''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy (originally Plainclothes Tracy), a tough and intelligent police detective created by

Chester Gould Chester Gould (; November 20, 1900 – May 11, 1985) was an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the '' Dick Tracy'' comic strip, which he wrote and drew from 1931 to 1977, incorporating numerous colorful and monstrous villains. ...

. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the ''

Detroit Mirror The ''Detroit Mirror'' was a daily morning tabloid newspaper published in Detroit, Michigan. It ceased publication in August 1932 without warning, only giving a week of severance pay to its employees. At that time it had a circulation of 170,000 ...

'', and it was distributed by the

Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate Tribune Content Agency (TCA) is a syndication company owned by Tribune Publishing. TCA had previously been known as the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (CTNYNS), Tribune Company Syndicate, and Tribune Media Se ...

. Gould wrote and drew the strip until 1977,webpage

notes villains and includes short bio of Chester Gould. and various artists and writers have continued it. Dick Tracy has also been the hero in a number of films, including Dick Tracy (1990 film), ''Dick Tracy'' in which

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...

played the lead in 1990. Tom De Haven praised Gould's ''Dick Tracy'' as an "outrageously funny American Gothic", while Brian Walker described it as a "ghoulishly entertaining creation" which had "gripping stories filled with violence and pathos".Walker, Brian. ''The Comics: The Complete Collection''. New York: Abrams ComicArts, 2011. (pp. 189-191, 226-231, 259, 370)

Comic strip

Creation and early years

Basing the character on U.S. federal agent

Eliot Ness Eliot Ness (April 19, 1903 – May 16, 1957) was an American Prohibition agent known for his efforts to bring down Al Capone and enforce Prohibition in Chicago. He was the leader of a team of law enforcement agents, nicknamed The Untouchables. ...

, Gould drafted an idea for a detective named "Plainclothes Tracy" and sent it to

Joseph Medill Patterson Joseph Medill Patterson (January 6, 1879 – May 26, 1946) was an American journalist, publisher and founder of the '' Daily News'' in New York. At the time of his death the ''Daily News'' maintained a Sunday circulation of 4.5 million copie ...

of the

. Patterson suggested changing the hero's name to Dick Tracy, and he also put forward an opening storyline in which Tracy joined the police after his girlfriend's father was murdered by robbers. Gould agreed to these ideas, and ''Dick Tracy'' was first published on October 4, 1931. The strip was instantly popular and was soon appearing in newspapers across the United States. The strip's popularity also resulted in the creation of numerous ''Dick Tracy'' merchandise, including novelizations, toys, and games. In April 1937, a poll of adult comic strip readers in '' Fortune'' voted ''Dick Tracy'' their third favorite comic strip after '' Little Orphan Annie'' and ''

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar. However, ''Dick Tracy'' was also attacked by some journalists as being too violent, a criticism that would dog Gould throughout his time on the strip.

Evolution of the strip

On January 13, 1946, the two-Way Wrist Radio, was introduced, and would become one of the strip's most immediately recognizable icons. This radio wristwatch, worn by Tracy and members of the police force, inspired Martin Cooper's invention of the mobile phone and may have inspired later

smartwatch A smartwatch is a wearable computer in the form of a watch; modern smartwatches provide a local touchscreen interface for daily use, while an associated smartphone app provides management and telemetry, such as long-term biomonitoring. While ea ...

es. The two-Way Wrist Radio was upgraded to a two-Way Wrist TV in 1964. This development also led to the introduction of an important supporting character, Diet Smith, an eccentric industrialist who financed the development of this equipment. In a conspicuous coincidence, the idea of a radio built into a wristwatch played an important role in '' The Adventures of Superman'' radio series storyline, "Superman – The Talking Cat," broadcast on the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...

from January 9 through 28, 1946 (episodes 878 through 891). In late 1948, a botched security detail led to the death of the semi-regular character Brilliant, the blind inventor of the Two-Way Wrist Radio (among other devices) whereupon Chief Brandon, Dick Tracy's superior on the police force and a presence in the strip since 1931, resigned in shame and Pat Patton was promoted to police chief in Brandon's place on Tracy's recommendation after declining promotion himself, previously having been Tracy's buffoonish partner. A new character was introduced named Sam Catchem to take Patton's place as Tracy's sidekick.

