Hirschfeld-

A Who's Who...Can you Guess Who's In This Drawing?

For many years Al Hirscheld has drawn the likeness of famous actors, dancers, singers, and comedians of the screen and stage. His caircatures can be instantly distinguished by the wispy curvature of lines and exagerated trademark facial features.

But what I know Hirschfeld first and foremost for is the use of the name "NINA" in his drawings. Nina was his daughter, born in 1945. Ever since, Hirschfeld has included a few proud but hidden nods to his little Nina. Graciously he also clues us in as to how many we should find by scrawling a number next to his signature. Unfortunately, this game of hide and seek seems to have obscured Hirschfeld's original artistic ability from the public eye. And as disappointing as that may be, I still know him best as the guy that includes my name in his drawings.

It was my Gramma Sonja who first introduced me to this oddity. MY NAME was being published in papers...and whatsmore is that people were not only aware of it, they were searching for it!! Of course I got down off my pedestal as soon as puberty hit and the awkward stage set it... nevertheless Hirschfeld's cartoons inspire a sort of sentimentality in me still.

Here's a small bit of trivia for you; in 1991 Hirschfeld was asked to draw a sequence of stamps commemorating famous comedians (Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello etc) and then another series of silent film starts (Buster Keaton among them). But in keeping with his traditional "Nina Hiding", he was allowed by the USPS to include her name in the drawings making that the ONLY time a person's name has ever been hidden in a postage stamp in the US... HOW INTERESTING!?!?

What famous play is this?