| Stoo Hample | |
| Birth Date: | 6 January 1926 |
| Birth Place: | Binghamton, New York |
| Death Place: | Bronx, New York |
| Occupation: | Writer, illustrator, comics artist |
| Years Active: | 1946–2010 |
| Nationality: | American |
| Genre: | Children's books, humor, theater |
| Notableworks: | The Silly Book, "Children's Letters to God" |
Stuart E. Hample (January 6, 1926 – September 19, 2010), also known as Stoo Hample, was an American children's book author, performer, playwright and cartoonist who sometimes used the pseudonyms Joe Marthen and Turner Brown, Jr. He is best known for the books Children's Letters to God and The Silly Book, and the comic strip Inside Woody Allen. He is the father of baseball collector Zack Hample.[1]
Hample began drawing before kindergarten. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the United States Navy [2] and served for two years in the Submarine Service during World War II. He attended Williams College and graduated from the University at Buffalo in 1950 with a B.A. in English and drama. [3]
In 1946, while working in advertising, he began performing as a musical cartoonist with symphony orchestras at children's and pops concerts, drawing in strict rhythm with the music. In 1948 he was the writer and star of the evening comedy show Cartoon Capers on WBEN-TV in Buffalo, NY and also of a children's show called Junior Jamboree on the same station. He was sometimes a guest host on the NBC Children's show Birthday House when the regular host, Paul Tripp, was unavailable. In the 1950s he appeared regularly on the CBS-TV children's program Captain Kangaroo as "Mister Artist." [4]
In 1955-56, he was an assistant to Al Capp. A subsequent stint in advertising ended when he created the syndicated comic strip, Inside Woody Allen.[5] Because he simultaneously had another comic strip, Rich and Famous, running with a different syndicate, he briefly employed the pseudonym Joe Marthen, a conglomeration of the names of his children, Joe,[6] Martha,[7] and Henry.[8]
During this period his first play, Alms for the Middle Class, had a simultaneous world premiere at the Pittsburgh Public Theater and Geva Theater (Rochester, New York) and was produced on Earplay, the dramatic workshop of National Public Radio. At the time of his death, he was working on All the Sincerity In Hollywood, a one-character play based on the life of radio comedian Fred Allen. The play had several readings directed by Austin Pendleton and starring Dick Cavett.