Cartoonist, illustrator, TV show host, playwright and detective novelist whose greatest love was poetryIt was the freezing winter of 1963 and snow was lying thick on the ground in London when Barry Fantoni, who has died aged 85 of a heart attack, came to fame by unveiling the Duke of Edinburgh in his underpants at the Woodstock gallery. The near lifesize image of Prince Philip in his smalls, surrounded by a kilt, a polo stick and items of naval uniform, in the style of a child’s cut-out doll, caused a sensation after the show was reviewed by the art critic of the Daily Express. Within a week the entire collection of Baz’s first one-man show had been sold to an American art dealer.The portrait, an early example of pop art, caught the eye of Richard Ingrams, one of the founders of Private Eye magazine, and opened the door for Baz’s 47-year career at the satirical title, during which time he featured in all but 31 of the 1,278 issues. He was a cartoonist, illustrator and member of the jokes team, notably inventing – with Ingrams – the character of EJ Thribb, the magazine’s teenage poet-in-residence. Continue reading...