[Cartoon by Tom Richmond]
Born on June 30th 1935, Meglin progressed from Idea Man up to the role of Editor over the course of his 48 years working for the magazine, holding his penultimate role as Editor for 20 years before retiring in 2004. Since his retirement he had been a Consulting Editor.
In addition to his work at MAD Magazine, he has been involved in writing musical theater, and became a frequent collaborator with Neil Berg. He worked with him on Tim and Scrooge, Grumpy Old Men and was most recently on the forthcoming The Mice Will Play.
Since his death, many have paid tribute to Meglin. Mark Evanier, a writer in the extended family of MAD highlighted his “wicked sense of humor” and how it “permeated” through the magazine. He also describes how Meglin’s influence reached beyond than the page because “he recognized comedic talent in writers… encouraged them and guided them.”
Sam Viviano who worked alongside Meglin at MAD was a product of this guidance. Viviano also noted his humour and described how he would always “throw out joke after joke after joke” in editorial meetings before stating that “he was, really and truly, one of a kind and there will never be another like him.”
Meglin is survived by his wife and co-writer, Diane.
