Bil Keane
Encyclopedia
William Aloysius Keane (October 5, 1922 – November 8, 2011), better known as Bil Keane, was an American cartoonist
. He is most notable for his work on the long-running newspaper comic The Family Circus
, which began its run in 1960 and continues in syndication, drawn by his son Jeff Keane
.
, Keane taught himself to draw while attending Northeast Catholic High School
by mimicking the style of the cartoons published in The New Yorker
. His first cartoon was published on May 21, 1936 on the amateur page of the Philadelphia Daily News
. While in high school, his in-comic signature spelled his name "Bill Keane", but early in his career, he omitted the second L from his first name "to be distinctive".
Keane served in the U.S. Army
from 1942 to 1945, drawing for Yank and creating the "At Ease with the Japanese" feature for the Pacific edition of Stars and Stripes
. While stationed in Australia he met Thelma "Thel" Carne
. Bil and Thel were married in Brisbane
in 1948 and settled in Roslyn, Pennsylvania
. Thel, the inspiration for the "Mommy" character in his long-running strip, died on May 23, 2008, from complications of Alzheimer's Disease
. They have five children, Gayle, Neal, Glen
, Christopher and Jeff
. Glen works as an animator
.
Keane worked for the Philadelphia Bulletin
as a staff artist from 1946 to 1959, where he launched his first regular comic strip Silly Philly
. His first syndicated strip, Channel Chuckles
, a series of jokes related to 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. Keane was the president of the National Cartoonists Society
from 1981 to 1983 and was the emcee of the Society's annual awards banquet for 16 years.
From 1981 to 1983, Keane published the gag strip Eggheads in collaboration with his son Jeff, who now draws and writes The Family Circus and continues the strip with his own insight and humor. Like his father, Jeff Keane has been president of the National Cartoonists Society (NCS), serving two consecutive terms (four years). The NCS is the organizing body that honors cartoonists with the Reuben Awards.
Bil Keane died on November 8, 2011, at his home in Paradise Valley, Arizona (near Phoenix), at 89. The cause of death was given as congestive heart failure
.
, Sandra Day O'Connor
, Mo Udall
and Erma Bombeck
.
On December 15th and 16th of 1994 the characters from The Family Circus made a "guest appearance" in the nationally syndicated "Zippy the Pinhead" comic strip by Bill Griffith. The characters were drawn into the strip by Keane, but the dialog was written by Griffith. Then, on March 7, 1995, Zippy made an appearance in a Family Circus panel, drawn in by Bill Griffith. Griffith said of the "jam", "It makes sense to me that the two most surreal comic strips in America should pay a visit to each other."
creator Bill Watterson
began requiring newspapers to run his Sunday comic feature in half-page size, Keane opposed the idea. Keane said, "I can see why he wants to do it for himself, but it is a disservice to other cartoonists. It diminishes the space other cartoonists get or forces newspapers to drop strips." Keane also voiced his displeasure when Watterson announced his retirement three years later, saying that the decision was "not fair to the readers or to the editors who have paid good money and provided space in their newspapers."
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
. He is most notable for his work on the long-running newspaper comic The Family Circus
The Family Circus
The Family Circus is a syndicated comic strip created by cartoonist Bil Keane and currently written, inked, and colored by his son, Jeff Keane. The strip generally uses a single captioned panel with a round border, hence the original name of the series, which was changed following objections from...
, which began its run in 1960 and continues in syndication, drawn by his son Jeff Keane
Jeff Keane
Jeff Keane is the youngest son of Bil Keane, and currently inks and colors the syndicated comic strip The Family Circus.The character Jeffy from The Family Circus was based on Jeff when he was growing up. Jeff was a theater major in college, but gradually grew in to the family business...
.
Biography
Born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Keane taught himself to draw while attending Northeast Catholic High School
Northeast Catholic High School
Northeast Catholic High School opened in 1926 as Northeast Catholic High School for Boys, and is located at 1842 Torresdale Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is under the administration of the high school system of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia and its sports teams...
by mimicking the style of the cartoons published in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. His first cartoon was published on May 21, 1936 on the amateur page of the Philadelphia Daily News
Philadelphia Daily News
The Philadelphia Daily News is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The newspaper is owned by Philadelphia Media Holdings which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Daily News began publishing on March 31, 1925, under...
. While in high school, his in-comic signature spelled his name "Bill Keane", but early in his career, he omitted the second L from his first name "to be distinctive".
