Gladys Parker
Encyclopedia
Gladys Parker was an American cartoonist for comic strips and a fashion designer in Hollywood. She is best known as the creator of the comic strip
Mopsy
which had a long run over three decades.
Growing up in North Tonawanda, New York
, she took dance lessons at age seven after winning a "most beautiful child" contest. She taught herself to draw while recuperating from a leg injury, often using herself as her model, and began selling cartoons to magazines while still in high school. After graduating from Tonawanda High School, she worked in the office of a lumber yard, and then ran a dressmaking shop from her home.
She is the daughter of Caroline (who died at age 35 in 1914) and Wilbert C. Parker of Tonawanda. Her maternal grandparents are John and Anna Gerster of Tonawanda.
At the age of 18, Parker arrived in Manhattan to study fashion illustration. She started her newspaper career with the New York Graphic
, doing a comic strip May and Junie. She moved on to United Features
for two years and Newspaper Enterprise Association
for seven years.
' Flapper Fanny Says
panel which she did for NEA from 1930 to 1936. She also did a comic strip series for Lux Soap
during the 1930s.
Developing Mopsy in 1939, Parker modeled the character after herself. In 1946, she recalled, "I got the idea for Mopsy when the cartoonist Rube Goldberg
said my hair looked like a mop. That was several years ago, and she has been my main interest ever since."
The Mopsy Sunday strip
, added in 1945, gave Parker an opportunity to draw her fashion creations in a sidebar feature of paper dolls.
, Parker created the strip Betty G.I. for the Womens Army Corps, and she also stepped in to draw Russell Keaton's Flyin' Jenny
from 1942 until 1944 when his assistant Marc Swayze took over.
Mopsy held such wartime jobs as a nurse and a munitions-plant worker, and the feature grew in popularity. After WWII ended, Mopsy was fired from her defense job in 1947 and went back to civilian life.
' Pageant of Comics #1. Two years later, St. John gave her a title of her own, and Mopsy ran for 19 issues (February 1949 to September 1953). Charlton Comics reprinted several of those comic books in 1951. In 1955, Berkley Books
published a Mopsy paperback collection. St. John also ran Mopsy as filler pages in its romance comics.
. Living in Hollywood with her two black cats, Parker also wrote a daily column, "Dear Gals and Guys", during the 1960s.
Living in New York during the 1940s, Parker was married to the illustrator Benjamin Allen (aka Stookie Allen), who drew for pulp magazines and comic books.
Parker was a member of the Society of Illustrators
and the National Cartoonists Society
. When she retired in 1965, Mopsy retired with her. She was 56 when she died of lung cancer in 1966.
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....
Mopsy
Mopsy
Mopsy was a comic strip created by Gladys Parker in 1939. It had a long run over three decades. Parker modeled the character of Mopsy after herself. In 1946, she recalled, "I got the idea for Mopsy when the cartoonist Rube Goldberg said my hair looked like a mop...
which had a long run over three decades.
Growing up in North Tonawanda, New York
North Tonawanda, New York
North Tonawanda is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 31,568 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is named after Tonawanda Creek, its south border...
, she took dance lessons at age seven after winning a "most beautiful child" contest. She taught herself to draw while recuperating from a leg injury, often using herself as her model, and began selling cartoons to magazines while still in high school. After graduating from Tonawanda High School, she worked in the office of a lumber yard, and then ran a dressmaking shop from her home.
She is the daughter of Caroline (who died at age 35 in 1914) and Wilbert C. Parker of Tonawanda. Her maternal grandparents are John and Anna Gerster of Tonawanda.
At the age of 18, Parker arrived in Manhattan to study fashion illustration. She started her newspaper career with the New York Graphic
New York Graphic
The New York Evening Graphic was a tabloid newspaper published from 1924 to 1932 by Bernarr "Bodylove" Macfadden...
, doing a comic strip May and Junie. She moved on to United Features
United Media
United Media is a large editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States, owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. It syndicates 150 comics and editorial columns worldwide. Its core business is the United Feature Syndicate and the Newspaper Enterprise Association...
for two years and Newspaper Enterprise Association
United Media
United Media is a large editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States, owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. It syndicates 150 comics and editorial columns worldwide. Its core business is the United Feature Syndicate and the Newspaper Enterprise Association...
for seven years.
