Arts & Entertainment
Sayin'
Something
'Stupid'
Meet the man behind Goodbye Kitty,
Dumb Blonde and the Uglies.
Elizabeth Applebaum
Special to the Jewish News
T
odd Goldman has created the
ugliest family in the world.
Ugly, but rich, thanks to an
unusual diet they invented. "It's based on
gerbil poop," Goldman explains.
The Uglies, soon to make their debut in
an animated television series on FOX-TV,
follow in the footsteps of Goldman's Stupid
Factory characters like Trendy Wendy,
Dumb Blonde, Bear in Underwear and
Goodbye Kitty (no relation to Hello Kitty,
the really cute and cuddly little feline that
makes every cynic recoil in terror).
"Ugly" and "Stupid" have been good
to Todd Goldman. The 38-year-old is
the head of a $100-million-plus empire
known as David & Goliath. Named for
the artist's father and his father's pet dog,
David & Goliath sells everything from
T-shirts to key chains to pajamas — all
bearing Goldman's irreverent images and
messages like "Boys Are Stupid, Throw
Rocks at Them" — to hundreds of thou-
sands of fans, mostly teenage girls, each
year.
An exhibit and sale of Goldman's work
will be held at the Janice Charach Epstein
Gallery at the Jewish Community Center
of Metropolitan Detroit in West Bloomfield
from Aug. 23-Oct. 7.
"While visiting Las Vegas with my
husband last year, I caught one of Todd's
openings:' says gallery director Terri
Stearn. "I never laughed so hard and loud
in my life. I told my husband I wanted to
feature Todd one day in the gallery and
would call the show 'Laugh Yourself Silly,
which I am sure everyone will do. His
work is fresh and light and makes fun of
everything we stand for. I just love it:'
A resident of Clearwater, Fla., Goldman
loved to doodle ever since he was a little
boy. But who could make a living as an
artist? His father was a businessman; Todd
decided to follow in his footsteps.
So he went to college and received a
bachelor's degree and then a master's
degree in accounting from the University
of Florida. He worked for 10 months in an
Atlanta accounting firm before he quit. "I
hated it:' he said of the career for which he
had been studying all those years.
It was 2000 when Goldman launched
David & Goliath, which would become
the venue for his more than 100 Stupid
Todd Goldman: After 9-11, "everyone began to buy my stupid T-shirts."
Factory characters and profound sayings
like "Peas on Earth." Fearing his son would
never be able to support himself, Todd's
father David initially discouraged his son
from becoming an artist. Soon, though, he
gave Todd money to get his T-shirt busi-
ness started then came on board to man-
age David & Goliath.
Meanwhile, the country was about to
go through something horrific: the 9-11
terrorist attacks. Goldman believes this
contributed to the sudden, extraordinary
growth of David & Goliath. After the
anguish of 9-11, America needed relief. It
was then that "everyone began to buy my
stupid T-shirts," he says.
OK, not everyone. There are the critics
who find his sense of humor "off color:' he
says. "When I did 'Boys Are Stupid, Throw
Rocks at Them, I had all these divorced
men coming after me, all these fathers
who say I'm boy-bashing."
Also not amused by Goldman's humor
is author Bernard Goldberg, who listed
Goldman in his book 100 People Who Are
Screwing Up America, along with filmmak-
er Michael Moore, PETA (People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals) President
Ingrid Newkirk, the Rev. Jimmy Swaggart,
singer Eminem and TV talk-show host
Jerry Springer.
Some bloggers on the Web have further
suggested that Goldman has copied the
work of other cartoonists and used stock
Something 'Stuipid' on page 44
"I've got
more ideas
than I know
what to
do with,"
says Todd
Goldman of
his cartoon-
One nightstand
42
August 16 • 2007
themed art.