Gil Parcell hailed from Formby, Lancashire, on the northwest coast of England. After serving with the Royal Air Force in the Middle East in World War II he emigrated to Canada, studied art through the Famous Artists School, and began a career in Toronto as a commercial artist, illustrator, and cartoonist. His cartoons have been published in newspapers and magazines in Canada and the United States. His favourite hobbies, soaring and sailing, provided plenty of subject matter. During his retirement (from work but not cartooning), he lived with his wife Carol in Wasaga Beach, Ontario. Sadly, Gil died in July 2008 at age 85.

As an illustrator, Gil’s main influences were three of his instructors: Norman Rockwell, Albert Dorne, and Robert Fawcett. He also admired the illustrations of Harold Von Schmidt, Jon Whitcomb, Stevan Dohanos, Peter Helck, and Ben Stahl. As a cartoonist, he often returned to Herman by Jim Unger and the work of artists at Mad magazine, such as Jack Davis.