Artist
Hy Vogel
and friend.

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ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM

Assistant Editor

H

y Vogel's career be-
gan when his suitcase
was stolen.
A Winnipeg, Manitoba, na-
tive, he came to Detroit in
the 1920s while working as a
traveling salesman. Somebody
took off with his luggage,
which contained all his
samples, and Mr. Vogel was
left without a dime.
At first, he took a bunch of
odd jobs — selling shoes and
men's clothing, about which
• "I didn't know a darn
thing," he says.
Then he was walking
along Woodward one after-
noon when he noticed a man
sketching passersby.
"That's for me," Mr. Vogel
said as he watched the ar-
tist. "If I can do that, I can
make a living."
Several years later Mr.
Vogel was more than mak-

OlY

The man who made his mark
drawing caricatures of celebrities is
now making it big painting clowns.

ing a living as an artist. He
was working at the London
Chop House, where he drew
caricatures of guests in-
cluding Bob Hope, Edward
G. Robinson and Rex Har-
rison. And he was building a
career as a painter of clowns
— a career that continues to
this day.
Hy Vogel started working
on his own caricatures not
long after he saw the artist
on Woodward. But it wasn't
until he married in 1933
that he made the jump from
amateur to professional.
Vacationing at the
Chicago World's Fair, he
pitched a tent and started
doing caricatures. He was in

good company. More than
250 other artists had done
the same thing.
Impressed by her new
husband's talent, Mrs. Vogel
insisted Hy begin his artistic
career in earnest when the
two returned home to
Detroit. She suggested he
start at local radio stations,
where he could sketch pic-
tures of visiting performers.
In no time at all, Mr. Vogel
had made numerous draw-
ings of singers and come-
dians who made their living
by appearing on radio ama-
teur hours. His wife urged
him to take the collection to
the Detroit News and seek a
permanent position.

Mr. Vogel admits he was
less than optimistic. But he
agreed to go, to please his
wife.
"I just got married," he
says. "I wanted her to know
I had guts."
With no appointment and
no clear agenda, Mr. Vogel
entered the Detroit News of-
Lice.
"What are you here for?"
somebody asked.
"I'm an artist," Mr. Vogel
said.
"We've got an artist,"
came the response. "Are you
better than him?"
"If I'm not, you can tell me
to walk out that door I came
in," Mr. Vogel responded.

The reporters gathered
around Hy Vogel and
challenged him to draw Rex
White, a member of the
advertising staff. They stood
looking over his shoulders as
he sketched. My Vogel kept
thinking, "This is it. This is
my big chance."
When the drawing was fin-
ished, the Detroit News staff
expressed their approval.
"We've got a place for you
here," a manager told him.
"Do you want to start right
now?"
But Mr. Vogel wasn't quite
ready. He still had but-
terflies in his stomach from
all the excitement. He said
he would start the next day.
Then he went home, told his
wife the news and the two
danced around the room.
It was a king's life at the
News. Mr. Vogel was assign-
ed his own chauffeur, and he
used his charcoal to draw
caricatures of some of the

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

67