Michael Charles Williams (born 1940)
Since his first cartoon was published in Punch in 1967, Mike Williams has contributed regularly to many a magazine. He has a particular interest in comic representations of animal life, calling this his ‘Animalia’.
Born in Liverpool on 24 February 1940, Mike Williams attended Quarry Bank Grammar School in the Liverpool suburb of Allerton. A self-taught artist, Williams began working in Henry Pybus and Littlewoods commercial art studio in 1957, aged 17.
In 1966, he joined his elder brother, Pete, in becoming a freelance cartoonist. The following year, Williams sold his first drawing to Punch, launching a career that has seen him become a successful cartoonist recognised throughout the world. Since then, his characteristic jokes have appeared in many major national and international magazines, including Private Eye, The Spectator, The Oldie and Playboy, and a number of national newspapers, such as The Times and the Sun, as well as deputising for Jak in the Mail on Sunday. In 1997, he briefly became Cartoon Editor of Punch.
Throughout his career, Williams has worked on numerous advertising campaigns, producing images for companies such as BMW and Guinness, and is producing a range of best-selling greetings cards.