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Sam Norkin (b. 1917, Brooklyn, New York) is a cartoonist who has specialized in the field of theater caricatures for more than seven decades. His drawings of theater, opera, ballet and film celebrities have appeared in Variety, Back Stage, The Philadelphia Enquirer, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe and many other publications.

During his early art study at age nine, he learned composition and anatomy from the Guggenheim Fellowship muralist Mordi Gassner. He received a scholarship to the Metropolitan Art School after his high school graduation, and he later attended Cooper Union, the Brooklyn Museum Art School and the School of Fine and Industrial Art. During the 1940s, newspaper editors wanted to devote more space to new theatrical productions, but photo opportunities usually did not happen until a show opened. Norkin took advantage of the situation and gained access to rehearsals, performers, costume sketches, fittings and scenic designs, providing editors with illustrations prior to an opening.

From 1940 to 1956, his theatrical illustrations were a regular feature in the New York Herald Tribune. Then for the next 26 years, he covered the performing arts for the Daily News. Since 1940, Norkin has had more than 4000 drawings published.

When he began doing theatrical caricature, he supplied his own captions, which eventually prompted him to write articles and reviews. He was an art critic for the Carnegie Hall house program and a cultural reporter for the Daily News.

This author page uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sam Norkin", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0