'Dennis the Menace' creator dead at 81
Lady Taker
http://www.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/books/06/01/obit.ketcham/index.html
'Dennis the Menace' creator dead at 81
June 1, 2001 Posted: 4:44 PM EDT (2044 GMT)
(CNN) -- Hank Ketcham, the man who created the wildly popular "Dennis the
Menace" comic
strip, has died at the age of 81.
His publicist, Linda Dozoretz, told The Associated Press that Ketcham had
suffered from
heart disease and cancer.
Ketcham "passed away very peacefully," said Ellen James, a Monterey,
California, neighbor
and family friend. "He had had some bad spells and he slipped away in his
sleep."
Ketcham created "Dennis the Menace" in 1951. Inspired by the antics of his
four-year-old
son named Dennis, he created the lovable brat with tousled hair who tormented
crotchety
Mr. Wilson. It made its debut in 16 newspapers and the strip blossomed in
popularity
through the decades.
In March, Ketcham's panels celebrated 50 years of publication -- running in
1,000
newspapers, 48 countries and 19 languages. The strip also inspired several
books of
cartoons, a musical, a television series, a 1993 movie and a playground in
Monterey, where
Ketcham had his studio.
He once said the world related to -- and needed -- a mischievous boy like
Dennis.
"Mischief just seems to follow wherever Dennis appears, but it is the product
of good
intentions, misdirected helpfulness, good-hearted generosity, and, possibly, an
overactive
thyroid," Ketcham wrote in his 1990 autobiography, "The Merchant of Dennis The
Menace."
"But what a dull world it would be without any Dennises in it! Peaceful, maybe
-- but
dull," he said.
Hooked on cartooning
Henry King Ketcham was born March 14, 1920, in Seattle. He said he was no more
than 6 when
he knew he wanted to be a cartoonist. After watching a family friend sketch
cartoon
characters, he was hooked on the art.
"I couldn't wait to borrow his 'magic pencil' and try my own hand at drawing
these
comic-strip characters," said Ketcham. "It was a major discovery, and I was
floating on
air with excitement."
After dropping out of University of Washington and moving to Southern
California, he found
work as an animator with Walt Disney, working on "Pinocchio," "Bambi,"
"Fantasia" and
Donald Duck shorts, among other projects.
After World War II, Ketcham settled in Carmel, working as a freelance
cartoonist.
As the story goes, he was working one day when his wife burst into his studio.
It seems
their son Dennis had refused to take a nap and had instead wrecked his room.
"Your son is a menace!" she said.
While the strip thrived, Ketcham's family life split apart. He and his first
wife were
separated when she died in 1959. He and his son Dennis drifted apart, and they
spoke
infrequently in later life.
Ketcham married two more times, having two children in his last marriage. He
lived in
Geneva, Switzerland, for a period in his life, still managing to create the
cartoon,
before moving back and settling in Monterey.
Ketcham stopped drawing the strip in 1994, letting a team of artists and
writers take the
reins. He had always surrounded himself with a team of writers and illustrators
who
contributed to his strip, and credited this theory for the strip's longevity.
"Anyone in the humor business isn't thinking clearly if he doesn't surround
himself with
idea people," Ketcham told The Associated Press in a 1994 interview.
"Otherwise, you
settle for ... mediocrity -- or you burn yourself out."
© 2001 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/entertainment/arts/newsid_1365000/1365096.stm
Friday, 1 June, 2001, 20:56 GMT 21:56 UK
Dennis the Menace creator dies
Hank Ketcham, who created the Dennis the Menace cartoon character in the United
States,
has died aged 81.
He had suffered from heart disease and cancer, his publicist said.
Ketcham drew the comic strip for 43 years until he stopped in 1994, but let it
continue
under a team of artists and writers.
The cartoon appeared in 1,000 newspapers, 48 countries and 19 languages, as
well as
inspiring a television show, a musical and a 1993 film.
Ellen James, a neighbour and family friend, said his death had been peaceful.
"He had had some bad spells and he slipped away in his sleep," she said.
Inspiration
The freckle-faced, fair-haired Dennis the Menace has tormented cranky neighbour
Mr Wilson
and amused readers for 50 years.
Ketcham got the idea in 1950 when his wife, Alice, burst into his home studio,
exasperated
that their four-year-old son Dennis had dismantled his room instead of taking a
nap.
"Your son is a menace!" she said.
Born Henry King Ketcham, the artist grew up in Seattle and decided to be a
cartoonist at
the age of six.
He began his career with Walter Lantz - creator of Woody Woodpecker - before
moving to
Disney, where he worked on Pinocchio, Bambi, Fantasia and Donald Duck shorts.
