Louisiana Voice

Fred Mulhearn is a long-time dear friend of mine and while our lives have differed career-wise, they somehow managed to take a parallel path geographically.

Fred grew up in Winnsboro but moved to Ruston. I grew up and lived in Ruston, working as managing editor of the Ruston Daily Leader, my hometown newspaper. Fred, on the other hand, worked as a cartoonist for the rival newspaper, The Morning Paper, run by the incomparable John Hays. Once Fred lampooned me in one of his Morning Paper cartoons for which I criticized him for making my lips to big.

But then I again moved to the Baton Rouge area (Denham Springs), this time to stay. That was in 1981. Coincidentally, Fred soon closed his flower shop and moved to Denham Springs where he enrolled in LSU Law School. I took him to visit Jim Hughes, executive editor of the Baton Rouge Advocate and introduced Fred and his political cartoons. Hughes hired Fred on the spot as a cartoonist for the paper.

Fred remained with The Advocate until he finished law school and began working for the Louisiana Department of Revenue.

Both he and I are members of the loose-knit Dinosaurs Club, a group of former employees of the Baton Rouge State-Times and Morning Advocate who meet once a month for lunch at the Piccadilly on South Sherwood Forest Blvd, a tradition actually begun by another good friend, Fayette Tompkins, originally from Homer and with whom I worked at the State-Times back in the ‘70s.

Fred “retired” his cartooning at some point after publishing a wonderful book of political cartoons entitled Looziana Political Cartoons.

But now, he’s making a long-awaited comeback with the publication of More Life in Looziana. I haven’t seen it yet, but it’s sure to be a delightful collection of cartoons that poke fun at Louisiana politics. Unlike some editorial cartoonists, Fred is never cruel with his illustrations of life in Louisiana’s political circles, but he’s spot-on in peeling back the layers to expose the hilarity – and foibles – of our unique state government or of our many and varied traditions.

Cavalier House Books at 114 North Range Ave. in Denham Springs will host a launch party and book-signing for Fred and his latest book this Friday at 6 p.m. He also will be on hand to offer signed copies of the book at the Louisiana Book Festival on Nov. 1 at the Louisiana State Library in downtown Baton Rouge.

But don’t take my word for it. Here are a couple of observations about the book from folks far more qualified than I:

• “Fred Muhearn’s More Life in Looziana really hits home again. His cartoons capture the heart and humor of everyday life here — the kind of people, places, and moments that make Louisiana one of a kind. You can feel the authenticity in every drawing, just like you can feel the warmth of the folks who call this state home. That’s what makes Louisiana so special — real people, real stories, and a whole lot to Feed Your Soul.” — Billy Nungesser, Lt. Governor for the State of Louisiana.
• “Fred Mulhearn has been entertaining readers for years with his clever cartoons capturing slices of our unique ways of enjoying life. His characters always make wry comments about issues large and small that challenge us on a regular basis.” — Jay Dardenne, former Lt. Governor for the State of Louisiana, and author of Why Louisiana Ain’t Mississippi… or Any Place Else!
• “Fred Mulhearn’s cartoons have entertained several generations of Louisianians. He’s a brilliant and gifted native son with the keen eye of an outsider for seeing clearly the quirks and foibles of his home state. And we have a lot of quirks! In this new collection of delightful cartoons, Fred will make you laugh–and probably even think.” — Robert “Bob” Mann, holder of the Manship Chair at the Manship School of Mass Communication at LSU for 18 years, and author of ten books including Kingfish U: Huey Long and LSU and You Are My Sunshine: Jimmie Davis and the Biography of a Song.

From the back cover:

This is Fred Mulhearn’s second collection of cartoons and commentary about what makes Louisiana different, unique, and sometimes just plain weird.  The first book was named Life in Looziana; this one is named More Life in Looziana.  (Apparently Fred is not all that creative when it comes to book titles.)  Looziana Political Cartoons: The Best of Fred Mulhearn is another of Fred’s books.

Fred Mulhearn, “Louisiana’s Own Cartoonist,” was born and raised in Winnsboro.  Now he lives in Denham Springs.  For over forty-five years, he has been drawing cartoons – almost all of them about living in Louisiana.  During that whole time, he has never won an award for his cartooning – not a single one.

(Editor’s note: I will award a signed copy of Fred’s book and Huey Long’s biography, Every Man A King (not signed) to the individual making the largest contribution to LouisianaVoice’s fundraiser which will run through the end of October.)