Born in Brooklyn, New York in March 1925, Lignante was in the Navy and studied art at Pratt Institute.
He first drew The Phantom when he completed a strip left unfinished after the death of Wilson McCoy in 1961.
Of his many illustration assignments, Lignante wrote, "None of these compare to the instant art of the courtroom.
[1] Living in Carlsbad, California with his wife, former actress Alma Carroll, Lignante often traveled during three decades to deliver his "Trials of a Courtroom Artist" lecture.
His daughter Russelle, her husband Robert and their children are Long Island residents.