The 1950s

Gould introduced topical story lines about television, juvenile delinquency,

graft Graft or grafting may refer to: *Graft (politics), a form of political corruption * Graft, Netherlands, a village in the municipality of Graft-De Rijp Science and technology *Graft (surgery), a surgical procedure *Grafting, the joining of plant t ...

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

, and other developments in American life during the 1950s; and elements of

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

depicted Dick, Tess, and Junior (along with the Tracys' baby daughter Bonnie Braids) at home as a family. Depictions of family life alternated with the story's crime drama, as in the kidnapping of Bonnie Braids by fugitive Crewy Lou, or Junior's girlfriend Model being accidentally killed by her brother. Gould incurred some controversy when he had Tracy live in an unaccountably ostentatious manner on a police officer's salary, and he responded with a story wherein Tracy was accused of corruption and had to explain the origin of his possessions in detail. In his book-length examination of the strip, ''Dick Tracy – The Official Biography'', Jay Maeder suggested that Gould's critics were unsatisfied by his explanation. Nevertheless, the controversy eventually faded, and the cartoonist reduced exposure to Tracy's home life. Tracy's cases generally incriminated independent operators rather than organized crime—with a few exceptions, such as Big Boy, a fictionalized version of Al Capone and the strip's first villain. Tracy contended with a series of big-time mobsters in the 1950s, such as the King, George "Mr. Crime" Alpha, Odds Zonn, and Willie "The Fifth" Millyun, after events like the

Kefauver Hearings The United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce was a special committee of the United States Senate which existed from 1950 to 1951 and which investigated organized crime which crossed state borders in the Un ...

. As Tess faded into the background, Tracy took, as his assistant, the rookie policewoman Lizz Worthington. From 1956 to 1964, the ''Dick Tracy'' Sunday page was accompanied by a topper humor strip called ''The Gravies'' and drawn by Gould and his assistants.

Space period

As technology progressed, the methods that Tracy and the police used to track and capture criminals took the form of increasingly fanciful

atom Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, ...

ic-powered gadgets developed by Diet Smith Industries. This eventually led to the 1960s advent of the Space Coupe, a spacecraft with a magnetic propulsion system. This marked the beginning of the strip's "Space Period," which saw Tracy and friends having adventures on the Moon and meeting Moon Maid, the daughter of the leader of a race of humanoid people living in "Moon Valley" in 1964. After an eventual sharing of technological information, Moon technology became standard issue on Tracy's police force, including air cars, flying cylindrical vehicles. The villains became even more exaggerated in power, resulting in an escalating series of stories that no longer resembled the urban crime drama roots of the strip. During this period, Tracy met famed cartoonist Chet Jade, creator of the comic strip ''Sawdust'', in which the only characters are talking dots. One of the new characters, Mr. Intro, was only manifested as a disembodied voice. His goal was world domination in the vein of a

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

villain. Tracy eventually used an atomic laser beam to annihilate Intro and his island base. Junior married Moon Maid in October 1964. Their daughter Honey Moon Tracy had antennae and magnetic hands. In the spring of 1969, Tracy was offered the post of Chief of Police in Moon Valley. However, he ended up back on Earth when the

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, ...

mission in 1969 showed that the moon was barren of all life. Many of the accoutrements of the space period stories remained for many years afterward, such as the Space Coupe and much of the high-tech gadgetry. Moon Maid receded from the storyline. The stories of this period took an increasingly condemnatory tone pertaining to contemporary court decisions concerning the rights of the accused, which often involved Tracy being frustrated by legal technicalities. For example, having caught a gang of diamond thieves red-handed, Tracy was forced to let them walk because he could not ''prove'' beyond a reasonable doubt that the diamonds were stolen. As he saw the thieves get off without penalty, Tracy was heard to grumble, "Yes, under today's interpretation of the laws, it seems it's the police who are handcuffed!" The strip was criticized for advocating violence in 1968. On June 7 — the day after Senator

