thumb|250px|right|One of the strips of the character (1920)Judge Rummy (also known as Silk Hat Harry's Divorce Suit, Old Judge Rumhauser, and Judge Rummy's Court)[1] was an American comic strip by Tad Dorgan published from 1910 until 1922.[2] It featured an anthropomorphic dog. Between 1918 and 1922 the character was also the subject of a series of short animated cartoons.
S. J. Perelman stated in 1978 that Dorgan's inspiration for the strip had been the murder trial of Harry K. Thaw, and that the strip led Dorgan to be threatened with libel lawsuits more than once.[3]
Alexander Rumhauser,[4] better known as Judge Rummy, works as a court judge as his moniker implies. However, he is often seen doing other things like drinking alcohol and having affairs with women despite being married. Whenever he interacts with other characters, the strip often ends with at least one of them (including Judge Rummy) being upside down and showing only the feet (as shown in the strip above).
He had a minor role in an earlier strip in which his best friend was the protagonist, but later strips began focusing on him.
His wife is an obese lady who is four times his size. Whenever Judge Rummy dates a woman other than her or does something she finds unfavorable, the hefty wife would resort to brawling and roughing him up. Unlike other characters in the strip, she calls him either by his real name or sometimes "Alecthander".
Judge Rummy's best friend is a look-alike dog named Silk Hat Harry. Both dogs share similar interests in drinking booze and pursuing ladies.
Judge Rummy also appears in short films created by the International Film Service and Bray Productions from 1918 to 1922. The cartoons were directed by Gregory La Cava, Jack King, Burt Gillett and Grim Natwick.[5]