William Steig (November 14, 1907 – October 3, 2003) was a prolific American cartoonist, sculptor and, later in life, an author of popular children's literature. Most noted for the books Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Abel's Island and Doctor De Soto, he also created the character Shrek, who inspired the popular movie series.
Steig was born in 1907 in Brooklyn in New York City to Polish-Jewish immigrants from Austria, both socialists. His father ...
more
William Steig (November 14, 1907 – October 3, 2003) was a prolific American cartoonist, sculptor and, later in life, an author of popular children's literature. Most noted for the books Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Abel's Island and Doctor De Soto, he also created the character Shrek, who inspired the popular movie series.
Steig was born in 1907 in Brooklyn in New York City to Polish-Jewish immigrants from Austria, both socialists. His father was a house painter and his mother was a seamstress who encouraged his artistic leanings. As a child, he dabbled in painting and was an avid reader of literature. Among other works, he was said to have been especially fascinated by Pinocchio. In addition to artistic endeavors, he also did well at athletics, being a member of the collegiate All-American water polo team. He graduated from Townsend Harris High School at 15, but never completed college, though he attended three of them, spending two years at City College of New York, three years...
less