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...

was killed by an assassin — the strip's final panel announced, "Violence is golden, when it's used to put down evil." The strip was obviously prepared weeks before the assassination, but the timing of the strip's publication attracted negative attention. Some newspapers dropped the strip as a result.

1970s

In the 1970s, Gould modernized Tracy by giving him a longer hairstyle and a

mustache A moustache (; en-US, mustache, ) is a strip of facial hair grown above the upper lip. Moustaches have been worn in various styles throughout history. Etymology The word "moustache" is French, and is derived from the Italian ''mustaccio'' ( ...

and added a hippie

sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...

, Groovy Grove, to appeal to young audiences. Groovy's first appearance in print, as it happened, occurred during the same week as the

Kent State shootings The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre and the Kent State massacre,"These would be the first of many probes into what soon became known as the Kent State Massacre. Like the Boston Massacre almost exactly two hundred years bef ...

. Groovy remained with the strip on and off until his death in 1984. Shortly before his retirement, Gould drew a strip in which Sam, Lizz, and Groovy held Tracy down to shave off his mustache. At this time, the standard publication size and space of newspaper comics was sharply reduced; for example, the ''Dick Tracy'' Sunday strip, which had traditionally been a full-page episode containing 12 panels, was cut in size to a half-page format that offered, at most, eight panels—these new restrictions created challenges for all comic artists.

Plenty family

The Plenty family was a group of goofy

redneck ''Redneck'' is a derogatory term chiefly, but not exclusively, applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the Southern United States.Harold Wentworth, and Stuart Berg Flexner, ' ...

yokels headed by the former villain Bob Oscar ("B.O."), along with Gertrude ("Gravel Gertie") Plenty. Gravel Gertie was introduced as the unwitting dupe (accessory) of the villain the Brow, who was on the run from Dick Tracy. The family provided a humorous counterpoint to Tracy's adventures. The Plenty sub-story was decades long and saw Sparkle Plenty grow from an infant to a young married lady, eventually becoming a beautiful fashion model. Sparkle Plenty's 30 May 1947 birth became a significant mainstream media event, with spinoff merchandising and magazine coverage. The Plenty family appeared with Tracy in a story that occurred in a bank, where "B.O." found a way to prevent thieves from snatching an envelope of money from a counter. In the 24 April 2011 strip, B.O. and Gertie had a second child, Attitude, a boy who is as ugly as Sparkle is beautiful. His face has yet to be shown.

Crimestoppers' Textbook

Beginning September 11, 1949, the Sunday strip included a frame devoted to a page from the "Crimestoppers' Textbook", a series of handy illustrated hints for the amateur crime-fighter. This was named after a short-lived youth group seen in the strip during the late 1940s, led by Junior Tracy, called "Dick Tracy's Crimestoppers." This feature ended when Gould retired from the strip in 1977, but Max Allan Collins reinstated it, and it is still part of the comic strip. After Gould's retirement, Collins initially replaced the Textbook with "Dick Tracy's Rogues Gallery," a salute to memorable ''Tracy'' villains of the past.

