as a guide for possible manufacture of ''Mad'' Zeppelin models, he did detailed drawings of the airship from several angles. Woodbridge was color blind, yet he worked in color, as noted by cartoonist Sergio Aragonés, "He was such a good friend. He knew everything about history and he knew everything about artwork. When I was starting out and they gave me assignments that had to be in color, George was the one who helped me. Even though he was color blind, he did the most remarkable work in color. He was a wonderful man, and I will miss him very much." Another of his friends was the historian Kenneth Holcomb Dunshee (''The Village Blacksmith'', ''American Museum of Firefighting'', ''As You Pass By''). Woodbridge told Mark Evanier (''Mad Art''), "I regard myself as an illustrator of historical subjects. When I'm not working for ''Mad'', that's the field in which I work, though I'm damned proud to be part of ''Mad''. I don't consider one field superior to the other and, in fact, the challenges are altogether different. In historical illustration, the goal is to be accurate. In ''Mad'', the goal is to be funny." He was survived by his wife, Deborah Woodbridge, when he died, age 73, of Emphysema on January_19, 2004, in a Staten Island hospital. Prints and original artwork by Woodbridge can sometimes be found on eBay. ==External links== *Mark Evanier on George Woodbridge *43-man Squamish *Frank Meyer on George Woodbridge animation {{Madcontribs}} Woodbridge, George Woodbridge, George Woodbridge, George Sv:George_Woodbridge