Keane served in the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
from 1942 to 1945, drawing for Yank and creating the "At Ease with the Japanese" feature for the Pacific edition of Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes (newspaper)
Stars and Stripes is a news source that operates from inside the United States Department of Defense but is editorially separate from it. The First Amendment protection which Stars and Stripes enjoys is safeguarded by Congress to whom an independent ombudsman, who serves the readers' interests,...
. While stationed in Australia he met Thelma "Thel" Carne
Thelma Keane
Thelma "Thel" Keane was the Australian-born American wife of The Family Circus newspaper cartoonist, Bil Keane...
. Bil and Thel were married in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
in 1948 and settled in Roslyn, Pennsylvania
Roslyn, Pennsylvania
Roslyn is an unincorporated community in Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally called Hillside, the name Roslyn came from rose gardens that once grew there....
. Thel, the inspiration for the "Mommy" character in his long-running strip, died on May 23, 2008, from complications of Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
. They have five children, Gayle, Neal, Glen
Glen Keane
Glen Keane is an American animator, author, illustrator and director. Keane is best known for his character animation at Walt Disney Studios for feature films including The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, and Tangled...
, Christopher and Jeff
Jeff Keane
Jeff Keane is the youngest son of Bil Keane, and currently inks and colors the syndicated comic strip The Family Circus.The character Jeffy from The Family Circus was based on Jeff when he was growing up. Jeff was a theater major in college, but gradually grew in to the family business...
. Glen works as an animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
.
Keane worked for the Philadelphia Bulletin
Philadelphia Bulletin
For the 2004 resurrection of the Bulletin, see The Bulletin .The Philadelphia Bulletin was a daily evening newspaper published from 1847 to 1982 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the largest circulation newspaper in Philadelphia for 76 years and was once the largest evening newspaper in the...
as a staff artist from 1946 to 1959, where he launched his first regular comic strip Silly Philly
Silly Philly
Silly Philly was the first comic strip by Bil Keane, most noted for the long-running single-panel and Sunday comic Family Circus.In 1947, Keane created the Sunday strip while working for the Philadelphia Bulletin...
. His first syndicated strip, Channel Chuckles
Channel Chuckles
Channel Chuckles was a television-themed comic panel created by Bil Keane which appeared in newspapers from 1954 through 1976. Keane received the National Cartoonists Society's 1976 Special Features Award for his work on the strip....
, a series of jokes related to television, premiered in 1954 and ran until 1977. In 1959, the Keane family moved to Paradise Valley, Arizona
Paradise Valley, Arizona
Paradise Valley is a small, affluent town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2005 Census Bureau, the population of the town was 14,558. Despite the town's relatively small area and population compared to other municipalities in the Phoenix metropolitan area, Paradise...
. Keane's daily newspaper panel The Family Circus premiered on February 29, 1960. Keane was the president of the National Cartoonists Society
National Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...
from 1981 to 1983 and was the emcee of the Society's annual awards banquet for 16 years.
From 1981 to 1983, Keane published the gag strip Eggheads in collaboration with his son Jeff, who now draws and writes The Family Circus and continues the strip with his own insight and humor. Like his father, Jeff Keane has been president of the National Cartoonists Society (NCS), serving two consecutive terms (four years). The NCS is the organizing body that honors cartoonists with the Reuben Awards.
Bil Keane died on November 8, 2011, at his home in Paradise Valley, Arizona (near Phoenix), at 89. The cause of death was given as congestive heart failure
Congestive heart failure
Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...
.
Awards
Keane is a four-time recipient of the National Cartoonists Society's Award for Best Syndicated Panel, winning in 1967, 1971, 1973 and 1974. In 1982, Keane was named the Society's Cartoonist of the Year and received its top honor, the Reuben Award. He also received the Elzie Segar Award in 1982 for his unique contribution to the cartooning profession. Keane was honored with the Silver T-Square Award from the National Cartoonist Society in 2002 for "outstanding dedication" to the Society and the cartooning profession. In 1998, he became the tenth recipient of the Arizona Heritage Award, joining—among others—Barry GoldwaterBarry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
, Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
, Mo Udall
Mo Udall
Morris King "Mo" Udall was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Arizona from May 2, 1961 to May 4, 1991...
and Erma Bombeck
Erma Bombeck
Erma Louise Bombeck was an American humorist who achieved great popularity for her newspaper column that described suburban home life from the mid-1960s until the late 1990s...
.