Comic strips
After drawing the flapper strip Gay and Her Gang in 1928-29, she took over Ethel HaysEthel Hays
Ethel Hays was an American syndicated cartoonist specializing in flapper-themed comic strips in the 1920s and 1930s. She drew in an art deco style. In the later part of her career, during the 1940s and 1950s, she became one of the country's most accomplished children's book illustrators.-Early...
' Flapper Fanny Says
Flapper Fanny Says
Flapper Fanny Says from Newspaper Enterprise Association was a single-panel daily cartoon series starting in about 1924, with a Sunday page following in 1928. Each episode featured a flapper illustration and a witticism. It continued into the 1940s as Flapper Fanny.At the start, the panel was drawn...
panel which she did for NEA from 1930 to 1936. She also did a comic strip series for Lux Soap
Lux (soap)
Lux is a global brand developed by Unilever. The range of products includes beauty soaps, shower gels, bath additives, hair shampoos and conditioners. Lux started as “Sunlight Flakes” laundry soap in 1899....
during the 1930s.
Developing Mopsy in 1939, Parker modeled the character after herself. In 1946, she recalled, "I got the idea for Mopsy when the cartoonist Rube Goldberg
Rube Goldberg
Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer and inventor.He is best known for a series of popular cartoons depicting complex gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. These devices, now known as Rube Goldberg machines, are similar to...
said my hair looked like a mop. That was several years ago, and she has been my main interest ever since."
The Mopsy Sunday strip
Sunday strip
A Sunday strip is a newspaper comic strip format, where comic strips are printed in the Sunday newspaper, usually in a special section called the Sunday comics, and virtually always in color. Some readers called these sections the Sunday funnies...
, added in 1945, gave Parker an opportunity to draw her fashion creations in a sidebar feature of paper dolls.
WWII
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Parker created the strip Betty G.I. for the Womens Army Corps, and she also stepped in to draw Russell Keaton's Flyin' Jenny
Flyin' Jenny
Flyin' Jenny was an aviation adventure comic strip created by illustrator Russell Keaton and distributed to newspapers by Bell Syndicate. Launched in October 1939, Flyin' Jenny was published both as a daily and Sunday strip, each running a separate storyline.-Characters and story:Initially a test...
from 1942 until 1944 when his assistant Marc Swayze took over.
Mopsy held such wartime jobs as a nurse and a munitions-plant worker, and the feature grew in popularity. After WWII ended, Mopsy was fired from her defense job in 1947 and went back to civilian life.
Licensing and reprints
By the end of the 1940s, Mopsy was published in 300 newspapers. In 1947, Mopsy began in St. John PublicationsSt. John Publications
St. John Publications was an American publisher of magazines and comic books. During its short existence , St. John's comic books established several industry firsts. Founded by Archer St. John , the firm was located in Manhattan at 545 Fifth Avenue. After the St...
' Pageant of Comics #1. Two years later, St. John gave her a title of her own, and Mopsy ran for 19 issues (February 1949 to September 1953). Charlton Comics reprinted several of those comic books in 1951. In 1955, Berkley Books
Berkley Books
Berkley Books is an imprint of Penguin Group that began as an independent company in 1955. It was established by Charles Byrne and Frederic Klein, who were working for Avon and formed "Chic News Company". They renamed it Berkley Publishing Co. in 1955. They soon found a niche in science fiction...
published a Mopsy paperback collection. St. John also ran Mopsy as filler pages in its romance comics.
Clothing designs
Under the name Gladys Parker Designs, her clothing line was sold in stores as early as 1934, capitalizing on her fame as the artist of Flapper Fanny Says. Parker also designed for films, such as her 1940 white sharkskin suit worn by actress Louise PlattLouise Platt
Louise Platt was an American theatre and film actress.She is perhaps best remembered for her role as the pregnant officer's wife in John Ford's Stagecoach . A Broadway star, she came to Hollywood in 1938 and returned to the stage in 1942 after the dissolution of her marriage to theatre director...
. Living in Hollywood with her two black cats, Parker also wrote a daily column, "Dear Gals and Guys", during the 1960s.
Living in New York during the 1940s, Parker was married to the illustrator Benjamin Allen (aka Stookie Allen), who drew for pulp magazines and comic books.
Parker was a member of the Society of Illustrators
Society of Illustrators
The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. Founded in 1901, the mission of the Society is to promote the art and appreciation of illustration, as well as its history...
and 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...
. When she retired in 1965, Mopsy retired with her. She was 56 when she died of lung cancer in 1966.