Frank Willard
Encyclopedia
Frank Henry Willard was a cartoonist best known for his comic strip Moon Mullins
which ran from 1923 to 1991. He sometimes went by the nickname Dok Willard.
As a youth, Willard dropped out of several schools. In addition to jobs at county fairs, he worked in a mental institution. In 1909, he moved with his family to Chicago. He went to Union Academy, where he illustrated the Reflector yearbook in 1912. After attending the Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago in 1913, he was a cartoonist with the Chicago Herald (1914-18), where he drew the Sunday comic strips Tom, Dick and Harry and Mister and Mrs. Pippen/Mrs. Pippin's Husband and a daily comic strip which used various titles. At the Herald, he got to know cartoonists E. C. Segar
and Billy DeBeck.
in France (1918-19). "Our unit built roads and did no fighting," he said. Unemployed on his return, he was given a place to stay by DeBeck and worked briefly on DeBeck's Barney Google
in 1920. Through DeBeck's influence, he landed a job that year in the King Features Syndicate
bullpen where he did just "about everything but carry water for the elephants." He next wrote and drew The Outta Luck Club for King Features (1919-23), where he also substituted for cartoonist Jean Knott on his Penny Ante poker panel.
of the Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate
wanted a lowlife strip to compete with Barney Google
. The curious chain of events that brought Willard, Patterson and Moon Mullins together began because Willard and other King Features cartoonists had to show their planned panels in advance to the King editor, who usually rejected Willard's ideas. Willard was angry, but he exploded when he saw some of his gags surface in George McManus
' Bringing Up Father
. As Willard's assistant Ferd Johnson
recalled:
, golf. Johnson recalled, "We'd go to Florida and follow the golf guys all the way to Maine." With Florida as a home base, Willard worked out of hotel rooms in Los Angeles, North Carolina, Maine and Wisconsin. At least one summer, the two mailed in their comic strips from Mexico.
Meanwhile, the strip expanded to 250 newspapers, a radio program, a Milton Bradley game, two Big Little Books and a comic book. Willard and Johnson also did the topper
strip Kitty Higgins. Characters in toppers sometimes turned up in the main strip, such as Kitty Higgins joining the cast of Moon Mullins and Herby appearing in Smitty
.
Frank Willard was one of the first members of the National Cartoonists Society
, joining two weeks after it was founded in 1932. With his health declining, Willard had little to do with the strip in his last years. After Willard's death in 1958, Johnson continued Moon Mullins until 1991, when it came to an end.
Moon Mullins
Moon Mullins, created by cartoonist Frank Willard , was a popular American comic strip which had a long run as both a daily and Sunday feature from June 19, 1923 to June 2, 1991. Syndicated by the Chicago Tribune/New York News Syndicate, the strip depicts the lives of diverse lowbrow characters who...
which ran from 1923 to 1991. He sometimes went by the nickname Dok Willard.
As a youth, Willard dropped out of several schools. In addition to jobs at county fairs, he worked in a mental institution. In 1909, he moved with his family to Chicago. He went to Union Academy, where he illustrated the Reflector yearbook in 1912. After attending the Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago in 1913, he was a cartoonist with the Chicago Herald (1914-18), where he drew the Sunday comic strips Tom, Dick and Harry and Mister and Mrs. Pippen/Mrs. Pippin's Husband and a daily comic strip which used various titles. At the Herald, he got to know cartoonists E. C. Segar
E. C. Segar
Elzie Crisler Segar was an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of Popeye, a character who first appeared in 1929 in his comic strip Thimble Theatre. Asked how to say his name, he told The Literary Digest it was "SEE-gar". He commonly signed his work simply Segar or E...
and Billy DeBeck.
WWI
Entering the U.S. Army in 1917, Willard served with the American Expeditionary ForceAmerican Expeditionary Force
The American Expeditionary Forces or AEF were the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside British and French allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces...
in France (1918-19). "Our unit built roads and did no fighting," he said. Unemployed on his return, he was given a place to stay by DeBeck and worked briefly on DeBeck's Barney Google
Barney Google and Snuffy Smith
Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, originally Barney Google, is a long-running American comic strip created by cartoonist Billy DeBeck . Since its debut on June 17, 1919, the strip has gained a huge international readership, appearing in 900 newspapers in 21 countries...
in 1920. Through DeBeck's influence, he landed a job that year in the King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers worldwide...
bullpen where he did just "about everything but carry water for the elephants." He next wrote and drew The Outta Luck Club for King Features (1919-23), where he also substituted for cartoonist Jean Knott on his Penny Ante poker panel.
