Bill Gallo – Daily News Cartoonist and Columnist dies at 88

Bill Gallo was a man for all boroughs. More than 500 attendees at his funeral mass on May 13, 2011 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan proved this. He died on Tuesday, May 10, 2011. There were famous faces, youthful faces, old familiar faces of friends, colleagues – past and present - and just ordinary, everyday readers, who came to pay their personal respects to this truly, multi-talented, caring yet humble man who had captured their hearts through his special brand of journalism.

Delores, his beloved wife, accompanied by their two sons – Greg and Bill Jr. - was visibly shaken as they followed the flag draped casket up the aisle.  Marine Corps reserve members were reminders of Bill’s service in World War II Pacific. Later, Greg would share his fondest memories of frequently playing ball with his father, from childhood until pneumonia, which eventually claimed Bill’s life, hampered his breathing. Bill’s old glove sat on the podium, as Greg recalled these happy times.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly likened his friend’s tenacity to the sport of boxing which was one of Bill’s passions. Beginning with the loss of his father to pneumonia when Bill was only eleven, this heroic man never stayed down; he always got up again to face life’s challenges.

Pete Hamill, a famous journalist himself, paid the ultimate compliment to this great, yet humble and kind man’s life. Bill, he reminded us, was one of the few remaining people who had known Col Patterson, founder of the Daily News. Bill still ascribed to the old standards of journalism – which made “decency” a crucial ingredient of great journalism.

Basement Bertha, Yuchie and myriad other members of Bill Gallo’s cartoon family showed Bill’s whimsical side, balanced by his insightful reflection of every emotion depicted, in the stories which he told, and in his ability to pinpoint headline makers, without betraying confidentiality.

After spending more than 70 of his 88 years at The News, holding up a mirror in his cartoons to the famous such as Muhammed Ali and other famous sports figures, Bill Gallo will certainly be missed.

As one of the sports luminaries present summed it up, “We lost a part of New York.”