After Gould

Chester Gould retired from comics in 1977; his last ''Dick Tracy'' strip appeared in print on Sunday, December 25 (Christmas Day) of that same year. The following Monday, ''Dick Tracy'' was taken over by

Max Allan Collins Max Allan Collins (born March 3, 1948) is an American mystery writer, noted for his graphic novels. His work has been published in several formats and his '' Road to Perdition'' series was the basis for a film of the same name. He wrote the ''Di ...

and longtime Gould assistant Rick Fletcher. Gould's name remained in the byline for a few years after his retirement as a story consultant. In one of Collins' first stories as the strip's writer, the gangster known as "Big Boy" learned that he was dying and had less than a year to live. Big Boy was still seeking revenge on the plainclothesman who sent him up the river and he wanted to live just long enough to see Tracy's death. He put out an open contract on Tracy's head worth $1 million, knowing that every small-time hood in the city would take a crack at the famous cop for that amount of money. One of the would-be collectors rigged Tracy's car to explode, but inadvertently killed Moon Maid instead of Tracy in the explosion. A funeral strip for Moon Maid explicitly stated that this officially severed all ties between Earth and the Moon in the strip, thus eliminating the last remnants of the Space Period. Honeymoon received a new hairstyle that covered her antennae and she was ultimately phased out of the strip. Junior later married Sparkle Plenty (the daughter of B.O. and 'Gravel' Gertie Plenty), and they had a daughter named Sparkle Plenty Jr. Sparkle had been divorced by her cartoonist husband Vera Aldid, who was thus also removed from the cast. Collins felt that their original marriages were a mistake on Gould's part. In the 1990s, Tracy's son Joseph Flintheart Tracy took on a role similar to Junior's in the earlier strips. In addition, Collins removed other Gould creations of the 1960s and 1970s (including Groovy Grove, who was gravely wounded in the line of duty and later died in the hospital; Lizz married him before his death). On a more philosophical level, Collins took a generally less cynical view of the

justice system The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history and ...

than Gould; Tracy came to accept its limitations and requirements as a normal part of the process which he could manage. Extreme technology was phased out, such as the Space Coupe, in favor of more realistic advanced tools such as the Two-Way Wrist Computer in 1987. New semi-regular characters introduced by Collins and Fletcher included: Dr. Will Carver, a

plastic surgeon Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes craniof ...

with underworld ties who often worked on known felons; Wendy Wichel, a smarmy newspaper reporter/editorialist with a strong anti-Tracy bias in her articles; and Lee Ebony, an African-American female detective. Vitamin Flintheart reappeared occasionally as a comic-relief figure, the aged ham actor created by Gould in 1944 who had not been seen in the strip for almost three decades. The Plenty family (B.O., Gravel Gertie, and Sparkle) were also brought back as semi-regulars; Junior and Sparkle were married following the death of Moon Maid and soon gave birth to their own daughter Sparkle Plenty, Jr. Original villains seen during this period included Angeltop (the revenge-seeking,

psychopathic Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been u ...

daughter of the slain Flattop), Torcher (whose scheme was arson-for-profit), and Splitscreen (a video pirate). Collins brought back at least one "classic" Gould villain or revenge-seeking family member per year. The revived Gould villains were often provided with full names and marriages, as well as children, and other family connections were developed, bringing more humanity to many of the originally grotesque brutes. "Flattop", particularly, had a number of relatives, all with his characteristic head structure and facial attributes, who turned up one by one to avenge their ancestor on Tracy. Rick Fletcher died in 1983 and was succeeded by editorial cartoonist

Dick Locher Richard Earl Locher (June 4, 1929 – August 6, 2017) was an American syndicated cartoonist. Early life and career Locher was born in Dubuque, Iowa. After high school, he began studying art at the University of Iowa and the Chicago Academy of ...

, who had assisted Gould on the strip in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Locher was assisted by his son John, who died in 1986. Max Allan Collins was fired from the strip in 1992, following a financial reorganization of their comic strip holdings, and ''Tribune'' staff writer and columnist Mike Kilian took over the writing. Kilian was paid less than half of what Collins was making per strip but continued until his death on October 27, 2005.

