Ted Richard’s family has released a notice of his passing:
The family of Ted Richards wishes to make his friends and associates aware that Ted, the cartoon artist and tech marketing and design innovator passed away peacefully at age 76 on Friday, April 21 after a bout with lung cancer.
Ted Richards was prominent as an underground comix creator in San Francisco in the 1970s for his eclectic characters The Forty Year Old Hippie, Dopin’ Dan, and Mellow Cat. Ted was a member of the Air Pirates, cartoonists who challenged the Disney Corporation over satirical use of characters, reaching the U.S. Supreme Court in a landmark decision on intellectual property rights.In the 1980s Ted made the move to tech in Silicon Valley, soon becoming creative director for Atari Home Computer Division. In 1987, he founded AdWare, providing software products and design services for computer clients, including Apple and Microsoft. Among his innovations was the first “shopping cart” for an e-commerce site. From the 1990s, he became a web site developer, offering enterprise-level development services, consulting, web design and information architecture. In the 2010s he was a principal designer for Deep North, Inc.
Ted is survived by his wife, Markene Kruse Smith, their son, Samuel Ryan Richards, his daughter, Miranda Lee Richards, brothers Ben Richards and Matt Richards, sister Shirley Richards, and former wife Terre Richards.
They have also organized a memorial event for Ted at The Museum of Cartoon Art:
A private memorial for Ted Richards will be held at the California Central Coast Veterans Cemetery in Seaside, CA, followed by an event June 10th at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, CA.
In lieu of flowers, contributions toward Ted’s estate expenses can be made to his GoFundMe page, now administered by his daughter, Miranda.
Tax-deductible donations can be made to Youth Spirit Artworks for arts-related job training for homeless and low-income youth in the Bay Area.
The Ted Richards GoFundMe account has been transformed to help the family with medical and funeral expenses.
By March 2023, Ted’s condition began to rapidly deteriorate after immunotherapy was deemed ineffective for his lung cancer treatment. In April, upon further evaluation by his oncologist, it was determined that he was too weak to accept the next phase of chemotherapy. This, in effect, began his end stage of life — within ten days of being admitted to the Kaiser San Jose Santa Teresa facility, Ted was no longer with us, passing peacefully during his afternoon nap on Friday, April 21st, 2023.
Many generous contributions (approximately $8,000 USD) have already been made during the time he was alive, which have already helped immensely.
As a family, we are hoping to accept final donations that will go toward shoring up his estate.
In lieu of making a donation, if you are interested in purchasing Ted Richards’ original art or comix, please send an email here.