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Corky Trinidad passes away at age 69

Alan Gardner91 mins

Just received word that former Star-Bulletin editorial cartoonist Corky Trinidad passed away this morning from complications of pancreatic cancer. He was 69 years old.

He is survived by his wife and five children.

9 thoughts on “Corky Trinidad passes away at age 69”

  2. Corky drew two cartoons a day. One in color for the front page which was always on a local issue. The other for the editorial page. He was chased out of the Phillipines by the Marcos regime and before Marcos’ fall, was only allowed to return once for his mother’s funeral.

    Corky was a class act all the way. When I subbed for him during his yearly sabbatical he often came in the office to talk shop. No editor would dare tell Corky what he couldn’t draw. Corky’s cartoons were his opinion, not his newspaper’s. The man was a living legend in Hawaii and had the respect of his newsroom colleagues.

    RIP, Corky…and thanks for everything.

  3. He was my hero.

    I worked with Corky for 9 years in the 90s and never once did I ever hear him say he loved his job. He didn’t need to. He lived for his family first, then his work. His understanding of the political world would make any talking head pundit bow in shame and of course, laughter. He had the ear of the Political elite, the Hawaii media, entertainment industry and the local boy who just loved to talk story. He laughed out loud on a daily basis at the national and local governments. Hawaii laughed with him.

    I feel his bashing of everything Marcos and his ilk kept him off balance until he and Emelda left the islands.

    Even though I was there only a short time, Corky invited me into his home and his families hearts. Thank you for making my stay in Hawaii a joy, Corky. I miss you.

  6. with all our love and gratitude for corky who not only brought laughter, but depth and a keen understanding of the human heart in print and in real life. we are fortunate to have been a part of his life and family.

    with our deep symphaty to his family and friends.

    hank and diana

  7. Following up on previous comments about Murdoch News Features and Register & Tribune Syndicate…

    I had a contract with Murdoch News Features for a panel called “Howie” way back in 1978, I think it was. Before the syndicate could launch my panel, that company went out of business, leaving me horribly depressed for a whole weekend. That Monday I got a call from Register & Tribune Syndicate telling me that they were immediately acquiring all MNF features. RTS syndicated “Howie” for a year or two in about 30 papers until I decided to discontinue it. Not long after that, RTS offered me a chance to take over production of “The Better Half” which I’ve been doing for more than 25 years now. The “Zeus” comic strip was syndicated about the same time. Since the Sundays are done farther ahead, some of them apparently carried the MNF copyright after RTS took over.

  8. This is a sad time in Hawaii, as we lost our no. 1 cartoonist. I miss Corky Trinidad a great deal. He was a very good friend and colleague. Corky was such a great cartoonist in every sense of the word, and I admired his left-brained talent immensely in being able to understand politics and things of an intellectual nature then combine that talent with his right-brained imagination and creative deftness and keen humor etc., he was the consummate cartoonist and mench. I’m sure he is up there having a great time with Harry Lyons, Bill Maulden, Thomas Nast, Alfredo Alcala, Herschfeld, Herblock, Sparky Schulz, Milt Caniff and the others.

    If you would like to see the Star Bulletin’s tribute to Corky, you may visit these sites:

    http://www.starbulletin.com/editorials/20090215_Drawn_with_care.html

    http://www.starbulletin.com/editorials/20090215_In_Memory.html

    http://www.starbulletin.com/editorials/20090215_Classic_Corky.html

    ¡Aloha Amigo!

  9. This is a sad time in Hawaii, as we lost our no. 1 cartoonist. I miss Corky Trinidad a great deal. He was a very good friend and colleague. Corky was such a great cartoonist in every sense of the word, and I admired his left-brained talent immensely in being able to understand politics and things of an intellectual nature then combine that talent with his right-brained imagination and creative deftness and keen humor etc., he was the consummate cartoonist and mench. I?m sure he is up there having a great time with Harry Lyons, Bill Maulden, Thomas Nast, Alfredo Alcala, Herschfeld, Herblock, Sparky Schulz, Milt Caniff and the others.

    ¡Aloha Amigo!

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