Rex Babin was born in Walnut Creek and when his father died when he was 4 his mother moved the family to Los Angeles, where, during a field trip to the L. A. Times while in junior high he met Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Paul Conrad and found his life’s ambition. The Sacramento Bee editorial cartoonist died Friday at age 49 after a long struggle with stomach cancer. He’s being remembered fondly in the Bee today by fellow staffers and by political figures he sometimes skewered. Add: Above, that’s “Wings on the Hudson,” one of his personal favorites, depicting huge hands reaching down from on high to steady US Airways flight 1549 for maybe the most famous landing in modern aviation history. An excerpt:
"That cartoon resonated with people on the flight," said his wife, Kathleen. "He heard from many of the passengers and crew, and he presented it to Captain Sullenberger when he was in Sacramento. The reaction was amazing.”More: Slideshow of Rex Babin favorites and reaction to his death.
