Dondi
Encyclopedia
Dondi was a daily comic strip
about a large-eyed war orphan of the same name. Created by Gus Edson
and Irwin Hasen
, it ran in more than 100 newspapers for three decades (September 25, 1955 to June 8, 1986).
the origin of the strip during a trip to Germany:
Like other comic strip boys, such as Dennis in Dennis the Menace
, Dondi's character never ages. This became problematic in later years, as Dondi's age made the origin story implausible. Eventually, references to his Italian origin ceased, and he was adopted by Ted and his wife, the former Katje Bogar. "Pop" Fligh, a former pro baseball player, became Dondi's adoptive grandfather when he married Ted Wills' widowed mother. Following this, Dondi was portrayed simply as an adopted child, although in the early 1960s there was a reference to his being an orphan of the Korean War. During the mid-1970s, there was a reference to his being from Vietnam.
A recurring character was Mrs. McGowan, who was the mother of Whitey McGowan. In a rather startling development for a comic strip at the time, Whitey and his new bride died in a car crash on their honeymoon, leaving Dondi to Mrs. McGowan, who had initially resented the boy, but came to love him and accept him as her grandson. This explanation was permitted to fade into the mists as the strip grew farther away from World War II.
After the death of Edson in 1966, Bob Oksner
teamed with Hasen, and the two remained with the strip until its 1986 conclusion. When the strip ended, it was carried in only 35 newspapers.
Diane Kory, had one minor TV role in 1963 and never made another movie.
Produced and directed by Albert Zugsmith
, the film was released 26 March 1961. Film historian Leonard Maltin
asserted, “Watch this film, and you'll know why Janssen became a fugitive!” A comic book adaptation of the movie was published as Four Color #1176 by Dell. Another Dondi comic book, with stories closer to the strip's style, was published as Dell Four Color #1276.
The comic strip is featured in a scene in Kenneth Anger
's short film Scorpio Rising
(1964).
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....
about a large-eyed war orphan of the same name. Created by Gus Edson
Gus Edson
Gus Edson was an American cartoonist known for two popular, long running comic strips, The Gumps and Dondi....
and Irwin Hasen
Irwin Hasen
Irwin Hasen is an American cartoonist, best known as the co-creator of the Dondi comic strip.-Early life:...
, it ran in more than 100 newspapers for three decades (September 25, 1955 to June 8, 1986).
Interview
Interviewed before a Comic-Con audience in San Diego, illustrator Hasen told TV-comics scripter Mark EvanierMark Evanier
Mark Stephen Evanier is an American comic book and television writer, particularly known for his humor work. He is also known for his columns and blogs, and for his work as a historian and biographer of the comics industry, in particular his award-winning Jack Kirby biography, Kirby: King of...
the origin of the strip during a trip to Germany:
I belonged to the National Cartoonists SocietyNational Cartoonists SocietyThe 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...
, and we had USOUnited Service OrganizationsThe United Service Organizations Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military, with programs in 160 centers worldwide. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense , and has provided support and...
trips to Korea during the war. I went to the frontlines with six cartoonists ... And Gus Edson ... he and I got to be very close on the trip. One day, he asked me, "What are you doing?" Now usually, when you're not working, you say, "I'm in advertising." I wasn't doing any advertising. So then he said, "Well, would you be interested in anything?" I said yes. I would have done anything at that time. Finally, we got back to New York. Three days later, I get my mail and I'm sitting in my car going through it, and I come to an envelope: "Gus Edson." Inside is a little piece of stationery and a very crude drawing of Dondi — a little kid with a big, oversized hat ... big, oversized everything. And Gus writes, "Dear Kleine — ("Kleine" means "short" in German. He was making a cartoonist's half-assed joke ...) — "Dear Kleine — The kid should look like this." He had told me he had an idea for a strip about an orphan ... and I'll tell you something. I looked at that drawing, Mark, and it's like that old story that you're on a dance floor, and you look across a crowded room and you say, "That's the woman I'm gonna marry!" What inspired it was that during the Korean war, officers were adopting war orphans. That was where it was started. And then we just made it World War II, instead. Gus wrote it. He wrote it in longhand — no computer, no typewriter. He couldn't use a typewriter. He drank a lot.
Characters and story
Dondi's original backstory describes him as a five-year-old World War II orphan of Italian descent. Two soldiers who spoke no Italian, Ted Wills and Whitey McGowan, found the child wandering through a war-torn village looking for his slain parents and repeating the word "donde" (Spanish for "where") over and over. The soldiers brought the child back to the United States and Ted eventually became his adoptive father.Like other comic strip boys, such as Dennis in Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace (U.S.)
Dennis the Menace is a daily syndicated newspaper comic strip originally created, written and illustrated by Hank Ketcham. It debuted on March 12, 1951 in 16 newspapers and was originally distributed by Post-Hall Syndicate...
, Dondi's character never ages. This became problematic in later years, as Dondi's age made the origin story implausible. Eventually, references to his Italian origin ceased, and he was adopted by Ted and his wife, the former Katje Bogar. "Pop" Fligh, a former pro baseball player, became Dondi's adoptive grandfather when he married Ted Wills' widowed mother. Following this, Dondi was portrayed simply as an adopted child, although in the early 1960s there was a reference to his being an orphan of the Korean War. During the mid-1970s, there was a reference to his being from Vietnam.
A recurring character was Mrs. McGowan, who was the mother of Whitey McGowan. In a rather startling development for a comic strip at the time, Whitey and his new bride died in a car crash on their honeymoon, leaving Dondi to Mrs. McGowan, who had initially resented the boy, but came to love him and accept him as her grandson. This explanation was permitted to fade into the mists as the strip grew farther away from World War II.
After the death of Edson in 1966, Bob Oksner
Bob Oksner
Bob Oksner was an American comics artist known for both adventure comic strips and for superhero and humor comic books, primarily at DC Comics.-Biography:...
teamed with Hasen, and the two remained with the strip until its 1986 conclusion. When the strip ended, it was carried in only 35 newspapers.
Films
Dondi was adapted into a family-oriented film with David Kory in the title role. Cameo appearances were made by Edson, as a police captain, and Hasen, as a police sketch artist. The movie (and especially Kory's performance) were negatively received by critics. Kory, the son of RocketteThe Rockettes
The Rockettes are a precision dance company performing out of the Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, New York City. During the Christmas season, the Rockettes have performed five shows a day, seven days a week, for 77 years...
Diane Kory, had one minor TV role in 1963 and never made another movie.
Produced and directed by Albert Zugsmith
Albert Zugsmith
Albert Zugsmith was an American film producer, film director and screenwriter who specialized in low-budget exploitation films through the 1950s and 1960s.-Career:...
, the film was released 26 March 1961. Film historian Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
asserted, “Watch this film, and you'll know why Janssen became a fugitive!” A comic book adaptation of the movie was published as Four Color #1176 by Dell. Another Dondi comic book, with stories closer to the strip's style, was published as Dell Four Color #1276.
The comic strip is featured in a scene in Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger is an American underground experimental filmmaker, occasional actor and author...
's short film Scorpio Rising
Scorpio Rising (film)
Scorpio Rising is a 1964 experimental film by Kenneth Anger, starring Bruce Byron as Scorpio. Themes central to the film include the occult, biker subculture, Catholicism and Nazism; the film also explores the worship of rebel icons of the era, namely James Dean and Marlon Brando...
(1964).