Editorial cartoonist and columnist Rick Kollinger has passed away.
Richard F. (Rick) Kollinger
December 30, 1949 – May 31, 2021
Rick Kollinger passed away at his home in Easton on Monday, May 31, following a long illness.
Rick was a proud Eastern Shore native and a nationally acclaimed, award-winning political cartoonist and columnist for The Star Democrat for three decades, creating more than 18,000 cartoons.
His wit and talent, sometimes indelicate sense of humor, scathing political satire, brutally honest conservative commentary, honest self-appraisal, and genuine kindness left an indelible impression on his community and beyond.
His first regular column “of political commentary and humor” appeared on March 23, 2004.
In high school, he began practicing his craft as a cartoonist for The Eastonian, Easton High School’s newspaper, and graduated in 1967. He earned an associate’s degree from Chesapeake College in 1970, and a bachelor’s degree from Salisbury State College in 1973.
Throughout his career, Rick’s wide range of styles and perspectives were noticed and rewarded by his peers. He was a member of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists and the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association. He won dozens of awards – many first place — for editorial cartooning, including “Best in Show” for several years. He won the national Fischetti Award for Editorial Cartooning and was twice nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. One of Kollinger’s cartoons made the cover of the 2014 edition of “Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year.”
The Star-Democrat has a gallery of The Best of Rick Kollinger.
