Bil Keane Explained

Bil Keane -->
Birth Name:William Aloysius Keane
Birth Place:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Death Place:Paradise Valley, Arizona, U.S.
Strip:y
Notable Works:The Family Circus
Channel Chuckles
Awards:full list
Birth Date:5 October 1922
Spouse:Thelma Keane
Children:5 including Glen and Jeff

William Aloysius Keane (October 5, 1922 – November 8, 2011) was an American cartoonist best known for the newspaper comic panel The Family Circus. He began it in 1960 and his son Jeff Keane continues to produce it.[1] [2]

Early life and education

Keane was born in Crescentville, a neighborhood in Philadelphia, and attended parochial school at St. William Parish and Northeast Catholic High School.[3] [4] While a schoolboy, he taught himself to draw by mimicking the style of the cartoons published in The New Yorker.[5] His first cartoon was published on May 21, 1936, on the amateur page of the Philadelphia Daily News.[6] While in high school, he signed his work "Bill Keane",[7] but omitted the second L from his first name early in his career, in order "to be distinctive".[8]

Career

Keane served in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1945, during which he drew for Yank and created the feature "At Ease with the Japanese" for the Pacific edition of Stars and Stripes.

From 1946 to 1959 Keane worked as a staff artist for the Philadelphia Bulletin, where he launched his first regular comic strip Silly Philly. His first syndicated strip, Channel Chuckles, a series of jokes about television, premiered in 1954 and ran until 1977. In 1959, the Keane family moved to Paradise Valley, Arizona. Keane's daily newspaper panel The Family Circus premiered on February 29, 1960. He was president of the National Cartoonists Society from 1981 to 1983 and was the master of ceremonies at 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. Like his father, Jeff Keane has been president of the National Cartoonists Society, serving four years thereat.[10] [11]

Personal life

While stationed in Australia he met Thelma "Thel" Carne.[12] They were married in Brisbane, Queensland in 1948[12] and settled in Roslyn, Pennsylvania. They had five children: Gayle, Neal, Glen, Christopher and Jeff. Glen is an animator and has drawn much notice for his work for Walt Disney Animation Studios. Jeff is a cartoonist and took over his father's comic strip upon the latter's death. Thel, the inspiration for Mommy in The Family Circus, died on May 23, 2008 from complications of Alzheimer's disease.[12] [13]

Keane and his wife owned a second residence in Laguna Beach, California.[14]

Bil Keane died on November 8, 2011, at his home in Paradise Valley, Arizona, near Phoenix, at age 89. The cause of death was given as congestive heart failure. A Catholic, he was buried beside his wife in the Holy Redeemer Cemetery of Phoenix, Arizona.[1]

Awards

Keane received the National Cartoonists Society's Award for Best Syndicated Panel four times, in 1967, 1971, 1973 and 1974.[15] In 1981, he was awarded the Inkpot Award.[16] In 1982, he was named the Society's Cartoonist of the Year and received the Reuben Award, the Society's top honor.[17] That year he also received the Elzie Segar Award for his unique contribution to the cartooning profession.[18]

In 1998, Keane became the tenth recipient of the Arizona Heritage Award, joining—among others—Barry Goldwater, Sandra Day O'Connor, Mo Udall and Erma Bombeck.[19] In 2002 Keane was honored with the Silver T-Square Award from the National Cartoonist Society for "outstanding dedication" to the Society and the cartooning profession.[20] In 2008, he received the Sergio Award from the Comic Art Professional Society.[21] [22]

Friends

Keane was close friends with humorist and newspaper columnist Erma Bombeck. He provided illustrations for Bombeck's book Just Wait Until You Have Children of Your Own! (1972), and considered himself instrumental in convincing Bombeck and her family to move to Arizona near his home.[23] He was a pallbearer at Bombeck's funeral in 1996.[24]

Stephan Pastis, creator of Pearls Before Swine, acknowledged he was good friends with Keane and Keane's son, Jeff.[25] Pastis has parodied The Family Circus in his own strip several times, and Keane wrote a satirical "attack" on these jokes as a foreword for Pastis' Pearls collection Macho Macho Animals.[26]

In the comic strip switcheroo of 1997, Keane switched strips with Scott Adams of Dilbert .[27] Adams said, "Bil was a misunderstood creative genius who knew how to write for his target audience. He was also a great guy. I was a big fan."[28]

Keane also counted fellow cartoonists Charles M. Schulz (Peanuts) and Mell Lazarus (Miss Peach, Momma) as close friends.[29] [30]

In 1994, the characters from The Family Circus made a "guest appearance" in Bill Griffith's Zippy the Pinhead comic strip. Griffith said, "I remembered Bil's affection for Zippy, so I decided to bite the bullet and call him to ask if, instead of me parodying his strip, he'd agree to jam with me..."[31] Keane drew his characters in Griffith's strip, with dialogue written for them by Griffith. Then, on March 7, 1995, Zippy made an appearance, drawn by Griffith, in a Family Circus panel. Griffith said that Family Circus was "the last remaining folk art strip"[32] and that "It's supposed to be the epitome of squareness, but it turns the corner into a hip zone."[33]

