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When Realtors Become Cartoonists
"Congratulations, Ms. London," I used to joke that the OB/GYN told my mom, "It's a Realtor". My parents owned a very old real estate stable family real estate company and were from a generation where, if and when an offspring arrived, especially a male, they were born to be bred.that is, bred into the family business, or made to be the prodigal son.
“Congratulations, Ms. London,” I used to joke that the OB/GYN told my mom, “It’s a Realtor”. My parents owned a very old real estate stable family real estate company and were from a generation where, if and when an offspring arrived, especially a male, they were born to be bred.that is, bred into the family business, or made to be the prodigal son.
Of course at birth, I was not aware of these southern traditional family values, and, as I became more aware of my environment around me, I was certain I wanted to have something to do with humor as I grew older. How did I know this? The answer was quite simple.
Parental probation was a common theme in my early life, often in trouble, about to get in trouble, or locked in my room with no going out with friends for some wrong-doing (never violent or terrible); just pulling pranks since I learned the meaning and value of such pranks.
The only time I remember my parents smiling and happy around me is when they had friends over on weekends and were playing record albums by such comedy greats as Don Rickles, Tom Lehrer, Jack Benny, and the like. I introduced them to The Smothers Brothers as a teen, thinking I would earn brownie points but again given the pink slip for buying “bad comedy”.
My first shot at comedy was doing stand-up in New York City. Keep in mind this was straight off the farm from Mississippi to the Big Apple. I won’t “even go there” as to how awful I was. It was sort of like Dan Quayle in his memorable v.p. debate, but more like me debating, say, Steve Martin and my comparing myself to Lenny Bruce. Steve to me: “Mr. London, Lenny Bruce was a friend of mine, and you, sir, are no Lenny Bruce.” I think you get the picture.
In the early 1990’s I went on to write humor for advertising, magazines, and anyone who would buy my “craft”. My future strategy was to publish a compilation book of humor stories. Instead I opted on forming a group of artists and creating a cartoon instead. All of us were surprised when Londons Times Cartoons shot to the top of the statistics sites such as Alexa and we were surprisingly happy.
Then, at age 47, after a lengthy illness, I decided to start opening stores, selling products with my cartoon images which now amount to over 8500 in number and our counter shows over 8 million visitors since 2005 (though we started in 1997).
Starting a cartoon is not an easy task, but an interesting and educational one. No matter what branch of humor in which one may find their niche, it is a growth experience and a process. I found out rapidly it is not so much knowing what you are doing when you start, though that doesn’t hurt of course, but being persitent and not giving up in spite of the obstacles, and there will be many, I can assure you. But the obstacles are important in developing one’s creative skills. So take a new attitude toward obstacles and even look forward to them. Believe it or not, I do, and I’m much better at turning them into opportunities.
If art and writing, or humor or some type of creative endeavor is in you, you will know it, as it will be like an appendage, and no matter what you were “born to be”, will not matter. It will have to come out in some way, shape, or form. Educate yourself, hang out with others who have blazed the trail, learn all you can.and just do it, make mistakes, you will, I can assure you. But do it until you are doing it right. And you will do very well. The Internet is where “the people are”.