Clarence D. Russell (August 19, 1896–October 23, 1963) was an American
cartoonist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...
best known for his syndicated comic strip ''
Pete the Tramp
''Pete the Tramp'' is an American comic strip by Clarence D. Russell (1895–1963) which was distributed by King Features Syndicate for more than three decades, from January 10, 1932 to December 22, 1963. Howard Eugene Wilson, in the ''Harvard Ed ...
''.
Born in
Buffalo, New York, Russell studied at the Chicago Art Institute and began working as a freelance artist. Just prior to World War I, he arrived in New York City, where he held the position of sports editor for ''
Leatherneck Magazine
''Leatherneck Magazine of the Marines'' (or simply ''Leatherneck'') is a magazine for United States Marines.
History and profile
''The Quantico Leatherneck'' was started by off-duty US Marines, and in large part by the post printer, Sgt. Smith, ...
''.
With the outbreak of World War I, he went overseas with the American Expeditionary Force. When he returned to America in 1920, he began working for two newspapers, the ''
New York Evening Post'' and the ''
New York Evening Mail''.
While contributing artwork to the weekly ''
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
'', Russell often sat in
Bryant Park on 42nd Street and watched tramps as they fed pigeons and approached people to ask for a nickel for a cup of coffee. Soon Russell's work for ''Judge'' included cartoons of homeless men, as he recalled, "I started drawing tramps for ''Judge'', the old humorous magazine, and pretty soon Pete began to evolve. He was my escape valve. Pete did the things I always wanted to do. It would make a nice story if I told you I used to be a tramp myself, but I wasn't. Even if some people say I was."
Comic strips
After Russell signed a contract with
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...
in 1930, ''Pete the Tramp'' was launched on January 10, 1932. Russell continued working for King Features for the next three decades, and during that time he created several other strips, ''The Tucker Twins'', ''Snorky'' and ''Pete's Pup'', which ran as
topper strips alongside ''Pete the Tramp''. He usually sat at his drawing table working eight weeks ahead of the publication dates.
During World War II, Russell and
Otto Soglow drew their characters at kids' bond rallies in
Albany, New York and elsewhere. Under the auspices of the
American Theatre Wing, Russell and Soglow also did their
chalk talks in veteran's hospitals during World War II and in the post-war years.
[Stuart, Lyle. ''Mary Louise''. Citadel, 1972]
''Pete the Tramp'' ended December 12, 1963, following Russell's death on October 22 of that year.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Clarence D.
1890s births
1963 deaths
American comic strip cartoonists