Drawn to Celebrity

Cartoonists are paid to be disrespectful, but we can pay our respects too. The famous figures who drew a lot of editorial ink this year: Ronald Reagan, Ray Charles, Christopher Reeve, Yasser Arafat -- and Rodney Dangerfield.

I had nothing but respect for Dangerfield, but it occurs to me that someday the burgeoning number of “celebrities” will create some tough calls.

Surely, Charlton Heston will merit a mention, but what about Charo or Chevy Chase? Will future cartoonists memorialize every notable from Ashlee Simpson to Jay-Z? That could turn into a full-time gig.

Though obit toons are almost always schmaltzy, they can also capture the character -- and sometimes the controversies -- of famous lives. As Jim Morin’s Arafat, sporting his doomsday kaffiyeh, shows us, sometimes that means paying final disrespects.