Roy McKie was born in Medford, Massachusetts. He attended Vesper George School of Art, where he won the Prix de Rome. Because of World War II, it wasn't possible for him to go to Rome for further study. Instead, he attended the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation.
He worked for book publishers, major magazines, and advertising agencies from the 1960's until the 1990's. He was best known as a children's book illustrator working with Dr. Seuss on numerous books including Ten Apples Up on Top, In a People House, Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog?, The Tooth Book, The Eye Book, I Can Write, and My Book About Me, By Me Myself. He also illustrated The Nose Book by Al Perkins, Bennett Cerf's Animal Riddles by Bennett Cerf, Summer by Alice Low, A Big Ball of String by Marion Holland, and Snow by P.D. Eastman. He died on January 8, 2015 at the age of 93.
030