Your Stories: Charlie Daniel

<He has been entertaining East Tennesseans for<b> </b>decades with his humor, his artistic abilities, and his unique take on politics. People seek out his creations every day of the week and he wouldn't have it any other way. Charlie Daniel is an editorial cartoonist and has been for 54 years, first for the Knoxville Journal and now with the Knoxville News Sentinel."When I look back on some of my earlier stuff I'd say this is awful. Why would they hire his guy?" says Daniel. So, where did it all begin? Weldon, North Carolina. "I went to Weldon Grade School and met my childhood sweetheart in the second grade. And they are still together to this day," says Daniel. In high school Charlie would doodle quite a bit. "I had a comic strip in high school I called Dick Daniel which was a complete rip off of Dick Tracy," says Daniel. He started drawing cartoons early, but that wasn't exactly what he wanted to be when he grew up. "My goal in life was to become an all American football player," says Daniel. "I got a scholarship to play at the University of North Carolina." He enlisted in the Marine Corps, served his country and then went back to UNC. And back to doodling. The college newspaper took notice."The Daily Tar Heel said if you submit cartoons we'll run them and we'll pay you 50 cents," says Daniel. He then switched majors to political science and dove in head first. "Sent off letters to newspapers asking for a job. I think I sent off 48 letters and I got one maybe and one positive reply," says Daniel. And it was from Guy Smith at the Knoxville Journal. "Senator Al Gore, Senior was here and Guy Smith looked on Al Gore, Senior with some disfavor and so I drew a bunch of unflattering Albert Gore cartoons and submitted them and Guy Smith said, 'Come on. You can work here'." And he did. "When I first came here from Chapel Hill I was saying I just can't sit here and draw Albert Gore cartoons. There's got to be something else going on and I turn on the television and there's Cas Walker and I said, 'thank you'," says Daniel. He makes his process sound simple. "I doodle a lot and one thing just kind of leads to another," says Daniel. "That's the favorite part, I think, when the idea comes to you." And he has many ideas in that brain of his. He even writes poetry. "Mr. Potato Head is dead. He was Idaho born and bred, but he died southern fried..." recites Charlie. Charlie says he was born with his sense of humor. It runs in the family. "I never realized I was funny until I got away from the family," says Daniel. Charlie Daniel, drawing characters of all kinds, but really he is the character!"The whole point of the cartoon is to make somebody think about an issue or something. It doesn't matter to me if they agree or disagree," says Charlie. "That's not the point. It's the thinking part."One of Your Stories. There's no place like this one. You can see Charlie's cartoons daily in the Knoxville News Sentinel and check out his feature Rosy's Diner every Sunday.<