Posted on 11/09/2011 10:08:37 AM PST by Keith in Iowa
BREAKING: Bil Keane, creator of comic strip Family Circus, dies at 89. -BW
Good guy and good father (and grandfather). A life well-lived. RIP and condolences to son Glen, the master animator of “Aladdin” and so many other characters, and to the rest of the surviving family.
Sad.
Wonder how the ‘Pearls before Swine’ guy will react?
I liked his stuff, and he seemed like a gentle soul.
Fair winds and following seas, Bil.
Ah... nuts.
OH, NO! That is my favorite cartoon and has been for almost 50 years. I know he lost his wife a couple of years ago and was very sad. But his cartoons were always fresh, even though the cast of characters never got any older.
He used to be next door neighbors and good friends with Erma Bombeck.
I haven’t subscribed to a newspaper in probably 30 years but that was one of my favorites.
Oddly, I was just thinking of something my Mother once mentioned. She was born in 1918 in the Florida Panhandle. Her Father subscribed to the Montgomery Alabama Advertiser. She said her favorite comics characters were the Katzenjammer Kids.
I wonder if that one is still being printed?
Another American standard from a much better time passes from the scene.
Wholesome, gently funny, nuclear family observations, to be replaced no doubt by something more progressive, edgy, brave and daring.
(Do I really need to put quotation marks around all those ridculously misused adjectives?)
Good long life. I pray his family finds comfort in faith. Keane, Schultz and Hart - good wholesome comics.
Wow, 89. I had no idea Keane was quite that old. As a kid, I had a good number of the “Family Circus” paperbacks, which reprinted the strips. Always enjoyed them; they had a nice, crisp, early-1960s vibe.
Katzenjammer Kids can be seen at http://dailyink.com if not in your local paper...
Thanks, I clicked on the link but could not find it. That is almost certainly due to my slow “dial-up” connection. I will try again when I have more time.
But I remember him describing a strip where Jeffy asked Mommy if she would zip up the peel on a half-eaten banana, to save it for later.
.
Lucky!
Back in the 1960s he used to solicit ideas for his strip from his readers. I sent a true incident from our family, but he didn’t use it :(
Look at the junk on the comic page today...
From the website here is a little tidbit on that comic.
Rudolph Dirks created The Katzenjammer Kids in 1897 for the American Humorist, the famed Sunday supplement of the New York Journal. Inspired in part by Max Und Moritz, the famous German children's stories of the 1860s, The Katzenjammer Kids featured the adventures of Hans and Fritz, twins and fellow warriors in the battle against any form of authority. "The Katzies" rebelled against Mama (their own mother, of course), der Captain (the shipwrecked sailor who acted as their surrogate father) and der Inspector (dreaded representative of the school authorities).
The oldest comic strip still in syndication, The Katzenjammer Kids was adapted to the stage in 1903 and inspired countless animated cartoons. Today the feature is drawn by Hy Eisman. The U.S. Postal Service also saluted the Katzies with a commemorative stamp.
Thanks, that was interesting. Actually very interesting.
RIP.
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