McKee was born and brought up in Tavistock, South Devon, England. After attending the local grammar school he studied at Plymouth College of Art. While still at college, he started selling one-off cartoons, particularly to the national press. On leaving college he continued this to support himself while painting, drawing regularly for, among others, Punch, Reader's Digest, and The Times Educational Supplement. The first book that he sold was of a story he had told at college, Two Can Toucan. It is about a South American bird who can carry two cans of paint on its enormous bill. This was published by Abelard-Schuman in 1964; a 1985 edition with new illustrations by McKee was re-issued in 2001 by Andersen Press. McKee was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from Plymouth University in 2011.
Television and films
The BBC used some of McKee's books on television and asked about the possibility of a more extensive project. The result was the development of a series about McKee's Mr Benn character running to thirteen episodes which were regularly repeated for two decades. Five films for the Save the Children fund followed, then a series of films based on the King Rollo books, with two friends, Clive Juster and Leo Nielsen. The company King Rollo Films was started. The company maintained its success, with McKee being involved on projects usually as a writer. They have been responsible for various films including Tony Ross's Towser, Eric Hill's Spot the Dog, and Lucy Cousins's Maisy. The company plans to produce 26 animated films of Elmer. King Rollo Films has produced many other animations including Spot the Dog and the animated stories within the BBC's flagship children's programFimbles.
Writer and illustrator
McKee has produced several other characters that have developed into book series, including Elmer the Patchwork Elephant. Elmer is now published in more than 20 languages and has spawned a range of merchandise, including soft toys, from London Emblem and other companies worldwide. One of his earliest books, Six Men, teaches how a war can develop. He has also illustrated books by other authors, including some of the more recent Paddington Bear books. He also illustrated books written by his mother, Violet McKee, and by his son, Chuck McKee. McKee has produced Elmer board books, bath books, colouring books, an Elmer flap book, an Elmer hole-in-the-page book and an Elmer pop-up book. He has illustrated the songs 'Toy Boy' and 'Lonely Alcoholic' in singer-songwriter Mika's extended play 'Songs for Sorrow'.
Personal life
McKee has homes in London and the south of France where he lives with his partner Bakhta, a French-Algerian art-dealer with whom he shares an interest in collecting drawings and African tribal art. He won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 1987.
