- Famous caricaturist of Broadway and movie stars since the 1920s.
- On what would have been his 100th birthday - June 21, 2003 - the Martin Beck Theatre on Broadway was renamed the Al Hirschfeld Theater.
- His father, Isaac, was a "house husband," staying home and caring for the children while Hirschfeld's mother, Rebecca, went out and supported the family.
- CBS hired Hirschfeld to draw caricatures of the casts of its entire 1963 Fall schedule. His sketch of Lucille Ball (from "Lucy Show, The" (1962)) was later reproduced by the Museum of Broadcasting for its First Lady of Comedy tribute poster in 1984.
- To be caricatured by Hirschfeld was considered a milestone for an artist, a sign that he or she had made an indelible mark in their chosen field.
- Because he was considered a living civic institution, Hirschfeld was officially designated a landmark in 1996 by the New York Landmarks Conservancy.
- Was heavily critical of early Disney animation for its pervasive realism. Years later, however, Disney would cite his drawings as inspiration in films like "Aladdin" and "Fantasia 2000."
- He had an early but short career with Sam Goldwyn Studios where his first assignments were doing ads.. He moved to Selznick Pictures and by 1921, age 17 he was their art director. His short spell of running his own art studio ended when Selznick went bankrupt. He then moved to Warner Brothers which allowed him to pay his employees off.
- He was among the first artists to turn Laurel and Hardy into easily identifiable cartoon figures and did a portrait of them for an American stamp in 1991.
- Best known for his simple but satirical portraits of celebrities.
- Hirschfeld called French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec a major influence on his work.
- His first theatrical caricature (of Sacha Guitry) was published by the New York Herald Tribune in 1926.
- His widow Louise and her late husband, Leo Kerz, were good friends of Hirschfeld and his late wife, Dolly.
- Since his caricature of Harry Lauder appeared in the 29 January 1928 New York Times, Hirschfeld's work for the paper (an estimated 7,000 pieces) was done on a freelance basis; in 1990, the Times offered him a contract.
- The youngest of three brothers.
- Daughter 'Nina Hirschfeld' was born on 20 October 1945. Finding the "Ninas" in his caricatures became an American ritual. The U.S. Department of Defense used his drawings in an exercise, blowing them up on a giant screen and giving 100 pilots 20 seconds to find the hidden "Ninas."
- In 1991, the United States Postal Service released five stamps it commissioned from Hirschfeld: Laurel & Hardy, Jack Benny, Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy, Abbott & Costello, and Fanny Brice. A new series was issued in 1994: Rudolf Valentino, Clara Bow, Charles Chaplin, John Gilbert, Lon Chaney, the Keystone Cops, Theda Bara, Zasu Pitts, Harold Lloyd, and Buster Keaton. For the first and only time, the USPS allowed the artist's name and hidden writing in both issues ("NINA," of course).
- Co-edited a satirical journal, Americana, with Alexander King in the early 1930s.
- Drew 37 covers for TV Guide.
- In 1975, he received a Special Tony Award "for 50 years of theatrical cartoons."
- He was awarded the U.S. National Medal of Arts in 2002 from the National Endowment for the Arts.
- Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 252-254. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007.
- Hirschfeld drew for the last time on Saturday, January 18th, 2003. It was the beginning of a pencil sketch of all four Marx Brothers. It never got beyond the pencil stage - never inked. Hirschfeld's final drawing was a personal commission for Daniel Kinske an avid fan of both the Marx Brothers and Al Hirschfeld (cited in the New York Post, 21 January 2003.).
- As a teen he lived in New York City where he studied art.
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