2000s

Dick Locher was both author and artist for over three years, beginning on January 9, 2006. On March 16, 2009, Jim Brozman began collaborating with Locher, taking over the drawing duties while Locher continued to write the strip. In 2005, Tracy was a guest at Blondie and Dagwood's 75th anniversary party in the comic strip '' Blondie''. Later, Dick Tracy appeared in the comic strip ''

Gasoline Alley ''Gasoline Alley'' is a comic strip created by Frank King and distributed by Tribune Content Agency. It centers on the lives of patriarch Walt Wallet, his family, and residents in the town of Gasoline Alley, with storylines reflecting traditio ...

''. On January 19, 2011,

Tribune Media Services Tribune Content Agency (TCA) is a syndication company owned by Tribune Publishing. TCA had previously been known as the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (CTNYNS), Tribune Company Syndicate, and Tribune Media S ...

announced that Locher was retiring from the strip and handing the reins to artist

Joe Staton Joe Staton ( born January 19, 1948) is an American comics artist and writer. He co-created the Bronze Age Huntress (Helena Wayne), as well as the third Huntress (Helena Bertinelli), Kilowog and the Omega Men for DC Comics. He was the artist of ...

and writer Mike Curtis. The new creative team has previously worked together on ''

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the original series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are ...

'', '' Richie Rich'', and''

Casper the Friendly Ghost Casper the Friendly Ghost is the protagonist of the Famous Studios theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name. He is a pleasant, personable and translucent ghost, but often criticized by his three wicked uncles, the Ghostly Trio. The ...

''. Their first Dick Tracy strip was published March 14, 2011. Until Staton's retirement in October 2021, Staton and Curtis were assisted by Shelley Pleger, who inked and lettered Staton's drawings, along with Shane Fisher, who provides the coloring on the Sunday strips. After Staton's retirement, Pleger took over his artist duties, too, having previously substituted for him in 2017. Chicago-area police sergeant Jim Doherty provided "Crimestopper" captions for the Sunday strips and acted as the feature's

technical advisor In film production, a technical advisor is someone who advises the director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a ...

. Doherty also introduced a new feature, "Tracy's Hall of Fame" (which replaces the "Crimestopper" panel approximately once each month), in which a real-life police officer is profiled and honored. Doherty was replaced in 2016 by police lieutenant Walter Reimer, who introduced the "First Responders Roll of Honor", which honors real-life police officers, firefighters and paramedics who died on duty. Staton and Curtis reintroduced many of the characters of the 40s through the 60s, including a second Mr. Crime and a reformed Mole, while introducing more deformed and grotesque villains such as Abner Kadaver, Panda and the Jumbler. They also brought back all the gadgets and plot elements of the 1960s space era, starting in early 2013, although the reintroduced Moon Maid is not the same as the original; rather, she is a human genetically modified to resemble the original Moon Maid and, thus, is christened Mysta Chimera and placed under Diet Smith's care. They have also done crossovers, with cameos from ''

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Brenda Starr, Reporter'', '' Funky Winkerbean'', ''

Fearless Fosdick ''Fearless Fosdick'' is a long-running parody of Chester Gould's ''Dick Tracy''. It appeared intermittently as a strip-within-a-strip, in Al Capp's satirical hillbilly comic strip, ''Li'l Abner'' (1934–1977). Li'l Abner's "ideel" Fearless Fosd ...

'', ''

The Spirit The Spirit is a fictional masked crimefighter created by cartoonist Will Eisner. He first appeared June 2, 1940, as the main feature of a 16-page, tabloid-sized, newsprint comic book insert distributed in the Sunday edition of Register and Trib ...

'', ''

The Green Hornet The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell. Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of med ...

'', '' For Better or For Worse'', ''

Friday Foster ''Friday Foster'' is an American newspaper comic strip, created and written by Jim Lawrence and illustrated by Jorge Longarón. It ran from January 18, 1970, to February 17, 1974 and was notable for featuring one of the first African-American w ...

'' and a long sequence involving '' Little Orphan Annie''.

