Napoleon and Uncle Elby
Encyclopedia
Napoleon and Uncle Elby was a syndicated newspaper comic strip
by Clifford McBride
.
While drawing such features as McBride's Cartoon (1927) and Clifford McBride's Pantomime Comic (1932), McBride introduced Elby, a character based on his uncle, Henry Elba Eastman. He soon began to add situations involving Elby's dog, Napoleon.
For a minor syndicate, LaFave Newspaper Features, McBride began Napoleon as a daily strip on June 6, 1932, reaching a wider audience once he connected with the McNaught Syndicate
. His Sunday strip
was added in 1933, and the following year, the title was changed to Napoleon and Uncle Elby.
, who sometimes was used for promotional purposes with McBride, including two short films, Unusual Occupations (1941) and Artist's Antics (1946).
McBride's assistant on the strip was Roger Armstrong (1917–2007). After McBride's 1951 death in Altadena, California
, his second wife, Margot Fischer McBride, wrote the strip, and she hired Armstrong as the illustrator. In 1952, the team switched to the Mirror Enterprises Syndicate in Los Angeles, keeping the strip going for the next eight years. Joseph Messerli worked on the strip from 1953 to 1956. Another artist who worked on Napoleon was Ed Nofziger.
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....
by Clifford McBride
Clifford McBride
Clifford McBride was an American cartoonist best known for his comic strip Napoleon and Uncle Elby.Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, McBride was twice expelled from school because of his drawings in the school paper...
.
While drawing such features as McBride's Cartoon (1927) and Clifford McBride's Pantomime Comic (1932), McBride introduced Elby, a character based on his uncle, Henry Elba Eastman. He soon began to add situations involving Elby's dog, Napoleon.
For a minor syndicate, LaFave Newspaper Features, McBride began Napoleon as a daily strip on June 6, 1932, reaching a wider audience once he connected with the McNaught Syndicate
McNaught Syndicate
The McNaught Syndicate was an American newspaper syndicate founded in 1922. It was established by Virgil Venice McNitt and Charles V. McAdam. Its best known contents were the columns by Will Rogers and O. O. McIntyre, the Dear Abby letters section and comic strips, including Joe Palooka and...
. His 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...
was added in 1933, and the following year, the title was changed to Napoleon and Uncle Elby.
Licensing and merchandising
Napoleon became a spokesdog during the 1940s for Red Heart Dog Food. Merchandising included a stuffed toy of Napoleon. Although Napoleon was an Irish Wolfhound, McBride's own dog was Ace, a 190-pound St. BernardSt. Bernard (dog)
The St. Bernard is a breed of very large working dog from the Italian and Swiss Alps, originally bred for rescue. The breed has become famous through tales of alpine rescues, as well as for its large size.-Appearance:The St. Bernard is a large dog...
, who sometimes was used for promotional purposes with McBride, including two short films, Unusual Occupations (1941) and Artist's Antics (1946).
McBride's assistant on the strip was Roger Armstrong (1917–2007). After McBride's 1951 death in Altadena, California
Altadena, California
Altadena is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately from the downtown Los Angeles Civic Center, and directly north of the city of Pasadena, California...
, his second wife, Margot Fischer McBride, wrote the strip, and she hired Armstrong as the illustrator. In 1952, the team switched to the Mirror Enterprises Syndicate in Los Angeles, keeping the strip going for the next eight years. Joseph Messerli worked on the strip from 1953 to 1956. Another artist who worked on Napoleon was Ed Nofziger.