B. Kliban

Bernard "Hap" Kliban (January 1, 1935 – August 12, 1990) was an influential cartoonist born in New York. He studied at the Pratt Institute and spent time painting and traveling in Europe before moving to California, where he lived in the North Beach section of San Francisco with his wife Mary Kathleen and his daughter Kalia. The former was his first wife and a talented artist who later also became a noted cartoonist in her own right as M.K. Brown... more

Bernard "Hap" Kliban (January 1, 1935 – August 12, 1990) was an influential cartoonist born in New York. He studied at the Pratt Institute and spent time painting and traveling in Europe before moving to California, where he lived in the North Beach section of San Francisco with his wife Mary Kathleen and his daughter Kalia. The former was his first wife and a talented artist who later also became a noted cartoonist in her own right as M.K. Brown, and chose many of the cartoons that appeared in his publications. It was while living in North Beach that "Hap" Kliban began to draw cartoons for Playboy magazine. The income from Playboy provided financial security that allowed him to move his family to an old house in the town of Fairfax in Marin County. In 1962, Kliban became a Playboy cartoonist, contributing cartoons until his death. He is best-known for the book Cat, a collection of cartoons about cats drawn in Kliban's distinctive style. The cat cartoons were discovered by a Playboy... less