Friends
- Keane had a close friendship with humorist, newspaper columnist and fellow CatholicRoman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Erma BombeckErma BombeckErma Louise Bombeck was an American humorist who achieved great popularity for her newspaper column that described suburban home life from the mid-1960s until the late 1990s...
until her death in 1996. Keane provided illustrations for Bombeck's book Just Wait Until You Have Children of Your Own! (1972). Keane considered himself instrumental in convincing Bombeck to move to Arizona. He was pall bearer at Bombeck's funeral. - Stephan PastisStephan PastisStephan Thomas Pastis is an American cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip Pearls Before Swine.-Background:...
, creator of Pearls Before SwinePearls Before Swine (comic strip)Pearls Before Swine is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Stephan Pastis, who was formerly a lawyer in San Francisco, California. It chronicles the daily lives of four anthropomorphic animals, Pig, Rat, Zebra, and Goat, as well as a number of supporting characters...
, acknowledged he was good friends with Keane and Keane's son, Jeff. Pastis has parodied The Family Circus in his own strip and Keane wrote a satirical attack as a foreword for Pastis' book Macho Macho Animals. - The Keanes switched with Scott AdamsScott AdamsScott Raymond Adams is the American creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, business, and general speculation....
of DilbertDilbertDilbert is an American comic strip written and drawn by Scott Adams. First published on April 16, 1989, Dilbert is known for its satirical office humor about a white-collar, micromanaged office featuring the engineer Dilbert as the title character...
in the 1997 comic strip switcherooComic strip switcherooThe Comic strip switcheroo was a series of jokes played out between comic strip writers and artists, without the foreknowledge of their editors, on April Fool's Day 1997...
. - Keane also counted fellow cartoonists Charles M. SchulzCharles M. SchulzCharles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz was an American cartoonist, whose comic strip Peanuts proved one of the most popular and influential in the history of the medium, and is still widely reprinted on a daily basis.-Early life and education:Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Schulz grew up in Saint Paul...
(PeanutsPeanutsPeanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
) and Jeff MacNellyJeff MacNellyJeffrey Kenneth MacNelly was a three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist and the creator of the popular comic strip Shoe.-Early life:...
(Shoe) as close friends.
On December 15th and 16th of 1994 the characters from The Family Circus made a "guest appearance" in the nationally syndicated "Zippy the Pinhead" comic strip by Bill Griffith. The characters were drawn into the strip by Keane, but the dialog was written by Griffith. Then, on March 7, 1995, Zippy made an appearance in a Family Circus panel, drawn in by Bill Griffith. Griffith said of the "jam", "It makes sense to me that the two most surreal comic strips in America should pay a visit to each other."
Criticism of Bill Watterson
In 1992, when Calvin and HobbesCalvin and Hobbes
Calvin and Hobbes is a syndicated daily comic strip that was written and illustrated by American cartoonist Bill Watterson, and syndicated from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995. It follows the humorous antics of Calvin, a precocious and adventurous six-year-old boy, and Hobbes, his...
creator Bill Watterson
Bill Watterson
William Boyd Watterson II , known as Bill Watterson, is an American cartoonist and the author of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes...
began requiring newspapers to run his Sunday comic feature in half-page size, Keane opposed the idea. Keane said, "I can see why he wants to do it for himself, but it is a disservice to other cartoonists. It diminishes the space other cartoonists get or forces newspapers to drop strips." Keane also voiced his displeasure when Watterson announced his retirement three years later, saying that the decision was "not fair to the readers or to the editors who have paid good money and provided space in their newspapers."
Family Circus collections
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Special compilations
- The Family Circus Treasury, foreword by Erma Bombeck (1977)
- The Family Circus Album, foreword by Charles Schulz (1984)
- The Family Circus is Us (1990)
- Family Circus Library, Vol. 1 (2009)
- Family Circus Library, Vol. 2 (2010)
Other cartoon collections
- Channel Chuckles (1964)
- Jest in Pun (1966)
- Pun-Abridged Dictionary (1968)
- More Channel Chuckles (1971)
- It's Apparent You're a Parent (1971)
- Deuce and Don'ts of Tennis (1975)
- Eggheads written by Bil Keane and Jeff Keane (1983)
Illustrated books
- Just Wait Till You Have Children of Your Own! written by Erma Bombeck and Bil Keane (1971)
- Hey, Father! written by Jeanne Marie Lortie, illustrated by Bil Keane (1973)
- Daddy’s Surprise Day written by Gale Wiersum, illustrated by Bil Keane (1980)
- Ask Any Mother written by Jean B. Boyce, illustrated by Bil Keane (1991)
- Just Ask Mom written by Jean B. Boyce, illustrated by Bil Keane (1996)
- Just Like Home written by Jean B. Boyce, illustrated by Bil Keane (2001)