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Tony D’Adamo – RIP

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D. D. Degg Published: September 17, 2025 Updated: September 17, 2025 1 minute 2 comments

Newsday illustrator Tony D’Adamo has passed away.

From the obituary:

Born with a remarkable artistic talent, Tony dedicated his life to his craft. After graduating from the prestigious School of Visual Arts in New York City, his early career flourished in the vibrant world of comic books, where he illustrated for publications such as Jumbo Comics. Answering the call to duty, Tony served his country with honor as a veteran of the Korean War.

As stated Tony’s career in comic books was cut short by The Korean War.

Upon his return, Tony built an extraordinary and prolific career. For seventeen years, he was a senior illustrator for McGraw Hill’s Educational Developmental and Learning division, where his illustrations brought to life over 200 children’s books and textbooks, shaping the learning of a generation. In 1979, he joined the art department of Newsday, where he worked as a staff illustrator until his retirement in 1995. His art was a familiar and respected presence for millions of readers. A proud member of the Long Island arts community, Tony was a long-standing member of the LI Berndt Toast Illustrators group, a chapter of the National Cartoonists Society, where he found great camaraderie.

From Tony D’Adamo’s Art World:

Upon returning from military service, he freelanced for pulp magazines, some of which included Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Children’s Digest, Field & Stream, and Women’s Day. He also has worked for Random House, Continental Press, American Book Company, Abingdon, Garrard, Gregg, Krames, Messner, Rand McNally, and Watts & Western Publishing.  As part of his freelance work and his seventeen year career as a senior illustrator with Educational Developmental Laboratories, a division of McGraw-Hill, he illustrated over some 200 children’s books and textbooks.  His work has also appeared in film slides and filmstrips for a studio in New York City serving the advertising needs of Coca-Cola, Goodrich Tires, and IBM. From 1979 through 1995, Tony was a staff illustrator for the Art Department of Newsday doing cartoon and illustration work. He was recognized for his artistic achievements when he received the first Publishers Award in Graphic Arts from Newsday.

Since retiring from Newsday in 1995, Tony continues an active freelance career including work for Newsday, AMSCO Publications, Prentice-Hall, Troll Associates, Dover Publications, and many others.

Tony’s interest in the history of Long Island resulted in the creation of his panel cartoons entitled, “Laws Long Ago.”  These cartoons focused on obscure laws and ordinances during the colonial period on Long Island.  Some of these were printed in Newsday and others are featured in the book Long Island, Our Story.

Laws Long Ago ran as a Sunday panel in Newsday from June 26 to August 28, 1994.

Fellow Berndt Toast Gang member Mike Lynch has posted a tribute to Tony.

Tony was always a terrific presence at the monthly Berndt Toast Gang lunches. He was always interested in talking about other artists and what his colleagues were up to. Many times, his wife Carmen accompanied him. I knew his work from Newsday, and I remember what a thrill it was to meet him for the first time way back at one of my first lunches in 2002, connecting that signature with the man. That was when he was “retired,” and still very much in demand.