213:“Born in Brooklyn, I became an orphan at age four. My boyhood was like an Horatio Alger story. Shoeshine boy after school, made 60 cents a week. Quit that to become butcherboy at $ 1 a week. Loved to draw and make people laugh. Could not afford lessons. Loved vaudeville. Might have tried acting career if I hadn’t married. ... I was too young for the First World War and too old for the Second.”
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sang its praises, and then again in the 1970s when a nostalgia craze swept the nation. It took the 1980s, a decade focused on the here and now, and a final creative change on the strip when even Al Smith had had enough, to finally allow the strip the rest it had deserved for
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strip during the 1930s, and after Fisher's assistant Ed Mack died in 1932, the job of creating the strip fell to Al Smith. The strip retained Fisher's signature until his death, however, and not until
December 7, 1954, was the strip signed by Smith.
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postulates that Smith's nearly 50-year run on the strip was, at the time of Smith's retirement, a world record for longevity. Smith (and later his family members) also ran a
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Smith continued to draw the strip until 1980, when George
Breisacher took over for its final two years. Smith also drew the strips
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331:— from 1951 until his 1986 death, at which point it was supplying 25 features. (Early on, the syndicate partnered with the
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342:. The most successful (or at least longest-running) strips syndicated by the Al Smith Feature Service were
335:.) With his death, management of the service was taken over by two of his daughters, with it lasting until
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from 1920 to 1930. From 1920 to 1933, Smith wrote and drew the syndicated cartoon
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292:— as well as those of other cartoonists. Smith served as president of the
175:— mainly serving weekly newspapers — from the 1950s until the late 1990s.
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The strip's waning circulation got a shot in the arm in the 1950s when
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639:"Hare Tonic: Unsung Al Smith, Record-Holding Unknown Cartoonist,"
191:, Smith was the art editor for the syndication department of the
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gave the following reason for the strip's longevity and demise:
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614:"Al Smith, Cartoonist, Dead; Drew 'Mutt and Jeff' Comics,"
369:
157:(March 21, 1902 – November 24, 1986) was an American
327:Smith ran his syndication service — mainly serving
315:'s Humor Comic Strip Award in 1968 for his work on
303:. He died on November 24, 1986, in a nursing home.
209:and ended in 1933). In 1960, he wrote of his life
161:whose work included a long run on the comic strip
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725:Forever Nuts: The Early Years of Mutt & Jeff
709:
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232:Forever Nuts: The Early Years of Mutt & Jeff
727:by Bud Fisher, edited by Jeffrey Lindenblatt;
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759:"Al Smith, 84, 'Mutt and Jeff' Artist, Dies"
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658:Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999
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743:"Newswatch: Smith Syndicates Own Strip,"
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830:"Court Alderson - Lambiek Comiclopedia"
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814:"Mystery Strips of E&P: Letter J,"
205:'s syndicate service (it moved to the
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280:, which distributed his own strips —
272:Beginning in 1951, Smith ran his own
222:appeared to lose all interest in his
757:Archives, L. A. Times (1986-11-27).
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598:sample with short Al Smith biography
526:by Frank Hill and Ted Mancuso (1985)
420:by Tom Oka (Tom Okamoto) (1951–1980)
140:Erna Anna Strasser (m. May 25, 1921)
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548:by Al Smith (1951-1997) — titled "
370:Al Smith Service strips and panels
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558:by Courtney Alderson 1951-1972
404:by Charles Cartwright (1959-1997)
877:American comic strip cartoonists
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781:"35 Years with Mutt and Jeff,"
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173:comic strip syndication service
798:"Obscurity of the Day: Deems,"
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27:American cartoonist, 1902-1986
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130:Humor Comic Strip Award, 1968
520:by George Albitz (1985-1986)
490:by Paul Fung Jr. (1978-1983)
313:National Cartoonists Society
294:National Cartoonists Society
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128:National Cartoonists Society
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575:Lincoln Newspaper Syndicate
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484:by Foster Moore (1993-1999)
378:by Howard Rands (1989-1991)
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514:by Joe Dennett (1951-1961)
299:In 1980, Smith retired to
670:Nadel, Dan (2016-10-14).
660:. Accessed Nov. 16, 2018.
472:by Hal Borden (1961-1965)
333:Chicago Tribune Syndicate
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323:Al Smith Feature Service
278:Al Smith Feature Service
234:, comic strip historian
207:United Feature Syndicate
119:Al Smith Feature Service
18:Al Smith Feature Service
872:American comics artists
787:(June 15, 1968), p. 39.
496:by Kern Pederson (1980)
478:by Kern Pederson (1978)
384:by Al Smith (1982–1983)
230:In the introduction to
882:Comic strip syndicates
710:Lambiek Comiclopedia.
695:Lambiek Comiclopedia.
564:Art Beeman (1951–1983)
508:by Sid Hathaway (1970)
311:Al Smith received the
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819:(September 11, 2006).
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847:NCS Awards: Al Smith
619:(November 26, 1986).
436:by Al Carreno (1954)
394:, Bruce Darrow, and
244:President Eisenhower
803:(October 05, 2009).
562:Those Were the Days
502:by Lou Paige (1951)
476:It Just So Happened
362:, and Smith's own
360:Those Were the Days
265:strip accompanying
167:. Comics historian
745:The Comics Journal
676:The Comics Journal
642:The Comics Journal
617:The New York Times
542:by Al Smith (1955)
189:Brooklyn, New York
62:Brooklyn, New York
784:Asbury Park Press
763:Los Angeles Times
329:weekly newspapers
199:From Nine to Five
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72:November 24, 1986
16:(Redirected from
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817:Stripper's Guide
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512:Off Main Street
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796:Holtz, Allan.
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108:Notable works
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766:. Retrieved
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697:"Bud Fisher"
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679:. Retrieved
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169:R. C. Harvey
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74:(1986-11-24)
867:1902 births
862:1986 deaths
654:Smith entry
593:Smith, Al.
556:Sonny South
536:(1962-1978)
500:Li'l Peanut
466:(1955–1964)
456:(1951-1954)
446:(1964–1997)
434:Ginger Blue
414:(1970–1973)
398:(1954-1958)
392:Pat Boyette
382:The Bumbles
340: 1999
290:The Bumbles
236:Allan Holtz
117:(1932–1980)
87:Nationality
856:Categories
768:2023-03-15
712:"Al Smith"
681:2023-03-15
581:References
450:Going West
220:Bud Fisher
159:cartoonist
101:Cartoonist
55:1902-03-21
274:syndicate
179:Biography
136:Spouse(s)
569:See also
247:decades.
201:for the
155:Al Smith
145:Children
90:American
33:Al Smith
96:Area(s)
731:
550:Jackie
440:Grubby
430:(1969)
424:George
352:Grubby
307:Awards
288:, and
276:, the
263:topper
261:, the
124:Awards
64:, U.S.
524:Pixel
518:Phrog
482:Jason
418:Deems
376:Buffo
348:Deems
203:World
183:Born
729:ISBN
612:AP.
530:Pops
470:Inky
356:Pops
255:and
69:Died
47:Born
532:by
462:by
452:by
442:by
426:by
410:by
390:by
187:in
858::
761:.
674:.
656:,
624:^
605:^
366:.
358:,
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350:,
346:,
337:c.
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284:,
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832:.
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699:.
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
