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Born in Littlefield, Texas in 1928 as Gerald Glynn West, the West family moved to Lubbock soon after. West became a famous cartoonist, journalist and mayor of Lubbock, Texas. He started his cartooning career while attending Texas Tech University where he drew cartoons for The University Daily. Beginning in the 1960's he drew a one-panel comic  featuring caricatures of mascots and coaches mostly in the Southwest Conference for the sports section of the Lubbock Avalanche Journal.  Later West expanded his cartoons to include the Big Twelve Conference.

Two of his characters would eventually be officially adopted by their respective universities: Texas Tech's Raider Red and the University of Nebraska's Herbie Husker.

West drew a semi-weekly one-panel comic in the Avalanche-Journal's sports section where he would lampoon college mascots and coaches alike, as well as the stereotypes of various universities. Thus there was the dim-witted Texas A&M Aggie, the devout but overemotional Baylor Bear, the arrogant University of Texas at Austin Longhorn and of course Raider Red, whose bullet-riddled Stetson showed by the number of holes the number of game losses for Texas Tech so far that season.

West would alter the image of his characters over the course of a sports season. A winning team's mascot would gradually get larger and tougher, the fans of losing teams would find their mascots growing thinner as the weeks went by.

After serving several years on the local Parks and Recreation Board and the city council, West was elected mayor of Lubbock in 1978, but disliked politics so much as a result that he did not run for a second term. He returned to his advertising agency and his cartooning, both of which he kept up until his death from a heart attack in 1996.

West died in July 26, 1996 in Austin and is buried at the Lubbock City Cemetery in Lubbock. His cartoons are much sought after by collectors even today.