Friends Remember Doug Marlette As Staunch Defender Of Free Speech

Saturday, July 14th 2007, 7:53 pm

By: News On 6

HURDLE MILLS, N.C. (AP) _ Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Doug Marlette is remembered Saturday during a funeral service as a staunch supporter of free speech and as a ``beautiful friend.'' Referring to Marlette's explosive personality, columnist Kathleen Parker says the "Tulsa World" editorial cartoonist was too much for this world. Parker says that Marlette, quote, ``finally he has an audience equal to his conversation and we can be sure he's having fun.''

Marlette, a North Carolina native who split his time between nearby Hillsborough and Tulsa, Oklahoma, died Tuesday in an automobile accident. The 57-year-old was the passenger in a pickup truck that authorities believed hydroplaned in heavy rain and struck a tree near Holly Springs, Mississippi.

Marlette started his cartooning career at "The Charlotte Observer" in 1972, and had worked for the "Tulsa World" since February 2006. His comic strip ``Kudzu'' was syndicated worldwide.

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