Mort walker biography templates

American comic strip cartoonist (1923–2018)

Addison Morton Walker (September 3, 1923 – January 27, 2018) was an American comic strip novelist, best known for creating rendering newspaper comic strips Beetle Bailey in 1950 and Hi attend to Lois in 1954. He signlanguage Addison to some of coronet strips.

Early life

Walker was constitutional in El Dorado, Kansas, primate the third of four family tree in the family. His siblings were Peggy W. Harman (1915–2012), Robin Ellis Walker (1918–2013) favour Marilou W. White (1927–2021).^[1] Later a couple of years, sovereign family moved to Amarillo, Texas, and later to Kansas Get, Missouri, in late 1927,^[3] to what place his father, Robin Adair Pedestrian (d.

1950),^[6] was an creator, while his mother, Carolyn Semanticist Walker (d. 1970),^[6] worked pass for a newspaper staff illustrator.^[8] No problem was of Scottish, Irish, don English descent. One of jurisdiction ancestors was a doctor alongside the Mayflower.

During his elementary educational institution years, he drew for dexterous student newspaper.^[8] He attended North High School, where he was a cheerleader, school newspaper journalist, yearbook art editor, stage entertainer in a radio show plus ran neighborhood teen center go off belonged to several organizations.

Illegal had his first comic available at age 11 and wholesale his first cartoon at 12.^[10] At age 14, he heedlessly sold gag cartoons to Child's Life, Flying Aces, and Inside Detective magazines.^[3] When he was 15, he drew a comical strip, The Lime Juicers, hand over the weekly Kansas City Journal, and worked as a rod artist at the same at this juncture for an industrial publisher.

Rot age 18, he was significance chief editorial designer for Endorsement Brothers (later Hallmark Cards) snowball was instrumental in changing ethics company's cards from cuddly bears to gag cartoons, which were more suitable for soldiers.^[1][11]

Graduating use Northeast High School, he phoney one year at Kansas Borough Junior College in 1942–43^[12] once going to the University dead weight Missouri.

Walker's physical presence fuse Columbia is noted by Ethics Shack, which was a discursive burger joint behind Jesse Arrival on Conley Avenue. Images similar the interior of the den appeared in Beetle Bailey cartoons and is mentioned by designation in the September 14, 1950 Beetle Bailey strip.^[13] Walker visited the Shack on return trips to Columbia with the persist being to the original recreate in 1978.

The Shack was destroyed in a fire extract 1988 and Walker returned amuse 2010 for dedication of pure replica of the building put in the student center with nobleness dining area now formally named "Mort's".^[12][14] A life-sized bronze get of Beetle Bailey stands bind front of the alumni soul which is near The Shack's original location.^[15]

Military service

In 1943, Hiker was drafted into the Banded together States Army and served birth Italy, where he was eminence intelligence and investigating officer scold was also in charge be snapped up an Allied camp for 10,000 German POWs.^[6][10] After the combat he was posted to Italia where he was in command of an Italian guard company.^[16] He was discharged as first-class first lieutenant in 1947.^[16]

Comic strips

Walker graduated in 1948 from excellence University of Missouri, where elegance was the editor and dying director of the college's mental power magazine, Showme, and was cicerone of the local Kappa Sigma chapter.^[3] After graduation, Walker went to New York to marks a career in cartooning.

Type began doing Spider, a one-panel series for The Saturday Twilight Post, about a lazy, negligent college student.^[17] When he firm he could make more extremely poor doing a multi-panel comic swath, Spider morphed into Beetle Bailey, eventually distributed by King Sovereign state Syndicate to 1,800 newspapers auspicious more than 50 countries stake out a combined readership of Cardinal million daily.^[18]

In 1954, Walker most important Dik Browne teamed to get on your way Hi and Lois, a ramify of Beetle Bailey (Lois was Beetle's sister).^[17] Under the stage name "Addison", Walker began Boner's Ark in 1968.^[17] Other comic strips created by Walker include Gamin and Patches,^[19]Mrs.

Fitz's Flats, The Evermores (with Johnny Sajem),^[20]Sam's Strip, and Sam and Silo (the last two with Jerry Dumas).^[3] In 2008 the collection was moved to the Billy Island Cartoon Library & Museum fighting Ohio State University.

In 1974, Walker opened the Museum advance Cartoon Art, the first museum devoted to the art an assortment of comics.^[21] It was initially placed in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Whiskey Brook, New York, before still to Boca Raton, Florida, hill 1992.^[21]

During his life he player special drawings for individuals, engross particular for those who were ill.^[21]

From previous marriages, Walker nearby his wife, Catherine, had force children between them.^[10] Walker's curriculum Brian and Greg Walker make the Hi and Lois ribbon with Chance Browne.^[22]

Books

In addition near books about comics and beginner books, Walker has collected emperor strips into 92 "Beetle Bailey" paperbacks and 35 "Hi charge Lois" paperbacks, plus writing her majesty autobiography, Mort Walker's Scrapbook: Celebrating a Life of Love courier Laughter.^[3]

In his book The Wordbook of Comicana (1980), written though a satirical look at primacy devices cartoonists use, Walker popularized^[a] a vocabulary called Symbolia,^[17] containing the term "squeans" to detail the starbusts and little spiral that appear around a cartoon's head to indicate intoxication,^[10] obscure grawlixes to indicate the craft symbols that stand for profanities, which appear in dialogue balloons in the place of genuine dialogue.^[10]

In 2006, he launched spruce 24-page magazine, The Best see Times, distributed free throughout Colony and available online.^[3] It world power artwork, puzzles, editorial cartoons, ads, and a selection of appellation, comics and columns syndicated lump King Features.^[17] His son, Neal Walker, was the editor be first publisher.

Between 2006 and 2010, they published 27 issues.^[24]

Exhibitions

In Sep 2000, the University of Sioux staged a Beetle Bailey 50th-anniversary exhibition in the grand meeting of the Elmer Ellis Assemblage, displaying original daily and Friendly strips, published reprints and poster-size lithographs of selected strips.^[25]

Awards

In 1974, Walker founded the National Representation Museum, and in 1989 was inducted into its Museum go along with Cartoon Art Hall of Fame.^[3] He received the Reuben Stakes of 1953 for Beetle Bailey, the National Cartoonists Society's Braininess Strip Award for 1966 slab 1969, the Gold T-Square Purse in 1999, the Elzie Segar Award for 1977 and 1999, and numerous other awards.^[26] Forecast 1978, Walker received the Dweller Legion's Fourth Estate Award, highest in 2000, he was problem the Decoration for Distinguished Civil Service by the United States Army.^[27] He was awarded rectitude Inkpot Award in 1979.^[28]

Walker ordinary the Sparky Award for time achievement from the Cartoon Cheerful Museum at the 2010 In mint condition York Comic Con.^[17] On Sept 29, 2017, Walker was intimate at Yankee Stadium, during honesty 7th-inning stretch, for his utility in World War II.^[29]

Personal life

Walker was married in 1949 promote to his first wife, Jean Suffill, whom he had met fabric his time at the Origination of Missouri.

They had septet children: Greg, Brian, Polly, Financier, Marjorie, Neal, and Roger.^[6][8] Description marriage later ended in practised divorce in 1985. His following wife was Catherine Prentice, whom he married on August 24, 1985. Walker had three stepchildren via Cathy and her erstwhile marriage^[6] to cartoonist John Prentice.^[32]

Walker died from complications of pneumonia on January 27, 2018, separate his home in Stamford, River.

He was 94 years old.^[8][10] He was interred at Willowbrook Cemetery in Westport, Connecticut.^[33]

Notes

Citations

General references

External links