De Beck, Billy, 1890-1942

William Morgan DeBeck was born in Chicago on 15 April 1890. He briefly attended the Academy of Fine Arts before working as a staff artist and cartoonist for several mid-western newspapers. He joined the staff of the Chicago Herald in 1916. Debeck was moved to New York in 1919 when William Hearst bought the Herald. In New York, DeBeck created the character of Barney Google and achieved immediate fame and fortune. After he married in 1927, DeBeck lived in Paris for two years before settling in alternating residences in Great Neck (Long Island), New York and Palm Beach, Florida. His assistant, Fred Laswell, took over the strip ("Barney Google and Snuffy Smith" and today just "Snuffy Smith") after DeBeck's death in 1942.

From the description of Billy DeBeck collection, 1915-1994 (James Branch Cabell Library). WorldCat record id: 184907669