Harvey Lawrence Pekar was a comic book writer, media personality and music critic, born on 8th October 1939, in Cleveland, Ohio USA, and was probably best known for his autobiographical comic series “American Splendor”, which was an inspiration for the 2003 film adaptation of the same name. He was described as the “poet laureate of Cleveland”. Harvey passed away in 2010.
Have you ever wondered how rich Harvey Pekar was? According to sources, it has been estimated that Harvey Pekar’s overall net worth was $12 million, accumulated by developing a successful writing career, and achieving great publicity among readers. He was an awarded and reputable writer, whose net worth rose significantly during his career which spanned nearly four decades.
Harvey Pekar Net Worth $12 Million
Pekar was born into a Jewish family, who immigrated from Poland after World War II. He claimed his childhood was difficult since he was often physically abused by his peers, since he was one of the few remaining white children in his neighborhood. After graduating from Shaker Heights High School, Harvey enrolled at Case Western Reserve University, but dropped out after the first year to serve in the US Navy. He then worked various odd jobs before getting a job at Cleveland’s Veteran’s Administration Hospital as a file clerk, a job he held until his retirement, refusing all promotions even after becoming famous. Through their mutual love of jazz, Harvey met cartoonist and musician Rober Crumb, and their friendship eventually led to him creating an autobiographical comic book series – “American Splendor”.
However, his career really started in the early ‘70s, when Pekar showed some of his stories to Crumb and artist Robert Armstrong, who were so impressed they offered to illustrate them. Soon, Pekar & Crumb’s “Crazy Ed” was published becoming Harvey’s first published work of comics. More work followed such as “A Mexican Tale”, “It Pays to Advertise”, “Ain’ It The Truth” and other. Harvey’s first issue of “American Splendor” series appeared in 1976, and documented his daily life in the Cleveland neighborhoods. It was illustrated by Crumb, Budgett, Dumm and Brian Bram and some of the stories were later collected into many books and anthologies. These formed the base of his net worth.
In 2003, directed by Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman, a film adaptation of “American Splendor” was released and included Harvey’s personal appearance in the movie. One of Pekar’s notable biographies includes “American Splendor: Unsung Her”(2003) which portrays the experience of one of his co-workers in the Vietnam War. His other work includes “The Quitter”(2005), “Ego&Hubris:The Michael Malice Story”(2006), “Students for a Democratic Society: A Graphic History”(2008), “The Beats”(2009), “Studs Terkel’s Working: A Graphic Adaptation”(2009), and “The Pekar Project”(2010). All contributed steadily to his net worth.
Privately, Harvey married three times, firstly to Karen Delaney (1960-72), then to Helen Lark Hall (1977-81), and thirdly to writer Joyce Brabner with whom he worked on the creation on the novel autobiography “Our Cancer Year”, which described his successful treatment for lymphoma. The couple lived with their foster daughter Danielle in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where he died on 12th July 2010.
