SAVANNAH, Ga. (VINnews) — Nick Bougas, an American cartoonist and filmmaker who produced racist and antisemitic illustrations under the pen name A. Wyatt Mann, has died. He was 71.
Bougas, born in Savannah, Georgia, gained notoriety in the late 1980s and early 1990s for cartoons published in white supremacist outlets. His most widely circulated work was the “Happy Merchant,” a caricature depicting a Jewish man with exaggerated facial features, a beard and a rubbing-hands pose associated with greed. The image later became one of the most frequently used antisemitic memes on the internet.
Associates confirmed Bougas’ authorship of the cartoons, though he never publicly acknowledged creating them. The Anti-Defamation League and other groups have described the Happy Merchant as a staple hate symbol that spread across imageboards and social media platforms.
Beyond illustration, Bougas directed cult documentaries including the “Death Scenes” series, hosted by Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey, and the 1993 profile “Speak of the Devil.” He also contributed artwork to underground magazines, collected true-crime memorabilia and compiled celebrity audio outtakes during years spent in Hollywood.