Awards and honors

Chester Gould won the

Reuben Award The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...

for the strip in 1959 and 1977. The

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Awa ...

honored Gould and his work with a Special Edgar Award in 1980. This was the first time MWA ever honored a comic strip. In 1995, the strip was one of 20 included in the

Comic Strip Classics The Comic Strip Classics series of commemorative postage stamps was issued by the US Postal Service on October 1, 1995, to honor the centennial of the newspaper comic strip. Walker, Mort. ''Mort Walker's Private Scrapbook : celebrating a life of l ...

series of commemorative postage stamps and postcards. On May 2, 2011, the

Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue rega ...

passed Resolution 30, congratulating Mike Curtis and Joe Staton on their professional accomplishments, including ''Dick Tracy''. On September 7, 2013, at the Baltimore Comics Convention, ''Dick Tracy'' was awarded the

Harvey Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit * Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...

in the "Best Syndicated Strip or Panel" category. ''Tracy'' was simultaneously the oldest continually running strip and the first adventure strip ever to win the Harvey Award in this category. On September 6, 2014, ''Tracy'' was awarded a second Harvey Award in the newspaper strip category, becoming one of only three strips to win in this category in consecutive years. On September 26, 2015, ''Tracy'' won a third Harvey in the same category, becoming one of only three strips to win in three consecutive years. On November 6, 2016, at their panel at Akron Comicon, Mike Curtis and Joe Staton were each presented with an Akron Comicon Excellence Award. The inscription on the plaques reads: "2016 AKRON COMICON EXCELLENCE AWARD PRESENTED TO MIKE CURTIS AND JOE STATON FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO ONE OF THE LONGEST RUNNING NEWSPAPER STRIPS IN THE HISTORY OF NEWSPAPER COMICS!"

In other media

Radio

''Dick Tracy'' had a long run on radio, from 1934 weekdays on NBC's New England stations to the ABC network in 1948. Bob Burlen was the first radio Tracy in 1934, and others heard in the role during the 1930s and 1940s were Barry Thomson,

Ned Wever Ned Wever (born Edward Hooper Weaver; April 27, 1902 – May 6, 1984) was an actor on stage and on old-time radio. Garyn G. Roberts wrote in his book, ''Dick Tracy and American Culture: Morality and Mythology, Text and Context'', "Wever's most f ...

and

Matt Crowley Matt Crowley (June 20, 1905 – March 7, 1983) was an American film, television and radio actor. Life and career Matt Crowley was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He was a student of George Pierce Baker at Yale University. As an actor, Crowl ...

. The early shows all had 15-minute episodes. On CBS, with Sterling Products as sponsor, the serial aired four times a week from February 4, 1935, to July 11, 1935, moving to Mutual from September 30, 1935, to March 24, 1937, with Bill McClintock doing the sound effects. NBC's weekday afternoon run from January 3, 1938, to April 28, 1939, had sound effects by Keene Crockett and was sponsored by Quaker Oats, which brought ''Dick Tracy'' into primetime (Saturdays at 7 pm and, briefly, Mondays at 8 pm) with 30-minute episodes from April 29, 1939, to September 30, 1939. The series returned to 15-minute episodes on the ABC Blue Network from March 15, 1943, to July 16, 1948, sponsored by

Tootsie Roll Tootsie Roll is a chocolate-flavored taffy that has been manufactured in the United States since 1907. The candy has qualities similar to both caramels and taffy without being exactly either confection. The manufacturer, Tootsie Roll Indu ...

, which used the music theme of "Toot Toot, Tootsie" for its 30-minute Saturday ABC series from October 6, 1945, to June 1, 1946. Sound effects on ABC were supplied by Walt McDonough and Al Finelli. On February 15, 1945, '' Command Performance'' broadcast the musical comedy '' Dick Tracy in B-Flat'' with Bing Crosby as Tracy,

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

as Flattop,

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

as Tess Trueheart, among the cast. Dick Tracy's wedding is repeatedly interrupted as Tracy chases after one villain after another. In the strip, his marriage wasn't until 1950 and his honeymoon was disrupted by his going after Wormy.

