Paul Trevillion

Paul Trevillion (born 11 March 1934) [1] is an acclaimed sports artist, whose career spans 70 years.

Born in Tottenham, north London, Trevillion, produced artwork for publications like Eagle while still at school. From the 1960s to the 1980s, Trevillion devised and illustrated pieces for Daily Mirror, Daily Express, The Sun, The Daily Telegraph, The Times, and TV Century 21 and in 2006 revived his cult football cartoon You Are The Ref - made famous by football magazine Shoot! in the 1970s - for The Observer. A book collecting 50 years of You Are The Ref was published in October 2006.[2] From August 2008, You Are The Ref appeared online at guardian.co.uk.[3]

Trevillion, who spent much of the 1960s in the US working with Mark McCormack at IMG for some of the world's biggest brands, is the author and illustrator of over 20 books which have sold worldwide. He also illustrated the famous Gary Player Golf Class which appeared in over 300 newspapers worldwide.

He has met and drawn some of sport's biggest names, including Pelé, Bobby Moore, George Best, Franz Beckenbauer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Sugar Ray Robinson and Oscar De La Hoya. As a young man, he also met and drew British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.[1]

Trevillion's career away from his art has been rich and, at times, bizarre. He worked as a stand-up comedian, supporting the likes of Norman Wisdom and Bob Monkhouse, had a record deal,as the world's Best Worst Singer'was crowned world speed-kissing champion, and invented the 'Pencil Grip' split-handed golf putting technique.[1] He was also the inspiration behind an attempt to boost Leeds United's image in the 1970s. Hired by Don Revie in 1972, his ideas included wearing numbered sock tags (which were subsequently thrown into the crowd as souvenirs) and synchronised warm-ups.[1]

In 2008 Trevillion was interviewed in the award-winning documentary Roy, about the life and times of Roy of the Rovers: a character Trevillion illustrated in the 1950s. The film was shown at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

In 2011 Trevillion was short-listed for the prestigious Sports Journalists' Association Cartoonist of the Year Award. Marking this feat at the age of 75, his long-time colleague Norman Giller commented in a tribute on the SJA website: "To describe Paul as a cartoonist is to trivialize a career dedicated to producing outstanding art."