Turner, Dick, 1909-1999

George Richard Turner (1909-1999), professionally known as Dick Turner, was an American cartoonist who drew the comic strip Carnival .

Turner was born on August 11, 1909 in Indianapolis, Indiana. As a child Turner preferred to draw his ideas rather than put them into words. Turner's family moved to Evanston, Illinois in 1920 and Turner graduated from Evanston Township High School in 1928. Turner returned to Indiana and attended DePauw University where he contributed drawings to the campus magazine, The Yellow Crab . After receiving his degree in 1932, Turner sold insurance in Connecticut for a few years but decided to change careers and turned to freelance work and advertising art. He also moved back once again to Indiana.

In 1940 Turner joined the Newspaper Enterprise Association Service and started drawing Carnival and its Sunday companion strip Mr. Merryweather . By the end of the 1960s, Carnival was distributed in more than 500 newspapers by the NEA. Residents of his small Indiana town often related humorous situations in their lives and Turner used these stories to help him write and draw the strip. Mr. Merryweather ceased in 1972, while Carnival ended its run in 1980. Turner’s Carnival strips were reprinted to illustrate concepts in a variety of non-fiction works including textbooks and journals. Dick Turner retired in Vero Beach, Florida where he died November 2, 1999.

From the guide to the Dick Turner Cartoons., 1966-1968., (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)