Harold Knerr
Encyclopedia
Harold Hering Knerr was an American comic strip
creator, who signed his work H. H. Knerr. He was best known as the writer-artist of The Katzenjammer Kids for 35 years.
Born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
, Harold Knerr's father was Calvin B. Knerr, a German physician who had migrated to the United States. His mother was Melitta Hering, daughter of Constantine Hering
, a pioneer of homeopathy. After attending the Episcopal Academy, he studied for two years at the Philadelphia College of Art and then became a newspaper illustrator. He recalled, "My first newspaper work was drawing pictures of gravestones atop the oldest graves in a local cemetery for The Philadelphia Record
. These were paid for at the fee of three dollars each."
between 1901 and 1914 for a half-dozen continuing features in three different Philadelphia newspapers.
He created his first comic strip, Zoo-Illogical Snapshots, for the Public Ledger. In 1899, when he was 18, he started working for the Philadelphia Inquirer. In 1901, he drew the Sunday strip
, Willie's Revenge, followed by a number of comic strips, including the Mr. Jack
-inspired Mr. George and His Wife (1904–14). In 1906, he took over the strip Scary William and continued it until 1914. From June 15, 1913 to November 15, 1914, he drew The Irresistible Rag. (The cartoonist Joe Doyle drew both Scary William and The Irresistible Rag after Knerr left these strips.)
From 1903 to 1914, he drew The Fineheimer Twins, an imitation of The Katzenjammer Kids, which made it obvious he was the ideal artist to replace Rudolph Dirks
on The Katzenjammer Kids.
in November 1914 when Dirks left the Hearst
-owned New York Morning Journal after a legal dispute.
During World War I
, some newspapers retitled the strip as The Shenanigan Kids, and the nationality of the characters was changed to Dutch instead of German because of World War I
anti-German sentiments. It changed back to its original name and contents in 1920. He continued to write and draw the strip until his death in 1949, when it was taken over by Charles H. Winner.
Knerr's continuation of The Katzenjammer Kids has been praised as "a particularly brilliant job... true to the spirit of the original, and yet stylistically his own."
which accompanied The Katzenjammer Kids until two years after his death. By 1936, to avoid any association with Adolf Hitler, the dog's name was changed to Schnappsy.
Knerr never married. In New York during the 1940s, he lived in the Hotel Blackstone at 50 East 58th Street. On July 8, 1949, he died in Manhattan from heart disease, survived by a sister in Carmel, California and a brother in Philadelphia.
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....
creator, who signed his work H. H. Knerr. He was best known as the writer-artist of The Katzenjammer Kids for 35 years.
Born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Bryn Mawr from Welsh for "big hill") is a census-designated place in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, just west of Philadelphia along Lancaster Avenue and the border with Delaware County...
, Harold Knerr's father was Calvin B. Knerr, a German physician who had migrated to the United States. His mother was Melitta Hering, daughter of Constantine Hering
Constantine Hering
Constantine Hering was an early pioneer of homeopathy in the United States.-Biography:Hering was born in Oschatz, Saxony, and studied medicine at the University of Leipzig where his conversion to homeopathy occurred...
, a pioneer of homeopathy. After attending the Episcopal Academy, he studied for two years at the Philadelphia College of Art and then became a newspaper illustrator. He recalled, "My first newspaper work was drawing pictures of gravestones atop the oldest graves in a local cemetery for The Philadelphia Record
The Philadelphia Record
The Philadelphia Record was a daily newspaper published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1877 until 1947. The Record was founded in 1877 as a one-cent daily newspaper...
. These were paid for at the fee of three dollars each."
Comic strips
According to Knerr authority James Lowe, Knerr was extremely prolific, producing more than 1,500 Sunday comic pagesSunday 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...
between 1901 and 1914 for a half-dozen continuing features in three different Philadelphia newspapers.
He created his first comic strip, Zoo-Illogical Snapshots, for the Public Ledger. In 1899, when he was 18, he started working for the Philadelphia Inquirer. In 1901, he drew the 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...
, Willie's Revenge, followed by a number of comic strips, including the Mr. Jack
Mr. Jack
Mr. Jack was a "funny animal" comic strip by Jimmy Swinnerton which ran in William Randolph Hearst newspapers from about 1903 until 1935....
-inspired Mr. George and His Wife (1904–14). In 1906, he took over the strip Scary William and continued it until 1914. From June 15, 1913 to November 15, 1914, he drew The Irresistible Rag. (The cartoonist Joe Doyle drew both Scary William and The Irresistible Rag after Knerr left these strips.)
From 1903 to 1914, he drew The Fineheimer Twins, an imitation of The Katzenjammer Kids, which made it obvious he was the ideal artist to replace Rudolph Dirks
Rudolph Dirks
Rudolph Dirks was one of the earliest and most noted comic strip artists....
on The Katzenjammer Kids.
The Katzenjammer Kids
Knerr took over The Katzenjammer Kids Sunday stripSunday 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...
in November 1914 when Dirks left the 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...
-owned New York Morning Journal after a legal dispute.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, some newspapers retitled the strip as The Shenanigan Kids, and the nationality of the characters was changed to Dutch instead of German because of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
anti-German sentiments. It changed back to its original name and contents in 1920. He continued to write and draw the strip until his death in 1949, when it was taken over by Charles H. Winner.
Knerr's continuation of The Katzenjammer Kids has been praised as "a particularly brilliant job... true to the spirit of the original, and yet stylistically his own."
Dinglehoofer und His Dog Adolph
On May 16, 1926, Knerr started Dinglehoofer und His Dog Adolph, a topperTopper (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...
which accompanied The Katzenjammer Kids until two years after his death. By 1936, to avoid any association with Adolf Hitler, the dog's name was changed to Schnappsy.
Knerr never married. In New York during the 1940s, he lived in the Hotel Blackstone at 50 East 58th Street. On July 8, 1949, he died in Manhattan from heart disease, survived by a sister in Carmel, California and a brother in Philadelphia.