Paul Robinson (comic strip artist)
Encyclopedia
Paul Dowling Robinson was a comic strip
artist best known for his long-run Etta Kett
comic strip.
Born in Kenton, Ohio
, Robinson was the son of an iron moulder, and the Robinson family were farmers in Buck, Ohio by 1910. When Paul Robinson signed his draft card on September 12, 1918, he was living at 1219 West Jefferson in Sandusky, Ohio
and working as a demurrage railway clerk in the local Big Four freight offices.
animation studios in New York. He began doing panels and strips for the Central Press Association
, continuing with King Features Syndicate
after Central Press was purchased by King Features in 1930.
. Another Robinson feature of the 1920s was his single-panel series Just Among Us Girls.
strip above Etta Kett. Etta Kett's poses, facial features and hair style are all similar to Peggy Byrd.
Etta Kett ran in more than 50 American newspapers for almost 50 years, starting December 1925 and continuing until November 24, 1974. In 1957, Harvey Kurtzman
lampooned the strip in his satirical Trump
magazine.
Robinson lived at 14 Hillbury New Road in Essex Fells, New Jersey
. He was 76 years old when he died Saturday, September 21, 1974, at Mountainside Hospital
in Glen Ridge, New Jersey
.
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....
artist best known for his long-run Etta Kett
Etta Kett
Etta Kett was a long-run comic strip created by Paul Robinson. Launched as a single panel during December 1925, it originally offered tips to teenagers on manners, etiquette and the social graces...
comic strip.
Born in Kenton, Ohio
Kenton, Ohio
Kenton is a city in and the county seat of Hardin County, Ohio, United States, along the Scioto River. The population was 8,262 at the 2010 census. It is named for Kentucky/Ohio frontiersman, Simon Kenton...
, Robinson was the son of an iron moulder, and the Robinson family were farmers in Buck, Ohio by 1910. When Paul Robinson signed his draft card on September 12, 1918, he was living at 1219 West Jefferson in Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....
and working as a demurrage railway clerk in the local Big Four freight offices.
From clerk to cartoons
On June 21, 1919, the Sandusky Register reported that Robinson had left Sandusky two months earlier to begin his new career as an artist at the Bray ProductionsBray Productions
Bray Productions was the dominant animation studio based in the United States in the years before World War I.- History :The studio was founded in December 1914 by J. R. Bray, perhaps the first studio entirely devoted to animation, and series animation at that...
animation studios in New York. He began doing panels and strips for the Central Press Association
Central Press Association
The Central Press Association was an American newspaper syndication company based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was in business from 1910 to 1971. At its peak, the Central Press supplied features, columns, and photographs to more than 400 newspapers and 12 million daily readers.-History:Virgil Venice...
, continuing with 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...
after Central Press was purchased by King Features in 1930.
Early strips
In the mid-1920s, Robinson took over the Samson and Delia strip from Tim Early and the screenwriter and short story author, H. C. WitwerH. C. Witwer
Harry Charles Witwer , more commonly known as H. C. Witwer, was an American short story author. Some 60 comedy film shorts were based on his works, most from the mid 1920s to 1930, the year after Witwer's death....
. Another Robinson feature of the 1920s was his single-panel series Just Among Us Girls.
Etta Kett
In 1932, Robinson found success with Etta Kett. The strip about teenager Etta Kett began as a way to teach etiquette to teens, hence its name. Robinson also drew The Love-Byrds, about the cheerful couple Peggy and Howard Byrd, as 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...
strip above Etta Kett. Etta Kett's poses, facial features and hair style are all similar to Peggy Byrd.
Etta Kett ran in more than 50 American newspapers for almost 50 years, starting December 1925 and continuing until November 24, 1974. In 1957, Harvey Kurtzman
Harvey Kurtzman
Harvey Kurtzman was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic books and magazines. Kurtzman often signed his name H. Kurtz, followed by a stick figure Harvey Kurtzman (October 3, 1924, Brooklyn, New York – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic...
lampooned the strip in his satirical Trump
Trump (magazine)
Trump was a glossy magazine of satire and humor, mostly in the forms of comic-strip features and short stories. It was edited by Harvey Kurtzman and published by Hugh Hefner, with only two issues produced in 1957...
magazine.
Robinson lived at 14 Hillbury New Road in Essex Fells, New Jersey
Essex Fells, New Jersey
As of 2010 Essex Fells had a population of 2,113. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 93.5% non-Hispanic white, 1.1% black or African-American, 1.0% Chinese, 1.2% other Asian, 1.9% reporting two or more races and 2.0% Hispanic or Latino....
. He was 76 years old when he died Saturday, September 21, 1974, at Mountainside Hospital
Mountainside Hospital
Mountainside Hospital is a community hospital located in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. The hospital has 365 beds and serves Northeastern Essex County. On May 31, 2007, it was purchased by Merit Health Systems, a privately-owned for-profit Louisville, Kentucky hospital management company which acquires,...
in Glen Ridge, New Jersey
Glen Ridge, New Jersey
Glen Ridge is a borough in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,527. In 2010, Glen Ridge was ranked as the 38th Best Place to live by New Jersey Monthly magazine....
.