obits
Jewish Exponent
Cartoonist Stuart
Goldman Dies at 74
SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER
S tuart “Stu” Goldman, the former editorial car-
toonist and art director/graphics editor for the
Jewish Exponent, died on March 3 at his home
in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was 74.

Goldman worked for the Exponent from 1981 until
his retirement in 2009, drawing comics that reflected
the tone of the Jewish news of the day.

An April 29, 2013 Exponent article outlines a few
of his comics that won first place for best editorial
cartoon by the Philadelphia Society of Professional
Journalists, which included “‘Sharon’s Shoes’” about
the plight of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on
succeeding Ariel Sharon and ‘Did You See This?’ about
Islamist attempts to impose censorship on the West.”
“They were always spot-on and very perceptive,”
Luci Scott, a former Jewish Exponent staff member
and colleague of Goldman’s from 1983 to 1993, said
of Goldman’s comics.

Goldman also won multiple Noah Bee Awards
in the newspaper sub-categories of “Editorial
Cartooning” or “Illustrating in All.” Between his work
at the Exponent and the Philadelphia publication The
Welcomat, where he published his “Eavesdrawings”
Stuart Goldman was described by his wife Naomi
Goldman as a “punster.”
Courtesy of Naomi Goldman
“Jewish Voter Roll,” a 1988 political cartoon by Goldman
Courtesy of the Temple University Special Collections Research Center
34 MARCH 24, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
cartoons, he was syndicated in more than 75 publica-
tions, according to his wife Naomi Goldman.

Sometimes not politically correct but almost always
funny, Goldman wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, his
wife remembers.

“If you met Stu, you might have been put off by
his sense of humor or what he might have said,” she
said. “He might have said something that people were
thinking but didn’t say out loud.”
Born in Kensington, Goldman attended Haverford
High School and Kutztown College, receiving a bach-
elor’s in art education in 1971.

He took up an interest in drawing as a young
child and was deemed “difficult” to parent, Naomi
Goldman said.

“He always said, when he went to his room when he
was being punished, he just started to draw,” Naomi
Goldman said. “It just flowed from his head to his
hand.” Goldman taught graphic design at the Hussian
School of Art and the Art Institute of Philadelphia,
where former student Annmarie Hafer recalled
Goldman going “above and beyond” to assist his
students. According to Hafter, Goldman believed that he
could teach anyone how to draw but couldn’t instruct



students on how to think critically or
effectively editorialize cartoons.

“He looked for those students that
were good at communication or liked
to write — and he didn’t play favorites,
don’t get me wrong — but he saw us,
and he pushed us a little bit harder than
everyone else,” Hafer said.

Goldman’s perspective that informed
his cartoons was shaped by his unique
experiences as a young person, Hafer
believed. “He had the perspective of a lot of
different types of people going into
his art and going into his political car-
toons,” Hafer said.

In between his time in college and
teaching and drawing professionally in
Philadelphia, Goldman served in the
Navy during the Vietnam War on the
USS New Jersey. He had the vulnerable
task of loading torpedoes on the side
of the boat, eventually earning him the
title of petty officer third class.

Goldman also couldn’t help but lend
his talents for entertainment while
on the ship, drawing comics in his
downtime. During Goldman’s time in
the Navy, actor and comedian Bob
Hope visited and performed for the
troops, and Goldman was responsible
for archiving the shows’ recordings and
organizing the reel tapes.

“Every time the tape ended when
they were shooting the performance,
Stu would do the cataloging and make
sure that it was accurate information,”
Naomi Goldman said.

Though Goldman seldom talked
about his time in Vietnam, “he was
proud to show” where he served, his
wife said. Later in life, he taught T’ai
Chi Chih to other Vietnam vets.

In addition to drawing cartoons,
Goldman developed an affinity for stained
glass during his time in Fort Lauderdale
and eventually became the managing edi-
tor for GLASScraftman Magazine.

Through the magazine, Goldman
met Randy Wardell, who was assigned
to write Goldman’s profile for the pub-
lication. The two became fast friends.

“The neat thing about Stu was, he
was an adventurer,” Wardell said. “He
would try anything.”
Goldman signed the two of them up for
ukulele lessons one year and took them
paddleboarding on another occasion.

The Jewish Exponent staff in the 1980s with Goldman in the front row, far right
Photo by Scott Weiner
Both Wardell and Naomi Goldman
remember Stuart Goldman’s wide
range of hobbies, which also included
being a certified glider pilot and par-
achutist. He was a “punster” who
enjoyed making up parody songs to
sing and strum along with his ukulele.

“We laughed a lot in the 35 years that
we were together,” Naomi Goldman
said. “We laughed a lot.”
Goldman is survived by his wife, and
other relatives. JE
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