Tom Wilson Sr., creator of comic page icon Ziggy, died Sept. 16 after a long illness.
He was 80 years old.
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Ziggy which celebrates 40 years in syndication this year, continues to be produced by Wilson's son, Tom Wilson Jr., who has handled the day-to-day operation of the panel since 1987.
Tom Wilson was born Aug. 1, 1931. For more than 35 years, he served as a creative director at American Greetings, where he was responsible for the development of many breakthrough card lines.
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Wilson first published Ziggy in the 1969 cartoon collection When You're not Around. The Ziggy comic panel, syndicated by Universal Uclick (formerly Universal Press Syndicate), launched in 15 newspapers in June 1971.
It now appears in more than 500 daily and Sunday newspapers and has been featured in best-selling books, calendars and greeting cards.
Throughout his career, Wilson demonstrated a remarkable ability to anticipate future trends in the marketplace. A veteran of the licensing business, Wilson headed up the creative team that developed such character licensing blockbusters as Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears.
In 1987, Wilson passed the Ziggy torch to his son, Tom Wilson Jr., after the younger Wilson had served as an assistant on the strip for many years.
Tom Wilson is survived by his wife Carol, son Tom Wilson Jr, and daughters Ava and Julie.
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