Berndt, 1899-1980

Walter Berndt was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 22, 1899. He began working as an office boy at the New York Journal when he was age 16, and it was there that he met many notable cartoonists of the time such as Tad Dorgan, George Herrimann, and Milt Gross. He later worked for the New York Daily News, where he began the comic strip Smitty in 1922. He drew daily and Sunday comic strips about Smitty, his title character who was an office boy, until he retired in 1974. He received the National Cartoonists Society's highest award, the Reuben, in 1970. Walter Berndt died in 1980. The Long Island Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society was named the Berndt Toast Gang in his honor.

From the description of Collection, 1931-1973. (Ohio State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 24890177