Russ Westover
Encyclopedia
Russell Channing Westover (March 8, 1886, Los Angeles, California
- May 3, 1966) was a cartoonist best known for his long-run comic strip Tillie the Toiler
.
Westover recalled, "When the time came... to make a living, father put me in one of the stores he owned. I used to wrap parcels, and I'd draw pictures on them. The customers liked it, but my father didn't. We talked it over and came to an agreement. I went into the railroad business."
After a job as a clerk with the Southern Pacific Railroad, Westover headed for San Francisco, where he studied at the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art. After four months, he dropped out after an instructor said, "Young man, the drawing of Caesar is good, but that caricature you made of me on the border is terrible".
He was 18 years old when he landed a job as a sports cartoonist with the San Francisco Bulletin
. He also contributed to the San Francisco Chronicle
, the San Francisco Post and the Oakland Herald. His first comic strip, Daffy Dan, about a baseball player, was published in the Post.
when he drew his first nationally syndicated strip, Snapshot Bill (1914), followed by Ginger Pop, Fat Chance, Looie and His Tin Lizzie and The Demon Demonstrator. He also worked as an illustrator for Life
and Judge (1918-21).
. Leaving the Herald, he began Tillie the Toiler for King Features in 1921, and the working-girl strip quickly established a wide readership, leading to a 1927 film adaptation by Hearst's Cosmopolitan Pictures with Marion Davies
as Tillie.
During the late 1920s, more than 600 papers were carrying Tillie The Toiler. In 1926, he added another strip, The Van Swaggers, to his Sunday page
as a topper
. Cupples & Leon
published a series of at least eight Tillie the Toiler reprint collections beginning in the 1920s and continuing into the 1930s. Westover profited from another movie when Kay Harris appeared in the title role of Columbia Pictures
' Tillie the Toiler in 1941.
When Westover retired in the early 1950s, Bob Gustafson
continued Tillie the Toiler until 1959.
Westover was 80 when he died in 1966 in San Rafael, California
. His work is archived at the Huntington Library
in San Marino, California
.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
- May 3, 1966) was a cartoonist best known for his long-run comic strip Tillie the Toiler
Tillie the Toiler
Tillie the Toiler was a newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist Russ Westover who initially worked on his concept of a flapper character in a strip he titled Rose of the Office...
.
Westover recalled, "When the time came... to make a living, father put me in one of the stores he owned. I used to wrap parcels, and I'd draw pictures on them. The customers liked it, but my father didn't. We talked it over and came to an agreement. I went into the railroad business."
After a job as a clerk with the Southern Pacific Railroad, Westover headed for San Francisco, where he studied at the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art. After four months, he dropped out after an instructor said, "Young man, the drawing of Caesar is good, but that caricature you made of me on the border is terrible".
He was 18 years old when he landed a job as a sports cartoonist with the San Francisco Bulletin
San Francisco Call
The San Francisco Call was a newspaper that served San Francisco, California. Because of a succession of mergers with other newspapers, the paper variously came to be called The San Francisco Call & Post, the San Francisco Call-Bulletin, San Francisco News-Call Bulletin, and the News-Call Bulletin...
. He also contributed to the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, the San Francisco Post and the Oakland Herald. His first comic strip, Daffy Dan, about a baseball player, was published in the Post.
Comic strips from New York
Relocating to New York, he was at the New York HeraldNew York Herald
The New York Herald was a large distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835, and 1924.-History:The first issue of the paper was published by James Gordon Bennett, Sr., on May 6, 1835. By 1845 it was the most popular and profitable daily newspaper in the UnitedStates...
when he drew his first nationally syndicated strip, Snapshot Bill (1914), followed by Ginger Pop, Fat Chance, Looie and His Tin Lizzie and The Demon Demonstrator. He also worked as an illustrator for Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
and Judge (1918-21).
Tillie the Toiler begins
Westover worked on his concept of a flapper character in a strip he titled Rose of the Office. With a title change to Tillie the Toiler, it sold to King Features SyndicateKing 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...
. Leaving the Herald, he began Tillie the Toiler for King Features in 1921, and the working-girl strip quickly established a wide readership, leading to a 1927 film adaptation by Hearst's Cosmopolitan Pictures with Marion Davies
Marion Davies
Marion Davies was an American film actress. Davies is best remembered for her relationship with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, as her high-profile social life often obscured her professional career....
as Tillie.
During the late 1920s, more than 600 papers were carrying Tillie The Toiler. In 1926, he added another strip, The Van Swaggers, to his Sunday page
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...
as a 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...
. Cupples & Leon
Cupples & Leon
Cupples & Leon was an American publishing company founded in 1902 by Victor I. Cupples and Arthur T. Leon . They published juvenile fiction and children's books but are mainly remembered today as the major publisher of books collecting comic strips during the early decades of the 20th century.In...
published a series of at least eight Tillie the Toiler reprint collections beginning in the 1920s and continuing into the 1930s. Westover profited from another movie when Kay Harris appeared in the title role of Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
' Tillie the Toiler in 1941.
When Westover retired in the early 1950s, Bob Gustafson
Bob Gustafson
Robert D. Gustafson was an American cartoonist whose work includes eight years on Tillie the Toiler and a 27-year run on the Beetle Bailey comic books.-Background:...
continued Tillie the Toiler until 1959.
Westover was 80 when he died in 1966 in San Rafael, California
San Rafael, California
San Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
. His work is archived at the Huntington Library
The Huntington Library
The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens is an educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington in San Marino, in the San Rafael Hills near Pasadena, California in the United States...
in San Marino, California
San Marino, California
San Marino is a small, affluent city in Los Angeles County, California. Incorporated in 1913, the City founders designed the community to be uniquely residential, with expansive properties surrounded by beautiful gardens, wide streets, and well maintained parkways...
.