During World War II, he drew cartoons for Navy posters.
But Dennis the Menace, with his trademark black and white striped T-shirt and
red
dungarees, was his biggest success.
Team approach
It was an instant hit, and a collection of Dennis cartoons soon became a
best-seller.
Ketcham put its enduring popularity down to a team approach, using comedy
writers to
contribute ideas.
"Anyone in the humour business isn't thinking clearly if he doesn't surround
himself with
idea people," he said in 1994.
"Otherwise, you settle for... mediocrity - or you burn yourself out."
Ketcham and his first wife had separated when she died in 1959.
He and his son Dennis drifted apart, and they spoke infrequently in later life.
Keeping up
The cartoonist moved to Switzerland and lived in Geneva for 17 years and
returned to the
United States infrequently.
But he used the Sears catalogue to keep up with the changing American way of
life for his
strip.
He moved back to America in 1977 and settled in Monterey, California, with a
third wife
and two more children.
After giving up Dennis the Menace, he concentrated on oil and watercolour
portraits.
He said he didn't mind if Dennis the Menace outlived him.
"I'm not in it for posterity. People look at it for 30 seconds... then it gets
used to
wrap fish," he said.
© 2001 BBC
http://www.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/books/06/01/ketcham.obit.ap/index.html
'Dennis the Menace' creator dies
June 1, 2001 Posted: 3:06 PM EDT (1906 GMT)
PEBBLE BEACH, California (AP) -- Hank Ketcham, whose lovable scamp "Dennis the
Menace"
tormented cranky Mr. Wilson and amused readers of comics for decades, has died
at age 81.
Ketcham had suffered from heart disease and cancer, said his publicist, Linda
Dozoretz.
"He passed away very peacefully. He had had some bad spells and he slipped away
in his
sleep," said Ellen James, a neighbor and family friend.
Ketcham stopped drawing the weekday strip at the end of 1994 but let it
continue under a
team of artists and writers.
Inspired by the antics of his 4-year-old son, Ketcham began the strip in 1951.
In March,
Ketcham's panels celebrated 50 years of publication -- running in 1,000
newspapers, 48
countries and 19 languages.
Despite its longevity, the strip changed little since the 1950s. Dennis was
always a
freckle-faced "five-ana-half" -- an appealing if aggravating mixture of
impishness and
innocence.
"Mischief just seems to follow wherever Dennis appears, but it is the product
of good
intentions, misdirected helpfulness, good-hearted generosity, and, possibly, an
overactive
thyroid," Ketcham wrote in his 1990 autobiography, "The Merchant of Dennis The
Menace."
"But what a dull world it would be without any Dennises in it! Peaceful, maybe
-- but
dull," he said.
Dennis also inspired several books of cartoons, a musical, a television series,
a 1993
movie and a playground in Monterey, where Ketcham had his studio.
Henry King Ketcham was born March 14, 1920, in Seattle and grew up there. He
recalled he
was no more than 6 when he knew he wanted to be a cartoonist. One day he
watched a family
friend sketch Barney Google and other then-popular cartoon figures.
"I couldn't wait to borrow his `magic pencil' and try my own hand at drawing
these
comic-strip characters," said Ketcham, who promptly copied every comic he could
get his
hands on. "It was a major discovery, and I was floating on air with
excitement."
In 1938, he dropped out of the University of Washington after his freshman year
and went
to Southern California to work as an animator, first for Walter Lantz, creator
of "Woody
Woodpecker," and then for Walt Disney. Ketcham worked on "Pinocchio," "Bambi,"
"Fantasia"
and Donald Duck shorts.
When the United States entered World War II, he enlisted in the Navy, where he
was put to
work drawing cartoons for Navy posters, training material and war bond sales.
A free-lance cartoonist after the war, Ketcham was living in Carmel when he got
the idea
for "Dennis the Menace" in October 1950. His wife, Alice, burst into his home
studio,
exasperated that their 4-year-old son, Dennis, had dismantled his room instead
of taking a
nap.
"Your son is a menace!" she said.
The strip with the towhead tornado, crabby neighbor Mr. Wilson and a rangy,
bespectacled
dad who looked like Ketcham himself made its debut in 16 newspapers. It was an
instant
hit, and the following year a collection of Dennis cartoons was a best-seller.
Despite the strip's real-life inspiration, Ketcham didn't depend on family life
for ideas.
He used comedy writers and credited the team approach for the strip's
longevity.
"Anyone in the humor business isn't thinking clearly if he doesn't surround
himself with
idea people," Ketcham told The Associated Press in a 1994 interview.
"Otherwise, you
settle for ... mediocrity -- or you burn yourself out."
