Bud Fisher
Encyclopedia
Harry Conway "Bud" Fisher (April 3, 1885 – September 7, 1954) was an American
cartoonist
who created Mutt and Jeff, the first successful daily comic strip
in the United States
.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Fisher studied at the University of Chicago
and then went to work as a journalist
and sketch artist in the sports department of the San Francisco Chronicle
. In late 1907, he introduced a comic strip character named Mr. A. Mutt (the initial stood for Augustus) that became instantly popular with readers. In March 1908, Fisher added a second character, the diminutive Jeff, the opposite of the tall and skinny Mutt.
Mutt and Jeff gained such popularity that Fisher, who was able to claim copyright
to the characters, received an offer to produce it for the San Francisco Examiner, owned by William Randolph Hearst
. The move to the Hearst Corporation
chain exposed the strip to a multitude of new readers across the United States.
In 1911, Nestor Studios
of New Jersey
acquired the right to make Mutt and Jeff short film
comedies, after which Fisher decided he could make more money controlling film production himself. In 1913, he created the Bud Fisher Film Corporation and signed a deal with American Pathé. They made 36 Mutt and Jeff short comedies in 1913, but production ceased for two years when Fisher's copyright was challenged. Once the courts upheld Fisher's copyright claim, the comic strip was syndicated nationwide, and between 1916 and 1926, his film production company created another 277 Mutt and Jeff film productions. On these film projects, Fisher is almost exclusively credited as the writer, animator and director, although the majority of animation was by Raoul Barré
and Charles Bowers
.
Mutt and Jeff was also published in comic book
form. The income from multiple uses of his characters made Fisher a wealthy man. In 1932, he authorized Al Smith
to produce the strip under his supervision. Smith drew Mutt and Jeff for 48 years. When Fisher died in 1954, Smith began signing his own name and continued to draw the strip until 1980 when George Breisacher took over for its final two years.
Ownership of the strip went to Pierre de Beaumont
(1915-2010), as detailed in The New York Times:
racehorses
. In 1924, his horse Nellie Morse
became the fourth filly
(out of only five total as of 2009) to win the Preakness Stakes
. That same year, his colt Mr. Mutt finished second in the Belmont Stakes
.
Bud Fisher died at the age of 69 in New York City
and was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery
in The Bronx
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
who created Mutt and Jeff, the first successful daily comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Fisher studied at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and then went to work as a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and sketch artist in the sports department of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
. In late 1907, he introduced a comic strip character named Mr. A. Mutt (the initial stood for Augustus) that became instantly popular with readers. In March 1908, Fisher added a second character, the diminutive Jeff, the opposite of the tall and skinny Mutt.
Mutt and Jeff gained such popularity that Fisher, who was able to claim copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
to the characters, received an offer to produce it for the San Francisco Examiner, owned by William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
. The move to the Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
chain exposed the strip to a multitude of new readers across the United States.
In 1911, Nestor Studios
Nestor Studios
The Nestor Motion Picture Company was a motion picture studio/production company located in Bayonne, New Jersey, and Hollywood, California, which was owned and operated by David Horsley and his brother, William Horsley....
of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
acquired the right to make Mutt and Jeff short film
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
comedies, after which Fisher decided he could make more money controlling film production himself. In 1913, he created the Bud Fisher Film Corporation and signed a deal with American Pathé. They made 36 Mutt and Jeff short comedies in 1913, but production ceased for two years when Fisher's copyright was challenged. Once the courts upheld Fisher's copyright claim, the comic strip was syndicated nationwide, and between 1916 and 1926, his film production company created another 277 Mutt and Jeff film productions. On these film projects, Fisher is almost exclusively credited as the writer, animator and director, although the majority of animation was by Raoul Barré
Raoul Barré
Raoul Barré was a Canadian and American cartoonist, animator of the silent film era, and artist.Barré was born in Montreal, Quebec, the only artistic child of an importer of communion wine...
and Charles Bowers
Charles Bowers
Charles R. Bowers was an American cartoonist and slapstick comedian during the silent film and early "talkie" era. He was forgotten for decades and his name was notably absent from most histories of the Silent Era, although his work was enthusiastically reviewed by André Breton and a number of...
.
Mutt and Jeff was also published in comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
form. The income from multiple uses of his characters made Fisher a wealthy man. In 1932, he authorized Al Smith
Al Smith (cartoonist)
Al Smith was an American cartoonist whose work included a long run on the comic strip Mutt and Jeff.Born in Brooklyn, New York, Smith was the art editor for the syndication department of the New York World from 1920 to 1930. He began working on Bud Fisher's Mutt and Jeff in 1932. Smith drew Mutt...
to produce the strip under his supervision. Smith drew Mutt and Jeff for 48 years. When Fisher died in 1954, Smith began signing his own name and continued to draw the strip until 1980 when George Breisacher took over for its final two years.
Ownership of the strip went to Pierre de Beaumont
Pierre de Beaumont
Count Wolston Pierre Stuart de Beaumont, aka Pete de Beaumont was an American mechanical engineer who was a founder of Brookstone, a chain of specialty stores.-Birth and childhood:...
(1915-2010), as detailed in The New York Times:
- Mr. de Beaumont happened to own the rights to an emblematic American art form, the Mutt and Jeff comic strip, which he had inherited from his mother, a countess and occasional Broadway chorus girl. She had obtained them after a marital dispute that was widely covered in the newspapers and also involved frogs... The Countess de Beaumont had married — and, in a welter of wooings and suings avidly chronicled in the press, separated from — the cartoonist Harry C. Fisher. Mr. Fisher, known as Bud, had created what became Mutt and Jeff, the long-popular comic strip about two mismatched tinhorns, in 1907. In 1925, Mr. Fisher married Countess de Beaumont aboard a trans-Atlantic liner. In 1927, a New York judge granted her a legal separation after she testified, as The New York Times reported, to “her husband’s cruelty” in “permitting her to be neglected by his servants while they looked after a number of live frogs he maintained in their former apartment on Riverside Drive.” Mr. Fisher died in 1954. Mrs. Fisher, who apparently never divorced him, retained the rights to Mutt and Jeff. These later devolved on Mr. de Beaumont.
Thoroughbred horse racing
Fisher acquired a large stable of ThoroughbredThoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorses
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. In 1924, his horse Nellie Morse
Nellie Morse
Nellie Morse was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the fourth filly to win the Preakness Stakes. Her sire was Luke McLuke, who won the 1914 Belmont Stakes and who was a son of the important but unraced Ultimus who had been sired by Commando...
became the fourth filly
Filly
A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....
(out of only five total as of 2009) to win the Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
. That same year, his colt Mr. Mutt finished second in the Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
.
Bud Fisher died at the age of 69 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery
Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx
Woodlawn Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in New York City and is a designated National Historic Landmark.A rural cemetery located in the Bronx, it opened in 1863, in what was then southern Westchester County, in an area that was annexed to New York City in 1874.The cemetery covers more...
in The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
.