Bil Keane

For the television and radio personality, see Bill Keene.
Bil Keane

Bil Keane at work in his studio in 1990
Born William Aloysius Keane
October 5, 1922(1922-10-05)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Died November 8, 2011(2011-11-08) (aged 89)
Paradise Valley, Arizona, USA
Nationality American
Area(s) Cartoonist
Notable works Family Circus
Channel Chuckles
Awards full list

William Aloysius Keane (October 5, 1922 – November 8, 2011), better known as Bil Keane, was an American cartoonist most notable for his work on the long-running newspaper comic The Family Circus. It began in 1960 and continues in syndication, drawn by his son Jeff Keane.[1][2]

Contents

Biography

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Keane taught himself to draw while attending Northeast Catholic High School by mimicking the style of the cartoons published in The New Yorker. His first cartoon was published on May 21, 1936 on the amateur page of the Philadelphia Daily News. While in high school, his in-comic signature spelled his name "Bill Keane",[3] but early in his career, he omitted the second L from his first name "to be distinctive".[4]

Keane served in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1945, drawing for Yank and creating the "At Ease with the Japanese" feature for the Pacific edition of Stars and Stripes. While stationed in Australia he met Thelma "Thel" Carne.[5] Bil and Thel were married in Brisbane in 1948[5] and settled in Roslyn, Pennsylvania. Thel, the inspiration for the "Mommy" character in his long-running strip, died on May 23, 2008, from complications of Alzheimer's Disease.[5][6] They have five children, Gayle, Neal, Glen, Christopher and Jeff. Glen works as an animator.

Keane worked for the Philadelphia Bulletin as a staff artist from 1946 to 1959, where he launched his first regular comic strip Silly Philly. His first syndicated strip, Channel Chuckles, a series of jokes related to television, premiered in 1954 and ran until 1977.[7] In 1959, the Keane family moved to Paradise Valley, Arizona. Keane's daily newspaper panel The Family Circus premiered on February 29, 1960.[8] Keane was the president of the National Cartoonists Society from 1981 to 1983 and was the emcee of the Society's annual awards banquet for 16 years.[9]

From 1981 to 1983, Keane published the gag strip Eggheads in collaboration with his son Jeff, who now draws and writes The Family Circus and continues the strip with his own insight and humor. Like his father, Jeff Keane has been president of the National Cartoonists Society (NCS), serving two consecutive terms (four years). The NCS is the organizing body that honors cartoonists with the Reuben Awards. [10]

Bil Keane died on November 8, 2011, at his home in Paradise Valley, Arizona (near Phoenix), at 89. The cause of death was given as congestive heart failure.[1]

Awards

Keane is a four-time recipient of the National Cartoonists Society's Award for Best Syndicated Panel, winning in 1967, 1971, 1973 and 1974.[11] In 1982, Keane was named the Society's Cartoonist of the Year and received its top honor, the Reuben Award.[12] He also received the Elzie Segar Award in 1982 for his unique contribution to the cartooning profession.[13] Keane was honored with the Silver T-Square Award from the National Cartoonist Society in 2002 for "outstanding dedication" to the Society and the cartooning profession.[14] In 1998, he became the tenth recipient of the Arizona Heritage Award, joining—among others—Barry Goldwater, Sandra Day O'Connor, Mo Udall and Erma Bombeck.[15]

Friends

On December 15th and 16th of 1994 the characters from The Family Circus made a "guest appearance" in the nationally syndicated "Zippy the Pinhead" comic strip by Bill Griffith. The characters were drawn into the strip by Keane, but the dialog was written by Griffith. Then, on March 7, 1995, Zippy made an appearance in a Family Circus panel, drawn in by Bill Griffith. Griffith said of the "jam", "It makes sense to me that the two most surreal comic strips in America should pay a visit to each other."

