Raymond Briggs, author of the children’s picture book The Snowman, died on August 9, 2022 at the age of 88. Briggs’ publisher, Penguin Random House, originally revealed the news on August 10. Although best known for his 1978 book The Snowman, he has been a cartoonist, illustrator and graphic novel writer since the early 1950s. Briggs was also the creator of famous picture books such as Fungus the Bogeyman and Father Christmas.
Briggs’ literary agent, Hilary Delamere, broke the terrible news:
“Raymond enjoyed playing the professional snob, but he will be remembered for his stories of love and sorrow. I know how his texts and animations touched people’s hearts because of the many letters he received. He retained his interest and sense of wonder until the very end.”
The life and career of Raymond Briggs as an illustrator.
Raymond Briggs was born in 1934 in London, England. He received his education at the Wimbledon School of Art and the Slade School of Art in London. Briggs worked in advertising in the early stages of his career. However, he became a children’s book artist and illustration instructor at Brighton College of Art.
Briggs first became famous in 1966 with the publication of The Mother Goose Treasury, a collection of nursery rhymes. He also twice received the Kate Greenaway Medal from the United Kingdom Libraries Association, first in 1966 and again in 1973. Raymond Briggs illustrated books by famous writers such as Allan Ahlberg. The artist also illustrated his own picture books, two of which are his most popular children’s books, Santa (1973) and The Snowman (1979). (1978).
Briggs told The Guardian about his reluctance to give the film rights to The Snowman to producer John Coates:
“He would mention it every five minutes, and I would say no because I knew he would commercialize it. That’s what he did. At the same time, done extremely well.”
Raymond Briggs brought so much magic and joy to so many. Rest in peace and thanks for the memories.🧡 pic.twitter.com/6jgIFlh3OG
— Angela Rayner 🌹 (@AngelaRayner) August 10, 2022
In the same interview with The Guardian, Briggs discussed his unhappiness with The Snowman book and movie merging in the popular mind. He mentioned:
“It irritates me that people believe that the picture is responsible for the book’s success. For God’s sake, it’s the other way around! Not that it matters.”
Most of his works have been translated into other languages and turned into popular television cartoons, plays and films. Briggs also participated in the graphic novel Ethel & Ernest (1998), which is a biography of his parents’ lives. In the center of the plot is the meeting of the couple and their 41-year relationship. Fungus the Bogeyman (1977), Unlucky Wally (1987) and The Bear are among other famous works by Raymond Briggs (1994).
For his mature audience, Raymond Briggs released When the Wind Blows (1982), said to be a parody of nuclear war. The Tin Pot Foreign General and The Old Iron Woman are successful adaptations of the novel (1984). Briggs’ latest picture book, Lights Out Time, was published in 2019 and also deals with the physical indignities that come with aging. Raymond Briggs spoke about the process of completing the book:
“I’d like to finish some of the scribbled sketches. You start sketching it, then you leave it, but you never finish it. When you’re old, everything takes a long time. I just spent 30 minutes getting dressed. Stupid!”
Categories: Entertaintment
Source: HIS Education