Scott Adams: Dilbert Cartoonist Dies at 68

Scott ⁤Adams, Creator of Dilbert, Dies at ⁣68

Scott Adams, the creator of the widely popular comic ⁣strip Dilbert, which captured ⁢the frustrations of ⁤white-collar workers and satirized modern office culture, has died. He was⁢ 68.

His‍ first‍ ex-wife, Shelly Miles,‍ announced his death Tuesday (Jan 13) on a livestream‍ posted on Adams’ social⁣ media accounts. “He’s not with ⁤us right anymore,” she said. Adams had revealed in 2025 that he had prostate cancer that had spread to his bones. miles stated he was in hospice care at⁢ his Northern California home⁢ on Monday.

“I had an amazing life,” a statement read. “I gave it everything ⁤I had.”

At its peak,Dilbert appeared in 2,000 newspapers worldwide,across 70 countries and in 25 languages,featuring its iconic,mouthless protagonist in a white shirt⁤ and red tie.

Adams received the National ⁢Cartoonist Society’s Reuben Award in ⁤1997, a prestigious honor in the⁣ field. That same year, Dilbert became the ‍first fictional character to be named to Time ‍ magazine’s list⁢ of the most influential Americans. the magazine noted that readers “root for ⁤him as he is our ‍mouthpiece for the lessons we have ⁢accumulated – but are too afraid to express – in our effort to avoid cubicular homicide.”

The strip’s popularity extended beyond ⁣newspapers, spawning bestselling⁣ books, merchandise, commercials for Office Depot,⁤ and an animated TV series featuring Daniel Stern as the ⁣voice of Dilbert.

The Collapse of the Dilbert Empire

The ⁣ Dilbert empire rapidly declined in 2023 when Adams repeatedly referred to Black people as ⁢members of a “hate group” and stated he would no longer “help Black ⁤Americans.” He later claimed his statements were hyperbolic but continued to defend his views.

Newspapers swiftly dropped the comic, and Andrews McMeel Universal,‍ his distributor, severed ties. The Sun Chronicle in attleboro,⁤ Massachusetts, ⁣left the Dilbert space blank “as a‍ reminder of the racism that pervades our society.” A planned book was cancelled.

Bill ‍Holbrook,⁣ creator of the strip On the Fastrack, commented at the time, “He’s not being cancelled. he’s experiencing the consequences of expressing his views.‍ I am in full support with him saying anything‍ he wants to, but then he has to own the consequences of saying them.”

Adams later relaunched the comic as Dilbert Reborn on the⁤ video platform‍ Rumble,popular with conservative and far-right groups. He also hosted the podcast, Real Coffee, discussing⁤ political and social issues.

How Dilbert Got Its Start

Adams,a ⁣graduate of Hartwick College⁣ and the University of California,Berkeley (with a bachelor’s degree and MBA respectively),began drawing cartoons while ⁣working at Pacific Bell in the 1980s to entertain his ⁢colleagues. He initially depicted Dilbert as a computer programmer and engineer and submitted his work to syndicators.

“The take on office life was new and on target ‍and insightful,” said Sarah Gillespie, who discovered Dilbert at United Media. “I looked first for humor and only secondarily for art, which with Dilbert was a good thing, ⁣as the art is universally acknowledged to be… not great.”

The first Dilbert comic strip appeared on April 16, 1989, preceding workplace comedies like office Space and The Office.It portrayed corporate culture as ⁢a bureaucratic and frequently enough absurd world where employee contributions were undervalued.

The strip introduced the “Dilbert Principle”: The most ineffective workers are systematically moved into management positions, where they can cause the least harm.

Dilbert featured a cast of recurring characters,including Dilbert’s pointy-haired boss,Asok the intern,Wally the slacker,Alice,prone⁤ to outbursts of frustration,and Dogbert,Dilbert’s megalomaniacal pet.

“There’s a certain amount of anger you need to draw Dilbert comics,” Adams once said.

In 1993, Adams was the first syndicated cartoonist to include his email address in his strip, fostering a dialogue with fans and providing a⁣ source of inspiration for new material.

Dilbert also became known for its aphorisms,such ⁣as “All ⁤rumours are true⁣ – especially if your boss denies them” and “Okay,let’s get this preliminary pre-meeting going.”

A Gradual ⁢Darkening

While Adams’ career decline appeared sudden to some, observant readers noted a ⁤gradual shift in the strip’s tone and the creator’s increasingly controversial views, including misogyny, anti-immigration sentiment, and racism.

He faced criticism for comments ⁣made in 2011 suggesting women are treated differently due to societal perceptions similar to those applied to children and the mentally disabled.⁣ In a 2006 ‍blog post, he questioned the death toll of the Holocaust.

In 2020, Adams tweeted ⁣that the cancellation of the Dilbert TV show in 2000 was “the third job I lost for being white,” despite previously attributing its failure to low viewership and scheduling issues.

These beliefs increasingly manifested in the strip itself, as exemplified by a 2022 comic where a boss introduces a “wokeness” score for performance reviews, prompting an ⁣employee’s complaint about subjectivity and a subsequent deduction of points for being a “bigot.”

Adams responded to his cancellation with a tweet in 2023: “Only the dying leftist Fake News industry cancelled me (for out-of-context ‍news of course). Social⁢ media‍ and banking unaffected. Personal life improved. Never ‍been more popular in my life.Zero pushback in ⁣person.Black and White ⁣conservatives solidly supporting me.”