Ringo Starr

One issue after starring in the infamous "Make Beautiful Hair Blecch" back-cover ad parody, Ringo Starr got his own edition of MAD's recurring '60s series "A Celebrity's Wallet." Written by Arnie Kogen and illustrated by Bob Clarke (as well as "Blecch" artist Frank Frazetta, whose spoof-ad artwork re-appeared within the article), "A Celebrity's Wallet - Ringo Starr" originally ran in MAD #91 (December '64).

We never thought about it until artist Bob Clarke and writer Frank Jacobs laid it out for me in "Comic Strip Heroes Taken From Real Life" - and suddenly, it all made sense. Originally appearing in MAD #111 (June '67), "Comic Strip Heroes Taken From Real Life" was reprinted - along with another Clarke gem, "A Celebrity's Wallet - Ringo Starr" - in the mid-'90s paperback collection MAD About The Sixties.

Writer Larry Siegel and artist Mort Drucker (who had caricatured Ringo Starr nearly a decade earlier in "The Flying Ace") solved the riddle of American Graffiti's "girl in the white Thunderbird" plot thread in a most MAD-like fashion. "American Confetti" originally ran in MAD #166 (April '74) - alias "The Finger Cover Issue"

Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, Jerry Garcia and several of their contemporaries filled the two-page Mort Drucker artwork for "Past The Prime Of Their Lives," a Frank Jacobs spoof of the Dirty Dancing soundtrack hit "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life" that originally ran in MAD #293 (March '90).

I always knew this particular piece wasn't especially nice to Ringo. Now it feels weird to post it because it's not especially complimentary to the late Glenn Frey. At any rate, this portion of "MAD Looks At What's On The Back Of Your Ticket" - co-written by Desmond Devlin and Butch d'Ambrosio, and illustrated by Ray Alma - originally ran in MAD #388 (December '99).