Saunders, Allen, 1899-1986

Comic strip writer from Toledo, Ohio also active in professional and community organizations.

John Allen Saunders (1899-1986), known as Allen Saunders, was an American writer and cartoonist.

Allen Saunders was born in Lebanon, Indiana on March 24, 1899. He studied at Wabash College, where he received his A.B. and M.A. degrees, and at the University of Chicago and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts.

Saunders was a member of The Players in New York City, the National Cartoonists Society and the Newspaper Comics Council, of which he was a past chairman. He was the author and creator of the well-known syndicated comic-strips Steve Roper, Kerry Drake, and Mary Worth . He was also the author of the pamphlet "A Career for Your Child in the Comics?" Saunders contributed to Coronet, Colliers and many popular fiction magazines. His lectures included "Comics Are Serious Business" and "The Philosophy of Humor". Saunders served as the Continuity Editor of the Publishers Syndicate and President of Art Interests, Inc., which is an organization providing scholarships to talented young artists.

Allen Saunders died in 1986.