Mad #133 (Albert Feldstein) - True Fat Issue - March 1970

John Wayne (1907-1979) was the most popular actor of his time primarily for his role as a western hero.  In 1970, he won his only Academy Award for his portrayal of Rooster Cogburn in True Grit.  Wayne made eleven more movies after Grit including a reprise of the Cogburn role in 1975.  The Mad parody by Larry Siegel and Mort Drucker focuses on Wayne's appearance during those last years of his life.  Drucker's drawings are the best of this issue.

This issue also presented the first and only Mad contribution by the famed Pittsburgh Press caricaturist, John Johns 1921-2006).  Mr. Johns drew the three-page "A Mad Look at Celebrities in Real-Life Situations."  His excellent drawings included caricatures of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929-1994), Aristotle Onassis (1906-1975), Caroline Kennedy, John Kennedy Jr. (1960-1999), John Lennon (1940-1980), Yoko Ono, Hugh Hefner, Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990), Frank Sinatra (1915-1998), Richard Nixon (1913-1994), Pat Nixon (1912-1993), Spiro Agnew (1918-1996), Judy Agnew, Dean Martin (1917-1995) and Jeanne Martin.  Mr. Johns served as president of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh from 1970 to 1982. [JAM 1/18/2010]

Booster's liquor jug  has straws (page 6) and one of the horses is a hog (page 9).  Also the prize-winning chemistry project is a Molotov cocktail (page 47).

Look for Charlie Brown in puppeteer Bil Baird's art collection (page 14).

Departments:
Grit And Bear It - True Fat
Bitter Things for Bitter Living, Etc, - The Facts of Life (And Death)
Condensed Milking - If TV Shows Were Like Their Capsuled Descriptions
Don Martin - During a Summer Storm; One Day in the Mountains
Slime Pickings - Mad's Do-It-Yourself Modern Movie Ads
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side of Family Gatherings
Sleeping "Bag" - Dreams That Went up in Smoke
Every Clod Has a Silver Lining - What Is a Born Winner?
Stage of Mind - Mad's Lifetime Chart of Attitudes And Behavior
Data Knows Best - Future Instant Predictions
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Here Today, Dear Tomorrow - Antiques of the Future
Inside-Ouch - A Mad Peek Behind the Scenes at the U.S. Congress
V.I. Peek - A Mad Look at Celebrities in Real-Life Situations
Give Our Regards to Broadway Joe - Joe Namath's Wallet
The Wrong Side of the Tracts - Mad's Green Paper: "The State of Our Suburbs"

Fold-In - Ear