Andy Donato

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Andy Donato
Donato at an art showing at the University of Toronto Faculty Club
Born	(1937-01-13) January 13, 1937 Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Education	Danforth Collegiate and Technical Institute
Known for	Editorial cartooning, landscape painting, graphic design
Notable work	The American Dream
Awards	National Newspaper Award (1976) Montreal Salon of Cartoons (1980) Italian Walk of Fame (2014) Canadian News Hall of Fame (2016) Brampton Walk of Fame (2016) Scarborough Walk of Fame (2018)

Andy Donato (born January 13, 1937) is a retired Canadian editorial cartoonist, newspaper art director and painter. His newspaper career spanned 65 years, from joining the Toronto Telegram in 1961 until his retirement in 2026. He worked for the Toronto Sun from its establishment in 1971 until 2026 and played a major role in designing the newspaper's original appearance.

Life and career

Early life

Donato was born in Scarborough, Ontario. His father, Luciano Donato, was an Italian immigrant from the town of Fardella in the southern province of Potenza, while his mother, Adelina Benedetti, was born in Canada. Donato worked at his father's grocery store while growing up. He also spent much of his youth in Toronto's Little Italy, around the Bathurst and College streets area. His mother had been born in the neighbourhood, and his father and uncle had also lived there.

He graduated from Danforth Collegiate and Technical Institute in 1955 and worked at Eaton's as a layout artist. He lived in Brampton, Ontario in the 1960s and contributed editorial cartoons to the weekly Bramalea Guardian.

Toronto Telegram

Donato joined the Toronto Telegram in 1961 as a staff artist, initially working as a graphic artist in the promotion department. He eventually became the newspaper's art director.

Donato drew his first political cartoon in May 1964, during the Canadian flag debate. It appeared in the Telegram and was subsequently reproduced in the Encyclopedia Americana. He initially contributed political cartoons when the Telegram's regular cartoonist Al Beaton was absent. Wanting more opportunities to draw editorial cartoons, Donato received permission from his employers to contribute to the weekly Bramalea Guardian while continuing to work for the Telegram.

In February 1964, Donato also created a weekly comic feature titled Flunko for the Telegram. It ran from February 13, 1964, until 1966, with reruns later appearing in other newspapers, including some in the United States.

Donato remained on staff at the Telegram until it ceased publication in 1971.

Toronto Sun

Following the closure of the Telegram, Donato was hired by the newly established Toronto Sun, which began publication the following month. He served as art director and designed much of the newspaper's original appearance, including its masthead, round logo and the visual flow between its news and sports sections. Donato later recalled that the name "Sun" appeared while he was designing the paper and was influenced by the success of the British tabloid The Sun. The newspaper's founders retained the name after failing to settle on an alternative.

Donato initially produced two editorial cartoons a week for the Sun, alternating with cartoonist Yardley Jones. His output later increased to three a week and, after Jones left and the newspaper introduced a Sunday edition in 1973, to five cartoons a week. He eventually became the newspaper's full-time editorial cartoonist and was appointed corporate art director for Sun Media in 1993.

Former Sun publisher Paul Godfrey referred to Donato as "The Franchise", reflecting his longstanding association with the newspaper.

Donato became particularly well known among Sun readers for a small bird hidden in his cartoons. He first drew the bird in a tree in the early 1980s and continued including it for several weeks before stopping. After readers contacted the newspaper asking about the bird's disappearance, Donato restored it as a recurring feature. The newspaper subsequently organized a "Find Donato's Bird" contest which, according to the Sun, received two million entries. Donato said the bird may have been inspired by a white pet budgerigar named Eric that he had owned earlier in life. By 1984, the bird had become an established feature of his cartoons.

Donato retired from his staff position at the Sun in 1997 but continued producing editorial cartoons for the newspaper on a contract basis for another 29 years.

Editorial cartoons and controversies

Donato frequently caricatured Canadian and international political figures. Among his favourite subjects were prime ministers Pierre Trudeau and Brian Mulroney. Donato later recalled that although the Sun strongly opposed Trudeau, he believed some of his cartoons of Mulroney had been even harsher. Mulroney nevertheless admired his work and acquired several original Donato cartoons for display in his offices.

Donato said that politicians with distinctive physical features were generally easier to caricature. Among those he cited were Mulroney, John Diefenbaker, Trudeau and Robert Stanfield, while he regarded politicians such as John Turner, Ernie Eves, David Peterson and Stephen Harper as more difficult subjects.

One of Donato's best-known cartoons, titled The American Dream, was published during the Iran hostage crisis. It parodied the photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, depicting American servicemen raising the United States flag over a prostrate Ruhollah Khomeini. Donato identified it as one of his favourite cartoons, and it received international recognition during the hostage crisis. Donato said the cartoon won an international award for best editorial cartoon and attracted enough attention that he subsequently produced a colour version that appeared on the Sun's front page.

Donato's work periodically generated controversy. A cartoon criticizing Hamilton voters following the re-election of Liberal MP Sheila Copps led Hamilton City Council to consider seeking an apology from him. Another cartoon criticizing owners of pit bulls also prompted complaints.

During the 1980 Toronto municipal election, Donato's cartoons were among the Toronto Sun's coverage of mayor John Sewell and openly gay council candidate George Hislop. Historian Jamie Bradburn described the campaign as marked by an "explosion of homophobia" and cited Donato's cartoons, along with the newspaper's editorials and columns, as part of the anti-gay coverage surrounding the election.

Donato was criticized in 2004 when his cartoon comparing David Miller with Adolf Hitler was published after Miller refused to allow a debate on Chief Julian Fantino's contract renewal. In 2014, a Donato cartoon depicting politician Olivia Chow in a Mao suit was criticized as racist. The newspaper issued an apology "to Olivia Chow and anyone else offended by the cartoon."

Retirement

Donato retired from editorial cartooning in September 2026, ending a newspaper career that had begun 65 years earlier at the Toronto Telegram. His final cartoon for the Sun, published on September 6, 2026, was a farewell to readers. It featured his recurring bird character beneath the words "That's all folks", accompanied by a message thanking readers for sharing the space with him for 55 years. Donato said he intended to take several weeks off before deciding what to do next and planned to devote more time to painting.

Tax dispute

Donato had a dispute with the Canada Revenue Agency over the manner in which he was donating some of his works to certain educational institutions in 1999 and 2001. He was partially successful in his appeal to the Tax Court of Canada, and was awarded costs in the case. The judgment was sustained on appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal.

Painting

Donato is also a landscape artist working in a style he calls "bent realism". His paintings mostly depict urban landscapes, particularly Toronto neighbourhoods. He has also produced sports art, including works depicting hockey. By 2014, he was also working on a children's book. His first art exhibition was held in 1968, and his work has subsequently been exhibited in Canada and internationally. His work is represented by Harbour Gallery in Mississauga.

Awards and recognition

Donato received the National Newspaper Award for editorial cartooning in 1976. In 1980, he won the Montreal Salon of Cartoons award for best editorial cartoon in the world. He has served as president of both the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists and the Association of Canadian Editorial Cartoonists.

Donato was inducted into the Italian Walk of Fame in Toronto in 2014. In 2016, he was inducted into the Brampton Arts Walk of Fame. Later that year, Donato and journalist John Fraser were inducted into the Canadian News Hall of Fame. In 2018, he was inducted into the Scarborough Walk of Fame at Scarborough Town Centre, becoming his third induction into a walk of fame.

Quotes

"A cartoonist is a like a blind javelin thrower at the Olympics. He's not too accurate, but he sure gets the attention of the spectators."

External links

• Oil paintings by Donato