Bil Keane passes away @ 89

[Saddle Bronc 124]

http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/story/2011-11-09/Family-Circus-creator-Bil-Keane-dies-at-89/51141556/1

'Family Circus' creator Bil Keane dies at 89

Scott Kraven 2011/11/09 15:45 MT

PHOENIX – Bil Keane, whose daily comic of family antics had millions of Americans smiling over breakfast, died Tuesday at 89.

The popular cartoonist died in his Paradise Valley, Ariz., home of congestive heart failure, the Associated Press reported.

Keane will forever be identified for Family Circus, a cartoon that frequently mirrored his own at-home adventures. Keane's cartoon kids — Billy, Dolly, Jeffy and PJ — were much better known than their real-life counterparts, thanks to the popularity of the cartoon, which relied more on humorous everyday occurrences than laugh-out-loud jokes.

"I would rather have the readers react with a warm smile, a tug at the heart of a lump in the throat as they recall doing the same things in their own family," Keane said in his biography on the King Features Syndicate website.

Although his pun-filled humor leaned toward the tender side in Family Circus, Keane was an over-the-top public speaker who was the highlight of many cartoonist gatherings, said Arizona Republic editorial cartoonist Steve Benson, who came to know Keane as their paths often crossed.

Benson said the small, slender Keane often surprised people with his quick wit that tended toward sarcasm and irony.

"He was hilarious," Benson said. "He was a great emcee who had an amazing ability to play on words. People were surprised to hear this volcanic stream coming out of a little guy."

The only thing bigger than his voice was his heart, Benson said. A devoted family man who enjoyed doting on his loved ones in Family Circus, Benson said he would remember Keane mostly for his kindness.

"Every now and then, he would send me a letter, handwritten always, with some of his characters at the bottom of it," Benson said. "He was the nicest guy you'd want to meet."

Keane was born Oct. 5, 1922 in Philadelphia, where he taught himself to draw while attending high school.

With a penchant for humor, Keane worked with friends on The Saturday Evening Toast, a satire magazine produced in the late 1930s. It was then that he dropped an "L" and signed his cartoons as Bil Keane, merely to be different.

He served in the Army in 1942-45, his artistic talents put to good use for Yank magazine. His stationing in Australia turned out to be fortuitous. He met Thel Carne, with whom he was so struck that he returned five years later and the two married in Brisbane in 1948, eventually planting the seeds for Family Circus.

Thel Keane died in May 2008 of complications from Alzheimer's disease.

The couple's six-decade marriage would provide more than enough material for Keane's popular cartoon panel.

"In Roslyn, Pa., we started our real-life family circus," Keane wrote in his autobiography on FamilyCircus.com. "They provided the inspiration for my cartoons. I provided the perspiration."

Shortly after marrying Thel, Keane began working as staff artist at the Philadelphia Bulletin, where for 15 years, he said on his website, "I drew staffs."

Keane's first syndicated cartoon, Channel Chuckles, debuted in 1954. He also penned Silly Philly, a Sunday comic for the Bulletin, as well as freelance cartoons for national magazines.

In 1959, Keane embarked on a career change decades ahead of its time — working from home. The artist realized all he needed was pen, paper and a large table. He and his family then moved to Paradise Valley, where they raised their family circus.

With five children underfoot, there was never a shortage of material for Family Circus, which debuted in February 1960. The first panel shows a room strewn with toys. Mom is at the front door with a pollster who asks, "Any children?"

The tone was established and a comic hit was born (though it was called Family Circle the first six months before the magazine of the same name objected).

Keane based his characters on his wife, sons Neal, Glen, Christopher and Jeff, and daughter Gayle.

Seven days a week, Billy, PJ, Dolly and the rest of the gang entertained readers who quickly grew accustomed to the cartoon's relaxed, inoffensive style of humor. Keane eventually added such Family Circus staples the dotted line, tracing Billy's adventures through the neighborhood, and Ida Know and Not Me, invisible gremlins blamed by the kids when something went wrong.

The cartoon has since become a cottage industry. Billy, Dolly and the gang have appeared on millions of calendars, mugs, posters and other items. Keane wrote more than 60 books, and there are 14 million Family Circus paperbacks in print, according to King Features.

In 1982, the National Cartoonists Society named Keane cartoonist of the year, where he joined a prestigious list that included Charles Schulz (Peanuts), Hank Ketcham (Dennis the Menace) and Chester Gould (####### Tracy). Later winners would include Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes), Gary Larson (The Far Side) and Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury). Keane also assisted with three Family Circus TV specials, the first in 1978, which were ratings successes.

Through the years, Keane stuck to his tried-and-true comedic formula of finding humor in everyday life. Whether it was poking fun at the same old Father's Day gifts to having Billy fill in as artist (resulting in pun-plagued sight gags), Keane's relaxed style and simple themes endeared him to readers.

"I like to feel that what I'm doing portrays this: a family where there is love between mother, father and the kids," Keane told King Features. "It's a subject that is near and dear to me."

The ink that ran in Keane's blood still courses through two of his sons. Glen Keane, 57, worked on several Disney animated features, including Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Tarzan. His latest efforts were seen in Tangled, a computer-animated Disney hit based on Rapunzel.

Jeff Keane, 53, assisted his father for years on "Family Circus," first as inker and colorist. His duties grew over time, and he had taken over the duties for the comic.

Jeff's style is much like his father's, so readers probably never noticed a difference. "Family Circus" will continue to follow a family that will never age, reflecting values that won't go out of style.

"It's extremely important to me to carry on the strip as my dad would have wanted," Jeff said. "I remember when we were kids and he told us to be funny. Now with my own kids, I'm always looking for gags and taking notes. This is our family's legacy."

[TBoneTX 47,548]

He lived a long and very good life, and his work lives on after him, si man.

[Ban Hammer 14,297]

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

RIP Mr. Keane. (F)

He lived a long and very good life, and his work lives on after him, si man.

He was a colorful figure, especially in the Sunday papers.

[Krikit 1,166]

I hated that comic.

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

I hated that comic.

It was better than Andy Capp. :hehe: