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.