Murphy, John Cullen

d. 2004.

John Cullen Murphy was born May 3, 1919 in New York City. His family moved to Chicago when was he was young, and he enrolled at the Chicago Art Institute when he was only 9. He studied at the Grand Central Art School and won a scholarship to Phoenix Art Institute where he studied under Charles Chapman and George Bridgeman. At age 17, Murphy landed his first professional work as sports cartoonist for the Madison Square Gardens promotions. He also drew covers for Columbia and Liberty magazines. In 1940 he joined the Army and served in the Pacific as an anti-aircraft officer and did on-the-spot sketches for the Chicago Tribune. After the war, he illustrated for such magazines as Esquire, Colliers, Sport, Look and Holiday. In 1949 Elliott Caplin had an idea for a boxing strip and Murphy was hired to draw it. Big Ben Bolt was syndicated by King Features beginning in February 1950. By 1971 the task of writing, illustrating, and researching Prince Valiant was proving too much for Hal Foster so he asked Murphy to assist him. Murphy turned most of the art chores on Big Ben Bolt over to other artists until it ceased in 1978. Later he drew Prince Valiant with his son Cullen Murphy doing the writing, and his daughter Meg Nash responsible for the lettering and coloring. Murphy ceased drawing the comic strip in early 2004. A past president of the National Cartoonists Society (1979-1981), Murphy was presented the Silver T-square Award for outstanding service to the Society in 1981 and the Elzie Segar Award for outstanding contributions to the art of cartooning in 1983. He was also been the recipient of the "Best Story Strip Award" six times (1971, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1984 and 1988). John Cullen Murphy died in Greenwich CT on July 2, 2004.

John Cullen Murphy (1919-2004) was an American cartoonist and illustrator. He co-created the newspaper story strip Big Ben Bolt with writer Elliot Caplin and was Hal Foster's successor on the widely acclaimed Prince Valiant .

Born in New York City, Murphy attended the Phoenix Art Institute and the Art Students League of New York. His initial professional work included sports cartooning and magazine illustration. While in uniform during World War II, Murphy did spot illustrations of war scenes for the Chicago Tribune and painted portraits of military brass, including Gen. Douglas MacArthur. After the war, Murphy largely made his name as a magazine illustrator, placing work with many of the major publications of the time. It was his sports illustration work that brought him to the attention of writer Elliot Caplin, who was looking to launch a new boxing strip for King Features Syndicate. In 1950, Big Ben Bolt made its first appearance as a daily strip, and a Sunday feature was soon added a few years later. Ultimately, the boxing/detective drama ran for some 28 years, finally ending its run in 1978.

In 1970, Murphy went to work on the long-running newspaper strip Prince Valiant, initially as an assistant to creator Hal Foster, but eventually taking over the artist duties entirely in 1971 (Foster continued to write the strip until 1980). After many years, and much recognition for maintaining the stellar quality of the Prince Valiant art, John Cullen Murphy retired in 2004, shortly before his death. His son, Cullen Murphy (John Cullen Murphy, Jr.), is an American writer and magazine editor, and worked as a writer on Prince Valiant for a number of years with his father.