Harry Lampert, 88; ‘The Flash’ Co-Creator Wrote Bridge Books
Harry Lampert, 88, the illustrator who co-created the DC Comics superhero “The Flash” and wrote books on bridge, died of cancer Saturday in Boca Raton, Fla.
By age 16, Lampert was inking cartoon characters such as Popeye, Betty Boop and KoKo the Clown for New York’s Fleischer Studios.
In 1940, he teamed with writer Gardner Fox to create “The Flash” and their Flash Comics. They based their physics-defying superhero on the mythological Hermes with wings on his feet.
Despite the success of “The Flash,” Lampert preferred drawing gag cartoons for Time, Esquire, the New York Times, the Saturday Evening Post and Saturday Review.
He taught at the New York School of Visual Arts and operated an award-winning advertising agency.
After retiring to Florida, Lampert devoted himself to playing and teaching bridge, and became president of the American Bridge Teachers Assn.
He wrote several books, including “The Fun Way to Serious Bridge,” which is considered a bible of the game.
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