Criticism of Bill Watterson

In 1992, when Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson began requiring newspapers to run his Sunday comic feature in half-page size, Keane opposed the idea. Keane said, "I can see why he wants to do it for himself, but it is a disservice to other cartoonists. It diminishes the space other cartoonists get or forces newspapers to drop strips."[20] Keane also voiced his displeasure when Watterson announced his retirement three years later, saying that the decision was "not fair to the readers or to the editors who have paid good money and provided space in their newspapers."[21]

Books

Family Circus collections

  • The Family Circus (1961)
  • The Family Circus Vol. 1 (1965)
  • The Family Circus Vol. 2 (1966)
  • Sunday with the Family Circus (1966)
  • The Family Circus (1967)
  • I Need a Hug. (1968)
  • Peace, Mommy, Peace! (1969)
  • Wanna Be Smiled At? (1970)
  • I'm Taking a Nap (1971)
  • Peekaboo! I Love You! (1971)
  • Look Who's Here! (1972)
  • Can I Have a Cookie? (1973)
  • Hello, Grandma? (1973)
  • At Home with the Family Circus (1973)
  • I’m Taking a Nap (1974)
  • When's Later, Daddy? (1974)
  • I Can't Untie My Shoes! (1975)
  • Dolly Hit Me Back! (1975)
  • Mine: And Yours, Too! (1975)
  • Jeffy's Lookin' at Me (1976)
  • Smile! (1976)
  • Not Me! (1976)
  • Quiet! Mommy's Asleep! (1977)
  • Sunday with the Family Circus (1977)
  • For This I Went to College? (1977)
  • Where's PJ? (1978)
  • Any Children? (1979)
  • Dolly Hit Me Back! (1979)
  • Not Me. (1980)
  • Daddy's Little Helpers (1980)
  • Good Morning, Sunshine! (1980)
  • On Vacation with the Family Circus (1980)
  • Kittycat’s Motor is Running! (1981)
  • Who Invented Rain? (1981)
  • My Turn Next! (1981)
  • Pasghetti and Meat Bulbs! (1981)
  • That Family Circus Feeling (1982)
  • Go to Your Room! (1982)
  • It’s Not Easy Bein’ the Littlest (1982)
  • We’ll Help You Get Better (1982)
  • Mommy, God’s Here (1982)
  • PJ’s Barefoot All Over! (1989)
  • I'm Already Tucked In (1983)
  • Pick Up What Things? (1983)
  • Grandma Was Here (1983)
  • My Turn Next! (1984)
  • Love, The Family Circus (1984)
  • The Family Circus Parade (1984)
  • It's My Birthday Suit (1984)
  • I Dressed Myself! (1984)
  • How Do You Turn It on? (1985)
  • Unquestionably the Family Circus (1985)
  • Wanna Be Smiled at? (1985)
  • PJ's Still Hungry (1986)
  • Heart of the Family Circus (1986)
  • He Followed Me Home (1987)
  • The Family Circus's Colorful Life (1987)
  • We're Home! (1987)
  • Where Did the Summer Go? (1987)
  • I Could Hear Chewing (1988)
  • It's Muddy Out Today (1988)
  • Oops! We’re Out of Juice (1988)
  • The Family Circus is Very Keane (1988)
  • Granddad! It's Morning! (1989)
  • We Didn't Do It! (1989)
  • Baby on Board (1989)
  • The Family Circus Memories (1989)
  • Behold the Family Circus (1989)
  • Quiet, Sam! (1990)
  • I Had a Frightmare! (1990)
  • I Just Dropped Grandma! (1990)
  • I’m Wearin’ a Zucchini! (1991)
  • The Sky's All Wrinkled (1991)
  • It's Up and Let 'Em at Me (1991)
  • Through the Year with the Family Circus (1992)
  • Look! A Flutterby! (1992)
  • Are You Awake, Daddy? (1992)
  • I'll Shovel the Cards (1992)
  • Sam's Takin' a Catnap! (1992)
  • Enjoy Yourselves! (1993)
  • What Does This Say? (1994)
  • Stay! (1994)
  • Count Your Blessings (1995)
  • Sing Me a Loveaby? (1995)
  • Daddy's Cap Is on Backwards (1996)
  • The Family Circus by Request (1998)

