Raymond Briggs, best known for his 1978 work The Snowman, has died at the age of 88.
In confirming his death, his family said he was "very much loved and will be missed deeply."His literary agent Hilary Delamere said: Briggs said, "I loved playing professional rogues, but I will remember him in stories of love and loss."said The Guardian,. 15} I also made Fungus the Bogeyman.
Here are some lesser-known facts about an artist you will miss fondly.
He worked for Royal Signals
Rod Riddle, writing for the Times in 2004, wrote that Briggs' nuclear war story When the Wind Blows Briggs was also condemned in the House of Lords as a fraud in a KGB-inspired conspiracy with the "pacifist spirit and mental sharpness" that accused of.
However, he served as a National Service Conscript in the Royal Signal Corps, Catarick, between 1953 and 1955, where his artistic talents were put to work as a draftsman. 31} Daily Mail. BBCsaid he was "very disgusted" when asked to draw an electrical circuit.
He was not interested in children
Despite being famous for his children's books, Briggs said he was not a fan of children. In 2016, he told The Guardian:
When he was considered for the role of the child winner, he said, "I won't touch it on the barge," adding: I try to avoid them as much as possible.
He was a "creative sociopath"
Briggs was often described as a "rogue", but those closest to him said this was partly Briggs told The Guardian that he preferred to see himself as a "creative sociopath". This definition, pinned in, states: After reading the definition aloud to the interviewer, he added: that's me
His wife was schizophrenic
His wife Jean Taprel Clarke was schizophrenic. Her state of mind – gives her a sense of stability. Briggs wrote that she found her schizophrenia "exciting." Because "her feelings for nature and her life experiences were so intense," says The Times. She died of "schizophrenia and leukemia" in 1973, which he described as a "jolly one-man band". His second partner Liz his Benjamin also he died in 2015.
Adult fans pretended to be kids
Adult collectors pretended to be kids and wrote him letters in hopes of getting memorabilia. rice field. Briggs The Telegraph he told in 2004. "They're just middle-aged anoraks flogging something. Horrible, stupid individuals," he said. "Kids know what they write, how they write. These guys... no, someone might read this and modify the forged letter appropriately, so what's wrong?"