Books

Family Circus collections

Special compilations

Other cartoon collections

Illustrated books

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Associated Press: 'Family Circus' creator Bil Keane dies at 89 . 2011-11-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111111140650/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h46uwJiZg9NRKogBtxRuuGRJ_U9g?docId=013c6c817550450aa2d1449a009e702e . 2011-11-11 . dead .
  2. Web site: CNN The Marquee Blog: 'Family Circus' creator Bil Keane dies . . 2011-11-10 . 2011-11-21.
  3. News: Bil Keane, 'Family Circus' creator: a friend and a mentor . 20 November 2022 . . November 11, 2011.
  4. News: Bil Keane, creator of 'Family Circus' comic strip, dies at age 89. The Catholic Review. November 12, 2011. April 18, 2015.
  5. News: Los Angeles Times. Cartoonist chronicled the lighter moments of family life for more than 50 years through gentle, heartfelt humor. November 10, 2011. Valerie J.. Nelson. April 18, 2015.
  6. Web site: Art . 2007-01-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20061212003530/http://www.familycircus.com/art/hs/hist15a.html . 2006-12-12.
  7. Web site: Keane's high school work. 5 June 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120309102349/http://www.familycircus.com/art/hs/images/hist15a.gif. 9 March 2012.
  8. The Gospel according to Bil Keane. Baptist Life. 87. 10. 5. Kathi. Wolfe. November 2003. 1 November 2010.
  9. Web site: Bil Keane, 1922-2011. Tom. Richmond. November 9, 2011. Tom Richmond (illustrator). News From The NCS. National Cartoonist Society. 2011-11-09.
  10. Jeff Keane Reflects of Four Years as NCS President. Alan. Gardner. June 17, 2011. The Daily Cartoonist.
  11. Keane, Christopher, Family Circus: The Next Generation, Cartoon Profiles, Issue No. 127, pg. 11, September 2000, Retrieved 2008-05-26
  12. News: Amanda Lee . Meyers . Thelma Keane; Wife Of Cartoonist Bil Keane . . . May 27, 2008 . 2008-05-29.
  13. News: Meyers . Amanda Lee . Inspiration for 'Family Circus' Mommy dies at 82 . . . May 25, 2008 . 2008-05-26 .
  14. News: Family Circus visits the city. Morch. Al. August 2, 1986. San Francisco Examiner. 22 April 2024. 9.
  15. Web site: NCS Newspaper Panel Awards . National Cartoonist Society Website . 2008-04-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080528132445/http://www.reuben.org/ncs/archive/divisions/panels.asp. 28 May 2008 . live.
  16. https://www.comic-con.org/awards/inkpot Inkpot Award
  17. Web site: The Reuben Award . National Cartoonist Society . 2008-04-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080409005240/http://www.reuben.org/ncs/awards2.asp . 2008-04-09.
  18. Web site: NCS Elzie Segar Award . National Cartoonist Society Website . 2008-04-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080430100830/http://www.reuben.org/ncs/archive/divisions/others.asp. 30 April 2008 . live.
  19. News: Family Circus artist still draws: Arizona Heritage Award notes contributions. Michael. Grady. December 29, 1998. Dallas Morning News.
  20. Web site: The Gold & Silver T-Squares . National Cartoonist Society Website . 2008-04-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080528132455/http://www.reuben.org/ncs/archive/divisions/tsquare.asp. 28 May 2008 . live.
  21. Web site: The Sergio . capscentral.org . CAPS . December 21, 2021 .
  22. Web site: Bil Keane gets The Sergio! . Procopio . Ruben . January 18, 2009 . maskedavengerstudios.blogspot.com . Masked Avenger Studios . December 21, 2021 .
  23. News: Bil Keane's Family Circus. November 2001. St. Anthony Messenger. 2007-01-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20080625043202/http://www.americancatholic.org/messenger/nov2001/feature1.asp. 2008-06-25. dead.
  24. News: Erma Bombeck remembered with respect and humor. 5A. The Daily Courier. Prescott, Arizona. Google Newspapers. 114. 104. September 6, 2018.
  25. Pastis, Stephan "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
  26. Book: Pastis, Stephan. Pearls Sells Out: A Pearls Before Swine Treasury. Andrews McMeel Publishing . April 13, 2010. 13. 978-0740798641.
  27. News: Michael. Zitz. April Fools: This is some funny business. The Free Lance-Star. Fredericksburg, Virginia. April 1, 1997. D1.
  28. News: A Ringmaster Dies Bil Keane 1922-2011. R.C. . Harvey. The Comics Journal. November 16, 2011. 2012-11-15.
  29. News: 'Family Circus' creator Bil Keane dies at 89. The Washington Times. November 9, 2011. Myers. Amanda Lee. 2012-11-15.
  30. News: 'Lio's' artful Bil Keane tribute. Michael. Cavna. The Washington Post. November 21, 2012. 2012-11-15.
  31. News: Bill. Griffith. Bil Keane: An Appreciation. The Comics Journal. November 14, 2011. 2008-11-15.
  32. News: Historically Speaking: 'Family Circus' cartoonist respected by his peers. https://archive.today/20130130040736/http://www.norwichbulletin.com/newsnow/x1112597999/Historically-Speaking-Family-Circus-cartoonist-respected-by-his-peers%23axzz2CLt2kL6A. January 30, 2013. dead. Richard. Curland. Norwich Bulletin. December 3, 2011. 2012-11-15.
  33. News: Pat. Seremet. Zippy and The Family Circus--Together again!!. The Hartford Courant. July 11, 2002.

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