Keane, Bil, 1922-2011

Prominent self-taught comic artist residing in Phoenix, Arizona.

From the description of Bill Keane cartoon collection, 1962-1989. (Scottsdale Public Library). WorldCat record id: 57241662

The self-taught comic artist Bil Keane was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 5, 1922. Keane started his career in the late 1930s, putting out a satirical magazine entitled The Saturday Evening Toast with a couple of friends. After high school, he got a job at the Philadelphia Bulletin . While serving in the Army (1942-1945), Keane drew for Yank magazine and created the At Ease with the Japanese feature for Pacific Stars and Stripes . After the war, he returned to the Philadelphia Bulletin . Here, he created Silly Philly, a weekly Sunday page based on Philadelphia founder William Penn. In 1954, Keane started his humorous Channel Chuckles television cartoon, which ran for 23 years. In 1983, the National Cartoonist Society named him cartoonist of the year. Keane died on November 8, 2011.

Bil Keane's family life inspired him to launch the Family Circus cartoon panel in February of 1960. This very popular panel is now widely distributed by King Features, appearing in over 1500 newspapers. There are over 14 million Family Circus books in print.

Sources:

Family Circus ( http://www.familycircus.com/ ).

King Features ( http://www.kingfeatures.com )

From the guide to the Bil Keane Cartoon Collection, 1962-1989, (Arizona State University Libraries Arizona Collection)