Special compilations

Other cartoon collections

Illustrated books

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b "The Associated Press: 'Family Circus' creator Bil Keane dies at 89". Google.com. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h46uwJiZg9NRKogBtxRuuGRJ_U9g?docId=013c6c817550450aa2d1449a009e702e. Retrieved 2011-11-09. 
  2. ^ "CNN The Marquee Blog: 'Family Circus' creator Bil Keane dies". cnn.com. 2011-11-10. http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/10/family-circus-creator-bil-keane-dies/. Retrieved 2011-11-21. 
  3. ^ "Keane's high school work". http://www.familycircus.com/art/hs/images/hist15a.gif. Retrieved 5 June 2011. 
  4. ^ "Baptist Life". http://www.baptistlifeonline.org/files/pdfs/03/11/Nov03.pdf. Retrieved 1 November 2010. 
  5. ^ a b c Meyers, Amanda Lee (May 27, 2008). "Thelma Keane; Wife Of Cartoonist Bil Keane". The Washington Post. Associated Press. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/26/AR2008052602129.html. Retrieved 2008-05-29. 
  6. ^ Meyers, Amanda Lee (May 25, 2008), "Inspiration for 'Family Circus' Mommy dies at 82", Houston Chronicle (Associated Press), http://www.chron.com/life/article/Inspiration-for-Family-Circus-Mommy-dies-at-82-1753703.php, retrieved 2008-05-26 
  7. ^ (Keane, p.8-9)
  8. ^ (Keane, p.21)
  9. ^ Richmond, Tom (November 9 2011). "Bil Keane, 1922-2011". News From The NCS. National Cartoonist Society. http://www.reuben.org/. Retrieved 2011-11-9. 
  10. ^ Keane, Christopher, Family Circus: The Next Generation, Cartoon Profiles, Issue No. 127, pg. 11, September 2000, Retrieved 2008-05-26
  11. ^ "NCS Newspaper Panel Awards". National Cartoonist Society Website. http://www.reuben.org/ncs/archive/divisions/panels.asp. Retrieved 2008-04-30. 
  12. ^ "The Reuben Award". National Cartoonist Society Website. Archived from the original on 2008-04-09. http://web.archive.org/web/20080409005240/http://www.reuben.org/ncs/awards2.asp. Retrieved 2008-04-30. 
  13. ^ "NCS Elzie Segar Award". National Cartoonist Society Website. http://www.reuben.org/ncs/archive/divisions/others.asp. Retrieved 2008-04-30. 
  14. ^ "The Gold & Silver T-Squares". National Cartoonist Society Website. http://www.reuben.org/ncs/archive/divisions/tsquare.asp. Retrieved 2008-04-30. 
  15. ^ Grady, Michael (December 29, 1998). "Family Circus artist still draws: Arizona Heritage Award notes contributions". Dallas Morning News. 
  16. ^ http://www.americancatholic.org/messenger/nov2001/feature1.asp
  17. ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=894&dat=19960430&id=qxoOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iH0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4413,3938211
  18. ^ Stephan Pastis, "And Now a Few Words From the Creator of One of the World’s Most Beloved Family Comics", Official Pearls Before Swine Blog, stephanpastis.wordpress.com, 28, July 2009
  19. ^ Stephan Pastis, Pearls Sells Out: A Pearls Before Swine Treasury, Andrews McMeel Publishing (18 Aug 2009), p.13
  20. ^ Astor, David, Editor & Publisher, March 7, 1992 edition; p. 34, available from Lunatic Hub as Cartoonists Discuss 'Calvin' Requirement, retrieved 2008-05-26
  21. ^ Astor, David, Editor & Publisher, March 7, 1992 edition; p. 38, available from Lunatic Hub as Strong Reaction To End Of Comic Strip, retrieved 2008-05-26

References

External links