March 29, 2024

Nick Meglin, 82, a Mad Magazine Mainstay, Is Dead

In addition to his daughter, Mr. Meglin is survived by his partner, Linda Maloof; his son, Christopher; three grandchildren; a sister, Joyce Wessel; and a brother, Albert. His marriage to Lucille Guerriero ended in divorce.

Mad was Mr. Meglin’s only full-time job, but it was not his sole pursuit. He wrote “The Art of Humorous Illustration” (1981) and, with his daughter, “Drawing From Within” (2008). He played tennis passionately (his Mad business card read “Tennis Editor”), and his love of opera had an outlet in the sketches he drew for Opera News.

He also collaborated on two musicals. He wrote the lyrics for “Grumpy Old Men: The Musical,” based on the 1993 film, with music by Neil Berg and a book by Dan Remmes. (It was produced in 2011 at the Royal Manitoba Theater in Winnipeg.) And he wrote the book and lyrics for “Tim and Scrooge,” a musical sequel to Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol,” with music by Mr. Berg. (It was staged in 2015 at the Westchester Broadway Theater in Elmsford, N.Y.)

Mr. Meglin‘s sincere approach to musicals contrasted with his mirthful oversight of parodies at Mad, such as his early collaboration with Mr. Drucker on a spoof of the Broadway musical “My Fair Lady.” In “My Fair Ad-Man,” published in 1960, two Madison Avenue executives (drawn to resemble Cary Grant and Charles Laughton) wager that they can turn a beatnik (who looks like Frank Sinatra) into an ad writer.

While trying to explain why he doesn’t want to write ad copy, the beatnik sings (to the tune of “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly”):

All I want is a pad somewhere

Way downtown near the Village Square

Without a phone or care …

Oh, wouldn’t it be Kerouac?

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/obituaries/nick-meglin-82-a-mad-magazine-mainstay-is-dead.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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