Walter Rease Allman (February 27, 1884 – July 8, 1924) was an American cartoonist who created the newspaper gag comic The Doings of the Duffs.[1] The strip was launched on July 30, 1914. Allman's last strip was dated January 16, 1924, but the strip continued under other artists until August 15, 1931.[2]
Walter Allman worked in the grain business at a young age, but didn't have much interest in the trade, spending his time drawing on the sides of boxes and crates. His talent soon landed a job at an engraving company; he later found employment with the Toledo News-Bee newspaper.
His cartoon "work was picked up by the Scripps syndicate NEA Service and his comic Doings of the Duffs became a nationwide feature".[3] An example of his work with the Toledo paper can be seen in 1912, honoring victims of the Titanic disaster.[4] His The Doings of the Duffs comic strip gained a similar level of fame with the public as the Mutt and Jeff strip had.[5] Allman was a cartoonist from 1915 to 1924. He died in Cleveland on July 8, 1924 at age 42 after suffering a nervous breakdown in 1923.[3] [6]