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taking over as the illustrator of the posters from 2009. The family of the late cartoonist release a grand final poster every year in his memory from artwork supplied by Green before he died. He told family that he wanted his posters to go on after he was gone. His private company, Weg Art, supplies
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started producing and selling them after the grand final. The posters, generally featuring a caricature of the winning club's mascot smiling gleefully, continued to sell around 100,000 copies each year. Although the series started in 1954, Green produced posters for all the grand finals back to 1897
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Green's original name was Ian; he later legally changed it to
William. Born in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy on 12 August 1923 to an unknown father, Green grew up in Essendon. Torn between becoming an architect or a cartoonist after leaving Essendon High School, he studied architecture at the
251:. After confronting the man, Green called the police and then proceeded to take pen to paper and produce a caricature. His art was immediately recognisable to the local police. The offender was soon apprehended at a local shop as the cartoon clearly showed the man responsible.
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staff permanently. He continued to be a political cartoonist for the paper until he retired in 1986, after 40 years in that role. Green was responsible for introducing the daily "pocket" cartoon
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270:"for service to art as a cartoonist and illustrator, and to the community, particularly through the Good Friday Appeal of the Royal Children's Hospital."
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Army
Intelligence in New Guinea. He drew cartoons that were published in the army's newspaper. Following his discharge from the army at the end of
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On 14 January 2005, the 82-year-old Green confronted a burglar running through his back yard in
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Melbourne
Technical College because his mother warned: "You'll starve if you're a cartoonist."
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to satisfy collectors. An exhibition of all 55 of Green's original posters was staged at the
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in acknowledgement of his lifelong contribution to the profession of cartooning.
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William Ellis Green : Art & Artist Files (Australia and New
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posthumously bestowed on him the Quill Award for
Lifetime Achievement.
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314:. Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 14 May 1949. p. 7
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and illustrator, with his work appearing in cricket books by
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in 2009. The tradition continued after Green's death, with
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434:"Legendary cartoonist William Ellis Green – WEG – dies"
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On 14 May 1949, Green married Joan Hettie
Currell in
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491:It's An Honour – Australia Celebrating Australians
411:Journal of the Australian Cartoonists' Association
564:Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
460:"Heartfelt farewell to curious humble cartoonist"
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335:"Final siren for legendary footy cartoonist WEG"
137:premiership posters from 1954 until his death.
16:Australian editorial cartoonist and illustrator
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243:Later life and death
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48:, Australia
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223:The Herald
199:Max Walker
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318:7 January
277:from the
181:Weg's Day
89:1946–1986
70:Pen name
465:The Age
340:The Age
262:Honours
209:In the
94:Website
417:3 July
101:wegart
86:Period
123:"WEG"
73:"WEG"
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392:2016
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105:.au
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