THE REUBEN WEEKENDS

Prior to 1983, the Reuben Awards Dinner was held in New York, usually at the Plaza. Since then, the event has expanded into a full weekend and is held in a different city each year.

Click here for a list of locations and a peek behind the scenes of the premier event on the
cartooning calendar!
NCS AWARDS
Each year, during the NCS Annual Reuben Awards Weekend, the Society honors the year's outstanding achievements in all walks of the profession.

The recipient of our profession's highest honor, the REUBEN AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CARTOONIST OF THE YEAR is chosen by a secret ballot of the members.

Excellence in the fields of newspaper strips, newspaper panels, TV animation, feature animation, newspaper illustration, gag cartoons, book illustration, greeting cards, comic books, magazine feature/magazine illustration, and editorial cartoons, is honored in the NCS Division Awards, which are chosen by specially-convened juries at the chapter level.

The Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by unanimous vote of the NCS Board of Directors, as is the Silver T-Square, an award that recognizes outstanding service to the Society and the profession.
Left: The Reuben Statue

THE REUBEN

THE OUTSTANDING CARTOONIST OF THE YEAR is chosen by a secret ballot of the members of the National Cartoonists Society. The REUBEN AWARD is the highest honor that the profession bestows. As with all the NCS awards, the winner need not be a member of the Society.

The award was previously called the Billy DeBeck Memorial Award, and the recipient received an engraved silver cigarette box. The Reuben was introduced in 1954 and is named after longtime Honorary President Rube Goldberg. The statue is based on one of Goldberg's irreverent pieces of sculpture. The eight winners who had received the "Barney," as the Billy DeBeck Award was dubbed, subsequently received Reuben statuettes and are termed Reuben winners in the Society's annals.
From Left: Rube Goldberg wins the Reuben in 1967. Mort Drucker wins in 1987. Sergio Aragones wins in 1996. Mell Lazarus wins in 1981.

THE CANIFF

THE MILTON CANIFF LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD is awarded by unanimous vote of the NCS Board of Directors.
It is given for a lifetime of outstanding and accomplished work to a cartoonist who has not previously won a Reuben. (The one exception was the posthumous award to Charles M. Schulz, who was awarded a unique Golden Caniff for his outstanding contribution to the artform.)
1994 HARRY DEVLIN

1994 WILL EISNER

1995 AL HIRSCHFELD

1996 JACK DAVIS

1997 DALE MESSICK

1998 BILL GALLO

1999 CHARLES M. SCHULZ
2002 JERRY ROBINSON

2003 MORRIE TURNER

2004 JULES FEIFFER

2005 GAHAN WILSON

2006 RALPH STEADMAN

2007 SANDRA BOYNTON
Above: Morrie Turner, pictured with Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Michael Ramirez, San Francisco, 2003.

Right: Art by Jack Davis

THE T-SQUARE

THE GOLD T-SQUARE is awarded for 50 years as professional cartoonist. So far, two have been presented: to RUBE GOLDBERG in 1955 and to MORT WALKER in 1999.

THE SILVER T-SQUARE is awarded, by unanimous vote of the NCS Board of Directors, to persons who have demonstrated outstanding dedication or service to the Society or the profession. The recipients to date are:
1948 DAVID LOW
1949 CARL ED
1949 CLIFF STERRETT
1949 H.C. "BUD" FISHER
1949 FRANK KING
1949 GEORGE McMANUS
1950 JOHN SNYDER
1950 HARRY S. TRUMAN
1950 MARTIN BRANNER
1950 JAMES BERRYMAN
1951 REG MANNING
1953 ED KUEKES
1954 GEORGE M. HUMPHREY
1954 DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
1954 HERBERT BLOCK
1956 GLUYAS WILLIAMS
1956 JAMES THURBER
1956 AL POSEN
1956 AL PIEROTTI
1957 HARRY HERSHFIELD
1957 MILTON CANIFF
1957 TOM LITTLE
1957 BOB DUNN
1958 RUSSELL PATTERSON
1959 CARL ROSE
1959 BILL MAULDIN
1960 McGOWAN MILLER
1960 BEN ROTH (posthumous)
1961 MORT WALKER
1961 JOE MUSIAL
1962 EDMUND VALTMAN
1963 STEVE DOUGLAS
1964 VERNON GREENE
1964 TOM GILL
1967 AL SMITH
1969 IRWIN HASEN
1969 OTTO SOGLOW
1969 DICK ERICSON
1970 GEORGE WUNDER
1970 ALFRED ANDRIOLA
1971 FRANK FOGARTY
1971 DICK HODGINS Sr.
1972 WALT KELLY
1972 JOHN NORMENT
1972 LARRY KATZMAN
1972 DAVID PASCAL
1973 BILL CRAWFORD
1973 JOHN FISCHETTI
1973 JACK TIPPIT
1974 "TACK" KNIGHT
1974 ISADORE KLEIN
1975 JACK ROSEN
1975 HAL FOSTER
1976 AL KILGORE
1977 PAUL SZEP
1977 BILL KRESSE
1977 LYMAN YOUNG
1978 BILL GALLO
1978 JIM RUTH
1978 HANK KETCHAM
1979 DICK HODGINS Jr.
1979 SYLVAN BYCK
1979 ED MITCHELL
1979 JIM IVEY
1980 BUCK PETERS
1981 JOHN CULLEN MURPHY
1982 GEORGE WOLFE
1984 SAM NORKIN
1986 LEE FALK
1992 CREIG FLESSEL
1992 HERB JACOBY
1993 GEORGE BREISACHER
1995 ARNOLD/CAROLINE ROTH
1996 DAVID FOLKMAN
1996 BILL JANOCHA
1997 TIM ROSENTHAL
1998 JOE DUFFY
2000 MELL LAZARUS
2001 TED GOFF
2001 FRANK PAUER
2002 BIL KEANE
2002 JOSEPH D'ANGELO
2003 JUD HURD
2003 JOHN McMEEL
2005 DICK LOCHER
2006 JOE/LUKE McGARRY
2007 STU REES
2008 JAMES KEMSLEY
(posthumous)
2008 JEFF BACON
Left: BIL KEANE, shown here at the 2002 Reubens in Cancun with Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich and Reuben Award- winner Mell Lazarus, was awarded the Silver T-Square for, among other things, his years of service as the MC of the Reuben Awards show. "Bizarro" creator Dan Piraro has handled MC duties in recent years.

