He was pulled out of the university and was drafted to the US Army, He was enlisted in 1950 and he began to draw cartoons for the military newsletter “Stripes and Stars”. Some of his cartoons appeared in Playboy Magazine from 1955 to the late 1900’s. He began drawing cartoons when he was only 12 years old. He became a country and rock songwriter. He started writing songs after he shattered his leg in a car accident. Some of his famous songs won Grammy awards. His friend Tom Ungerer persuaded him to write for children in early 1960’s. His editor Ursula Nordstrom who worked at Harper & Row encouraged him to write poetry, He never planned on becoming a childrens writer.