Syd Hoff
by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 5/31/2004
Children's book author and illustrator Syd (Sydney) Hoff died on May 12 at the age of 91. Hoff is best known for his first book, Danny and the Dinosaur (HarperCollins), which has sold more than 10 million copies since its publication in 1958.
Hoff studied fine art at National Academy of Design in New York City and began his career as a cartoonist, selling his first piece to the New Yorker at age 18; he went on to have nearly 600 cartoons published in the magazine. He also had cartoons published in the Saturday Evening Post and Playboy, as well as drawing daily panels of "Tuffy" and "Laugh It Off."
Aside from Danny and the Dinosaur, Hoff wrote and illustrated more than 60 books for children. The anthology Contemporary Authors writes that Hoff could easily be ranked as one of the most prolific author/illustrator/graphic humorists of the 20th century.
