Private Eye cartoonist Tony Husband has died aged 73, his son has said.
Husband died of a heart attack on Wednesday as he travelled across Westminster Bridge to a Private Eye leaving party on a boat on the Thames.
His son, Paul Husband, said on Thursday: “It’s somewhat ironic that he somehow managed to survive 30 years of Private Eye parties but the one he didn’t make…”
Tony Husband’s final cartoon, sent to fellow cartoonist Nick Newman while he was en route to the party, depicted himself stood at Westminster Pier waving to the party boat as it sailed away.
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It is with a torn apart heart that I must announce the passing of my Dad. The beautiful @tonyhusband1 pic.twitter.com/TvnItOCSkL
— Paul Husband (@PaulHusband_) October 19, 2023
Private Eye writer Tom Jamieson responded under Paul Husband’s announcement that his father “was of course mentioned in Ian [Hislop]’s speech on the boat and got a huge cheer.
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“Such tragic news. A fabulously funny cartoonist.”
Private Eye described Husband as a “prolific, funny and inventive contributor” since 1985.
Cartooning since 1984, Husband’s work has also appeared in The Times, Punch, Playboy, The Sunday Express and The Sun. He was the author of the regular strip Yobs in Private Eye and created the satirical children’s comedy programme Round the Bend, which ran between 1988 and 1991.
Husband told ITV News in February 2023 that he had had a cartoon in every issue of Private Eye for the preceding 38 years, adding: “The way it is today, life is like a cartoon. You get cartoon characters like Boris Johnson, who’s like something Spitting Image created. But definitely, [cartoons] are needed these days.”
Also on Thursday, the same day that Husband’s death was announced, Private Eye appointed finance director Geoff Elwell to the role of managing director. The company said Elwell had been “a key part of the successful management team”.
Elwell has been with the business for more than 20 years and succeeds Sheila Molnar, who will remain a director at Private Eye.
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