Doug Marlette 1949-2007
Doug Marlette, who died yesterday in a car wreck, was a brilliant cartoonist and gifted novelist. I admired his work ethic and envied his limitless talent. I laughed out loud at many of his cartoons, sang along to my CD of Kudzu: A Southern Musical and delighted in reading both of his novels, Magic Time and The Bridge.
Doug was also devoted to his family and a longtime friend to ours. Although I’d known him for as long as I can remember, I have to admit I always felt slightly star-struck and awkward around him because he was so quick-witted and smart. Despite my mild (at best) awkwardness he always encouraged me to share what was going on in my life and was interested in what I had to say.
I don’t think Lindsay ever felt that same awkwardness, because she and Doug were always joking around, and the barbs would fly fast and sharp. In fact, just last Friday, Lindsay and Doug were ragging on each other, and I’m guessing that despite a valiant effort on Lindsay’s part, she couldn’t outmaneuver the master of skewering. It was all in good fun. Doug was a kind person with a big heart. He will be greatly missed.
Posted on July 11th, 2007 by Melissa
Filed under: Uncategorized
Recently, the sharp comments came mostly at the expense of my parents…the kind of humor I love. For example, my dad would make a cheesy or sassy (I don’t know what the masculine equivalent of sassy is) joke or comment and Doug would tell me how sorry he was that this was the type of thing I always had to put up with. On more than one occasion I was referred to as a “saint” for living such a “difficult family life.” Although, Doug had nothing but love and admiration for Mom and Dad. In signing my copy of The Bridge he wrote, To Lindsay, Child of the Gods. Whether that was a compliment to my parents or a relevation that I must have been adopted from the divine supernatural, I do not know. He was an incredible friend to our entire family, an important social figure, and overall decent, passionate, and caring man. He played a pivotal role in historic social movements and political elections. And, as so many better written tributes have said, he expressed a love of Southern culture with the utmost sincerity through words and pictures. He captured values that any region could respect and made people think through difficult issues. Whether or not you agreed with what he portrayed, he had the skill and courage to show the best and worst aspects of humankind. He was an incredible writer, speaker, cartoonist, and friend.