Charles Griffin’s Dirty Harry caricature 1982

Charles Griffin’s Dirty Harry caricature 1982

Here’s a rather humorous depiction of ‘Dirty’ Harry as illustrated by political cartoonist Charles Griffin. This original cutting appeared in the Daily Express Newspaper on Saturday, March 6th 1982 when the film was shown on the ITV channel. 

Charles Griffin was born in Ruislip, Middlesex, on 20 May 1946, the son of Alec Griffin, a furniture manufacturer's agent. Educated at Berkhamsted School, Hertfordshire, he spent two years at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, where he had some of his first caricatures and cartoons published in the RMA journal, Wishstream, between 1965 and 1968. Griffin failed to graduate, claiming later that he was kicked out after caricaturing the commanding officer.

Some of Griffin’s earliest published caricatures appeared in the Chelsea Football Club programme in 1976 and he sold his first pocket cartoon to the Daily Mail in the same year. He freelanced for various publications, including Punch and the Observer as well as teaching part time at Camberwell School of Art. Charles Griffin became political cartoonist at the Sunday People in 1983 and then worked for the Daily Mirror from 1985. In 1996 Griffin left the Daily Mirror to take over from Rick Brookes at the Daily Express. In 1998 Griffin left the Daily Express to draw the Saturday cartoon for the Sun, replacing Stanley Franklin.