Scott Adams Bob Riha Jr./Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Scott Adams, who kept cubicle denizens laughing for more than three decades with Dilbert, the bitingly funny comic strip that poked fun at the absurdity of corporate life, before racist remarks got him pink-slipped, died Tuesday. He was 68. His death was tearfully revealed by his first ex-wife, Shelly Miles, at the start of Real Coffee With Scott Adams. In May, he said on the podcast that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, which had spread to his bones. "I expect to be checking out from this domain this summer," he said. In a statement he wrote that was read by Miles over six minutes, he said, "Things did not go well for me ... my body fell before my brain." Sprung from Adams' days as a Pacific Bell applications engineer in San Ramon, California, Dilbert debuted in 1989 and at the height of its popularity appeared in more than 2,000 newspapers across 65 countries and in 25 languages with an estimated worldwide readership of more than 150 million. Though it had the appropriate level of cartoon exaggeration, the strip keenly captured office life and struck a nerve with the white-collar class. "That's the amazing thing I found when I went online a couple of years ago," Adams told The New York Times in a 1995 interview. "I heard from all these people who thought that they were the only ones, that they were in this unique, absurd situation. That they couldn't talk about their situation because no one would believe it. Basically, there are 25 million people out there, living in cardboard boxes indoors, and there was no voice for them. So there was this pent-up demand." Dilbert was an unassuming, mild-mannered engineer who was a whiz with computers but lacking in social skills. His colleagues included Alice, a highly qualified tech who raged against the chauvinistic corporate mindset that thought less of her because she was a woman; Wally, a senior engineer whose goal was to avoid work and responsibility at all costs; and Asok, an Indian intern whose optimism was quashed by the corporate agenda. The team was overseen by the Pointy-Haired Boss, a clueless authority whose actions towed the company line and often caused more harm than good. Also in the mix were Dogbert, a maniacal schemer, and Catbert, the ruthless head of HR. Many of the jokes played off the inane truths of the work environment. For example, when the Pointy-Haired Boss suggests a pre-meeting to prepare for a meeting the next day, Dilbert sarcastically questions whether it's wise to jump into a pre-meeting without any planning. In the last panel, the team finds themselves sitting through a preliminary pre-meeting. In another entry, Catbert bans the term "work-life balance," as it implies that employees' lives are important. He goes on to compliment Dilbert for not having a life. And when the boss wonders why his email is not working, Wally tells him the internet is full, leading the boss to attempt to drain the data from his computer by siphoning it into a wastebasket. Dilbert sprang from the monotony of Adams' own days on the job. Stuck in endless business meetings, he'd while away the hours sketching ideas on a notepad, leading to Dilbert. "I hated my work," he said. "It never seemed to me to be what I should be doing." Adams put together a portfolio of his workday doodles and sent it to several newspaper syndicates. United Feature Syndicate bit, and by 1991, Adams' cartooning revenue had far exceeded his annual Pacific Bell salary. Always Postpone Meetings With Time-Wasting Morons, his first Dilbert compilation book, hit bookstores in 1992. It was followed by 48 more, including Random Acts of Management, When Did Ignorance Become a Point of View? and Freedom's Just Another Word for People Finding Out You're Useless. Dilbert T-shirts, calendars, coffee mugs, dolls and a video game flooded the market. For two seasons starting in 1999, fans could catch animated Dilbert episodes on UPN. Developed by Adams in collaboration with Seinfeld writer Larry Charles, the series featured the voice talent of Daniel Stern (Dilbert), Larry Miller (Pointy-Haired Boss), Chris Elliott (Dogbert), Kathy Griffin (Alice) and Jason Alexander (Catbert). Related Stories Business Colleen Barstow, Theater Owner and Independent Cinema Advocate, Dies at 64 Music Guy Moon, 'The Fairly OddParents' and 'Danny Phantom' Composer, Dies at 63 From left: Dilbert, Pointy-Haired Boss, Alice and Wally shared office space in the comic strip. Courtesy Everett Collection For several years, Adams kept his day job, and the strips included his email address. He spent mornings before work poring over missives sent via email or posted to Dilboard, an AOL bulletin board. If a tale of workplace misery caught his eye, he'd incorpo