In 1968, Bill Hoest, a cartoonist and former greeting card designer who once lived in Levittown, created a cartoon called “The Lockhorns of Levittown.” In 1973, his new wife
Bunny Hoest, a former English teacher, began working with him on the cartoon that was shortened to “The Lockhorns.” It featured the verbal jabs of married couple Loretta and Leroy Lockhorn and quickly won widespread popularity through syndication. Following Hoest’s death in 1988, Bunny continued the cartoon with Hoest’s former assistant, Huntington resident and Smithtown High School graduate, John Reiner. Today, nearly 100 million people read “The Lockhorns” every week in 500 newspapers worldwide. Bunny Hoest produces 728 cartoons a year for “The Lockhorns,” in addition to “Howard Huge” and other syndicated cartoons. A Huntington resident, Hoest is a member of the Huntington Choral Society. Bill and Bunny Hoest are shown here in a 1983 photo. —Cynthia Blair
