LANGE, Jim

LANGE, James Jacob. (Winnebago, Minnesota, Aug. 15, 1926--April, 16, 2009). James Jacob Lange was an American cartoonist who worked for The Oklahoman for fifty-eight years and produced over 19,000 cartoons.

Lange grew up in Dubuque where he joined the U.S. Air Force during WORLD WAR II. After military service, he attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. He started work for The Oklahoman on October 1, 1950. The following month’s election saw Johnston Murray and Mike Monroney become Governor and U.S. Senator. Lange’s first published cartoon chided the powerful politicians for balancing on a tightrope rather than taking strong stands.

Lange was well-known for his frequent use of an everyman character called "Mr. Voter" or "John Q. Public," described in an Oklahoman editorial as "bespectacled, mustachioed, fedora-wearing". In 2006 the Oklahoma State Senate voted to make this character the "state's official editorial cartoon."

Lange co-founded the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists and served as its president during the 1980s. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 1993. He won many awards from the Freedoms Foundation, state and national safety groups. He received one of the first AAEC Ink Bottle Awards in 1983 and the Silver Ink Bottle Award from the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. Lange was also a director or officer of several civic and professional organizations ranging from the Oklahoma City Zoological Society to the Oklahoma City Gridiron Foundation. In 1994 Lange's work was collected published by The Oklahoman.

Lange was forced to retire in October 2008 after 150 members of the staff took buyouts, retired early or were laid off.