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The creator of the tremulous pirate saw the Sixties through an improbable cardinal of his own invention
19 December 2020 • 4:10pm
John and Priscilla Ryan in his studio with a papier-mâché model of Captain Pugwash made by schoolchildren
Credit: Christine Boyd
Apart from Captain Pugwash, the most memorable creation of the cartoonist John Ryan was Cardinal Grotti. There were other contenders – Harris Tweed, Extra Special Agent, the bumbling sleuth featured in
The Eagle throughout the Fifties, or the villain in
Sir Prancelot, Count Otto the Blot, based on an employer of Ryan’s.
Cardinal Grotti might embody an unreal stereotype as much as the pirate Pugwash, with his cutlass, striped jersey and skull-and-crossbones hat. But the cartoon churchman also marked a historical divide.