Maurice Tanti Burlò, cartonist who poked fun at Dom, passes away
Times of Malta cartoonist whose humour punctuated 30 years of Maltese politics, passes away aged 78
Maurice Tanti Burlo (centre) with heart surgeons Alex Manché and Albert Fenech. Courtesy: Timesofmalta.com
The long-standing Times of Malta cartoonist Maurice Tanti Burlò, or as he was better known Nalizpelra, passed away Wednesday evening, aged 78.
He began drawing cartoons for The Times of Malta in October 1977 to “get back at Mintoff” for the way Telemalta employees, such as himself, were suspended without pay for supporting doctors, nurses and bankers on strike.
His pseudonym Nalizpelra featured in his cartoon showing an army of dissatisfied workers from all over Malta firing shots at a mean-looking Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, depicted as a bird.
He published three books A Worm’s Eye View in 1982, Blame it on Dom! in 2002 and Blame It on Ed! in 2004 and took part in more than 50 art and cartooning exhibitions in Malta and abroad since 1962.
He was married to Elena Gatt and had a son, Sebastian.
