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B. Kliban (1935-1990) published his first book, "Cat," in 1975, based on cartoons he had scribbled on scraps of paper and cocktail napkins. Kliban was a cartoonist for Playboy at the time, and one of the magazine's editors noticed the scribbles and pressed Kliban to seek out a literary agent. "Cat" is believed by many to have set the stage for a number of cat cartoonists that were to follow. But Kliban's approach would remain unique. Unlike many other cartoon cats, journalist Martin Plimmer wrote, Kliban's cats were never sentimental. Kliban lived with four cats and "drew them with affection," Plimmer says, but he also revealed them as "self-important" and "hedonistic." If Kliban's cats were enigmatic, so was he. His widow, Judith Kliban Bixby, told an interviewer that Kliban was never comfortable with success. "He wouldn't do the talk shows or dinners," Bixby said. "He didn't want people knowing what he looked like. He told people he was a blond Scandinavian type." In fact, Kliban was tall and dark, about six-foot-two, and handsome, with a dark beard. CATS 'N' DOGS features some of Kliban's best-known drawings as mouse pads and screensavers. We will add more Kliban merchandise to our on-line catalog as it becomes available. The "B," by the way, stands for Bernard, a name Kliban never liked.
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