Born in 1933 in New York, he moved with his family at age three to New Jersey. After serving with the Navy during the Korean War, he attended the School of Visual Arts, dug ditches, drove a truck and freelanced artwork, finally landing a permanent job in 1960 as a staff artist with the "New York Daily News", where he contributed celebrity caricatures and sports cartoons for the next 22 years, continuing to live in New Jersey with his wife Pat and two sons, Bob and Ron.