DIVISION AWARDS


OTHER AWARDS

THE ACE AWARD
The "AMATEUR CARTOONIST EXTRAORDINARY" award, primarily ceremonial, is given to a celebrity or notable who aspired at one time to become a cartoonist, but whose path led them to an entirely different career. This list reflects the cumulative data that currently exists:
1961 ARNE RHODE

1962 CAROL BURNETT

1963 HUGH HEFNER

1963 JONATHAN WINTERS

1964 CHUCK McCANN

196? CLIFF ARQUETTE

1967 JACKIE GLEASON

1970 ORSON BEAN
1972 BOBBY DAY

1973 ROBERT LANSING

1974 JANE POWELL

1975 RITA MORENO

197? BOYD LEWIS

1979 LINDA GIALANELLA

1980 GINGER ROGERS

1981 CLAIRE TREVOR
1990 JOHN UPDIKE

1991 AL ROKER

1992 TOM WOLFE

1993 PETE HAMILL

1996 DENIS LEARY

1998 MORLEY SAFER

THE NO.1 AWARD
This primarily ceremonial award was given to the sports personality of the year. Sculpted by Bill Crawford, it was presented at Sports Night. Our list reflects the cumulative data that currently exists:
1968 RALPH HOUK

1970 GIL HODGES

1971 JACK DEMPSEY

1971 JOAN WHITNEY PAYSON

1972 LEROY "SATCHEL" PAIGE

1974 ROCKY GRAZIANO

1974 MONTE IRWIN
197? CASEY STENGEL

19?? PEARL BAILEY

19?? YOGI BERRA

19?? DAVE DeBUSSCHERE

19?? REGGIE JACKSON

19?? WILLIS REED

1984 PHIL RIZZUTO
Left: Rocky Graziano accepts his No.1 Award.

ELZIE SEGAR AWARD
This award is presented to a person who has made a unique and outstanding contribution to the profession of cartooning.
The winner was selected by the NCS Board and later by King Features Syndicate, in honor of "Popeye" creator, Elzie Segar.
1971 MILTON CANIFF

1972 OTTO SOGLOW

1973 DIK BROWNE

1974 RUSSELL PATTERSON

1975 BOB DUNN

1976 BILL GALLO

1977 MORT WALKER

1978 HAL FOSTER

1979 AL CAPP (posthumous)

1980 CHARLES M. SCHULZ
1981 JOHNNY HART

1982 BIL KEANE

1983 JOHN CULLEN MURPHY

1984 FRED LASSWELL

1985 JIM DAVIS

1986 BRANT PARKER

1987 MIKE PETERS

1994 FRED LASSWELL

1996 TOM ARMSTRONG

1999 MORT WALKER
"Popeye" by Elzie Segar ©King Features Syndicate Inc.

THE AWARD OF HONOR GOLD KEY AWARD
This award was for recognition of the American cartoon as an instrument in war, peace, education and in the artistic betterment of our cultural environment. On September 22, 1965, the following were honored:

GENERAL OMAR N. BRADLEY

WALTER CRONKITE

JOHN C. DALY

JOHN CAMERON SWAYZE
The National Cartoonists Society Hall of Fame.
1977 HAL FOSTER

1978 EDWINA DUMM

1979 RAEBURN VAN BUREN

1979 HERBERT BLOCK

1980 RUBE GOLDBERG
(posthumous)

1981 MILTON CANIFF
2000 ARNOLD ROTH

2005 LARRY KATZMAN

2006 MORT WALKER

2008 MELL LAZARUS

2008 BIL KEANE
OTHER AWARDS HAVE BEEN PRESENTED TO NOTABLES AND OTHERS DURING THEME EVENTS.
MARGE DUFFY DEVINE, HERB JACOBY AND JIM RUSSELL ALL RECEIVED SPECIAL AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE NCS.
THE TIM ROSENTHAL AWARD IS A CHAPTER AWARD TO RECOGNIZE OUTSTANDING SERVICE AT THE CHAPTER LEVEL.
©2008 The National Cartoonists Society. All Rights Reserved. All artwork is © the respective artists and copyright holders and used by permission. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.