Those of us who grew up searching Hirschfeld drawings for Ninas are sad to lose this wonderful man, who died in his sleep on January 20, 2002, just a few months short of his hundredth birthday. But how good it is to know that he was at his drawing board working on his very last day -- an amazing life! If you are able to see the 1996 documentary about him, "The Line King," don't miss it.

Hirschfeld drew Alan three times between 1968 and 2002:

first as Jakob Bok in "The Fixer;"

then as Ben Butley in "Butley;"

and finally, in 2002, as Kuzovkin in "Fortune's Fool."