Moon Mullins
In 1923, Joseph PattersonJoseph Medill Patterson
Joseph Medill Patterson was an American journalist and publisher, grandson of publisher Joseph Medill, founder of the Chicago Tribune and a mayor of Chicago, Illinois.-Family:...
of the Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate
Tribune Company
The Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
wanted a lowlife strip to compete with Barney Google
Barney Google
Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, originally Barney Google, is a long-running American comic strip created by cartoonist Billy DeBeck . Since its debut on June 17, 1919, the strip has gained a huge international readership, appearing in 900 newspapers in 21 countries...
. The curious chain of events that brought Willard, Patterson and Moon Mullins together began because Willard and other King Features cartoonists had to show their planned panels in advance to the King editor, who usually rejected Willard's ideas. Willard was angry, but he exploded when he saw some of his gags surface in George McManus
George McManus
George McManus was an American cartoonist best known as the creator of Irish immigrant Jiggs and his wife Maggie, the central characters in his syndicated comic strip, Bringing Up Father....
' Bringing Up Father
Bringing up Father
Bringing Up Father was an influential American comic strip created by cartoonist George McManus . Distributed by King Features Syndicate, it ran for 87 years, from January 12, 1913 to May 28, 2000....
. As Willard's assistant Ferd Johnson
Ferd Johnson
Ferdinand Johnson , aka Ferd Johnson, was an American cartoonist, best known for his 68-year stint on the Moon Mullins comic strip....
recalled:
- The editor was feeding Willard's ideas to the Syndicate's big star. Later Willard and McManus were very good friends, but at the time, Willard got so damn sore that he went and had a couple of drinks and then went after the editor. He found the guy sitting in his chair, and he let him have one that knocked him onto the floor. Willard knew he'd get fired for that—and he did. But the story got around, and when Captain Patterson, who was looking for a tough guy strip, heard about it, he said, "That's my man." He called Willard in. And that's how Moon got its start.
Moon merchandising
Moon Mullins quickly became popular after it was launched as a daily on June 19, 1923. A few months later, Ferd Johnson signed on as Willard's assistant, eventually doing a great deal of the work. The success of the strip enabled Willard to spend much time on his avocationAvocation
An avocation is an activity that one engages in as a hobby outside one's main occupation. There are many examples of people whose professions were the ways that they made their livings, but for whom their activities outside of their workplaces were their true passions in life...
, golf. Johnson recalled, "We'd go to Florida and follow the golf guys all the way to Maine." With Florida as a home base, Willard worked out of hotel rooms in Los Angeles, North Carolina, Maine and Wisconsin. At least one summer, the two mailed in their comic strips from Mexico.
Meanwhile, the strip expanded to 250 newspapers, a radio program, a Milton Bradley game, two Big Little Books and a comic book. Willard and Johnson also did the topper
Topper (comic strip)
A topper in comic strip parlance is a small secondary strip seen along with a larger Sunday strip. In the 1920s and 1930s, leading cartoonists were given full pages in the Sunday comics sections, allowing them to add smaller strips and single-panel cartoons to their page.Toppers usually were drawn...
strip Kitty Higgins. Characters in toppers sometimes turned up in the main strip, such as Kitty Higgins joining the cast of Moon Mullins and Herby appearing in Smitty
Smitty (comic strip)
Smitty was a popular newspaper comic strip created in the early 1920s by Walter Berndt. Syndicated nationally by the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate, it ran from November 29, 1922 to 1973 and brought Berndt a Reuben Award in 1969....
.
Frank Willard was one of the first members 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...
, joining two weeks after it was founded in 1932. With his health declining, Willard had little to do with the strip in his last years. After Willard's death in 1958, Johnson continued Moon Mullins until 1991, when it came to an end.