Al Hirschfeld Drew the Sitcoms You Love & Now You Can Buy a Piece of History
There’s often talk of the Hirschfeld Century, an 82-year-old era in which famed illustrator Al Hirschfeld both recorded and defined so much of popular culture, especially through his drawings of productions on Broadway and in Hollywood. He was there at the birth of television and captured its first half century. In his art, he recorded more popular music than any MP3, CD, LP or wax cylinder ever did.
Hirschfeld loved to laugh, and his drawings frequently bring smiles to viewer’s faces. He drew his first situation comedy, or sitcom, in 1954 when he captured Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in I Love Lucy. It would be another year before he drew his second, The Honeymooners in 1955.
Everett Collection/TV Guide Magazine
In 1962, CBS asked Hirschfeld to draw their entire new season, and naturally there were many sitcoms to capture, including My Favorite Martian, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Dick Van Dyke Show and Mr. Ed. Later in the decade, his drawings accompanied TV Guide Magazine reviews of the premieres of classic comedies on TV such as That Girl, My Three Sons and Rango with Tim Conway.
And the laughs kept coming for Hirschfeld. He drew Maude, Chico and the Man, Rhoda, All in the Family, Barney Miller, M*A* S* H, Laverne & Shirley, Hogan’s Heroes, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Night Court, Roseanne, Who’s the Boss?, Cheers, The Golden Girls, Frasier, Third Rock From the Sun, The Nanny, Mad About You, Will And Grace and Friends, to name a few.
While he was well known for his 75-year association with The New York Times, it was his TV Guide Magazine masterpieces that added color to his career.
Everett Collection/TV Guide Magazine
Hirschfeld made sitcom history when he drew four different covers of the leads in Seinfeld for TV Guide Magazine when the show reached its finale in 1998. It was the first time TV Guide published an issue with multiple covers, a shrewd move as fans bought all four copies. Hirschfeld had a long partnership with TV Guide Magazine, creating 39 covers for the magazine from The $64,000 Question host Hal March (1956) and Alfred Hitchcock (Nov. 30, 1957) to Sonny and Cher (June 1, 1974), All in the Family (Jan. 6, 1979), Johnny Carson (July 30, 1977), Fantasy Island (March 1, 1980) and more.
The nonprofit Al Hirschfeld Foundation continues to offer hand-signed limited prints of Hirschfeld’s witty artwork on sitcoms to fund its activities. The Foundation’s mission is supporting theaters and museums, and bringing arts education to underserved schools. A purchase of a Hirschfeld print helps bring joy through the arts to students and communities around the world and will liven up your home with fond memories of your favorite shows.
Exclusive offer to get your own Hirschfeld print!
For a limited time, the Hirschfeld Foundation is offering a 10% discount on select orders. Just enter “TV10” to save hundreds of dollars on Hirschfeld’s TV art. You can also shop for wall prints, throw pillows, towels, T-shirts, hoodies, tote bags, exhibition posters, books and more — all would make a perfect holiday or birthday gift.