Ketcham and his first wife had separated when she died in 1959. He and his son
Dennis
drifted apart, and they spoke infrequently in later life.
The cartoonist moved to Switzerland, where lived in Geneva for 17 years,
relishing the
peace of being thousands of miles away from business associates. He returned to
the United
States only infrequently and used the Sears catalogue to keep abreast of
details of the
changing American way of life for his strip.
A second marriage ended in divorce, but Ketcham married a third time and had
two more
children. He and his family returned to the United States in 1977.
Ketcham settled in Monterey, where he worked on "Dennis" and enjoyed golf at
Pebble Beach.
He stopped drawing the Sunday strip himself in the mid-1980s but carefully
supervised the
process. He kept up the weekday strip until the end of 1994.
For Ketcham, giving up "Dennis the Menace" did not mean retirement; he
concentrated on his
more serious artwork, oil and watercolor portraits. While glad the strip
continued,
Ketcham didn't care if it outlived him.
"I'm not in it for posterity. People look at it for 30 seconds ... then it gets
used to
wrap fish," he said. "Now my paintings, that's something else. My bid to
posterity is my
paintings."
Copyright 2001 The Associated Press.
http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/06/01/ketcham010601
Dennis the Menace creator dead at 81
WebPosted Fri Jun 1 15:39:54 2001
CARMEL, CALIF. - Hank Ketcham, the comic strip artist who created Dennis the
Menace, died
Friday at the age of 81.
Ketcham created Dennis the Menace in 1950, naming the character after his own
five-year-old son Dennis.
Ketcham died of a heart attack at his home in Carmel.
The comic strip appeared in 1,000 newspapers in 48 countries and was translated
into 19
languages.
Every March, when Dennis turned six, he blew out the candles on his cake and
became five
again.
Written by CBC News Online staff
Copyright © 2001 CBC
Friday June 1 3:00 PM ET
'Dennis the Menace' Creator Hank Ketcham Dies
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hank Ketcham, the onetime movie cartoon animator who
created the
``Dennis the Menace'' comic strip because his wife complained that their
five-year-old son
was a menace, has died at home in Carmel, California, a spokeswoman said on
Friday. He was
81 years old.
Ketcham, who had been in falling health after a battle with cancer, died of a
heart attack
on Thursday night, spokeswoman Linda Dozoretz said. The cartoonist celebrated
the 50th
anniversary of his creation of the freckle-faced, golden-haired boy-next-door
on March 12.
Ketcham dabbled in cartooning as a child and went to Hollywood where he worked
at the
Walter Lantz animation studio until he joined the Navy the day of the Pearl
Harbor attack.
After the war, he quickly became one of the country's most successful and
prolific
cartoonists with work published in Collier's, The Saturday Evening Post,
Ladies' Home
Journal, Liberty and The New Yorker.
Inspired by the antics of his own 5-year-old son Dennis, Ketcham created his
own comic
despite a top newspaper editor telling him: ``I don't see how it can last ...
there's only
so much you can say about a 5-year-old kid.'' Ketcham boasted that he proved
that editor
wrong.
Copyright © 2001 Reuters
Friday June 1 3:37 PM ET
Cartoonists Reflect on Ketcham
By The Associated Press,
When the ``Dennis the Menace'' strip turned 50 earlier this year, fellow
cartoonists
reflected on its creator, Hank Ketcham.
``His design is probably the best that exists. It's sort of like a movie where
the camera
sits. I keep one of his books by my desk when I'm trying to get the most out of
my little
squares.'' - Jan Eliot, creator of ``Stone Soup.''
``One thing about Hank that I feel is that he is the best pen-and-ink line
artist in
America today. He still is a brilliant technician when it comes to drawing the
lines that
make his cartoons so beautifully artistic. They're little masterpieces.'' - Bil
Keane,
creator of ``Family Circus.''
``Dennis is like a classic character in American literature. I think he's going
to be
around forever. ... It's beautifully drawn, beautifully written and the
characters ring
true.'' - Patrick McDonnell, creator of ``Mutts.''
- ``It's a classic situation combined with beautiful art. It's a good family
situation
with an essential element that you need for humor, and that's conflict. If
Dennis were a
perfect little boy, he wouldn't have lasted.'' - Jim Davis, creator of
``Garfield.''
``In the Dennis world, there's a swing in the back yard and the houses are
close to each
other with picket fences ... This isn't a strip about a contemporary kid
growing up in
America today. It's about Hank Ketcham's daydream about childhood.'' - Brian
Walker, who
took over writing ``Hi and Lois'' with his brother, Greg. The comic was created
by their
father, Mort Walker, who also created ``Beetle Bailey.''
Copyright © 2001 Associated Press