Recordings

Jim Ameche Jim Ameche (August 6, 1915 – February 4, 1983)Cox, Jim (2008). ''This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Page 29. was an American r ...

portrayed Tracy in a two-record set recorded by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...

in 1947. The record sleeves were illustrated with Sunday strips reprinted in black-and-white for children to color.

Comic books

Tracy made his first comic book appearance in 1936 as one of the features included in the first issue of Dell's ''Popular Comics''. These were reprints from the newspaper strip, reconfigured to fit the pages of a comic book, as was the case with most Tracy comic book appearances. Tracy remained a regular feature in ''Popular Comics'' through the publication's 21st issue. The first comic book to feature Tracy exclusively was the ''Dick Tracy Feature Book'', published in May 1937 by

David McKay Publications David McKay Publications (also known as David McKay Company) was an American book publisher which also published some of the first comic books, including the long-running titles '' Ace Comics'', '' King Comics'', and '' Magic Comics''; as well a ...

. McKay's Feature Books were magazines that rotated several popular characters from comics strips through 1938. Three more of McKay's Feature Books starred Tracy in the following months. In 1939, Dell started a comic magazine series called "Black and White Comics," essentially identical to McKay's "Feature Books." Six of the 15 issues featured Tracy. In 1941, Dell's "Black and White" series was replaced by the "Large Feature Books," the third issue of which featured Tracy. As with the McKay series, the Dell "Black and White" and "Large Feature" series were abridged reprints of the strip. In 1938, ''Tracy'' became one of several regular newspaper strips featured in Dell's regular monthly ''Super Comics'', remaining a regular part of that publication until 1948. In 1939, ''Tracy'' was the sole feature in the very first issue of Dell's '' Four-Color Comics'', which put out more than 1,300 issues starring hundreds of characters between 1939 and 1962. Tracy was featured in seven more ''Four-Color'' issues throughout the 1940s. Tracy was frequently featured in comic books used as promotional items by various companies. In 1947, for example, Sig Feuchtwanger produced a comic book that was a giveaway prize in boxes of Quaker Puffed Wheat cereal, sponsor of the popular ''Dick Tracy'' radio series. In January 1948, Dell began the first regular ''Dick Tracy'' comic book series, ''Dick Tracy Monthly''. This series ultimately ran for 145 issues, the first 24 of which were published by Dell, after which it was picked up by

Harvey Comics Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by A ...

. Continuing the same numbering, Harvey published the series until 1961. As with most previous Tracy comic book incarnations, these were, with the exception of the last few Dell issues which featured original material, slightly abridged and reconfigured reprints of the newspaper strips. ''Dick Tracy'' was revived in 1986 by

Blackthorne Publishing Blackthorne Publishing, Inc. was a comic book publisher that flourished from 1986–1989. They were notable for the ''Blackthorne 3-D Series'', their reprint titles of classic comic strips like Dick Tracy, and their licensed products. Blackthorne ...

which began as a monthly series (also called ''Dick Tracy Monthly'') but became a weekly one (''Dick Tracy Weekly'') with issue 25 and lasted 99 issues.

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

produced a series of three issues as a tie-in for their 1990 film. This miniseries, ''True Hearts and Tommy Guns'', was drawn by

Kyle Baker Kyle John Baker (born 1965) is an American cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, and animator known for his graphic novels and for a 2000s revival of the series ''Plastic Man''. Baker has won numerous Eisner Awards and Harvey Awards for his wor ...

and edited by Len Wein. The third issue was a direct adaptation of the film. In 2018, IDW Publishing announced a new ''Dick Tracy'' comic book by

Mike Allred Michael Dalton Allred is an American comic book artist and writer most famous for his independent comics creations, ''Madman'' and ''iZombie''. His style is often compared to pop art, as well as commercial and comic art of the 1950s and 1960s ...

(co-writer/cover artist/inker), Lee Allred (co-writer), Rich Tommaso (penciller) and

Laura Allred Laura Allred is an American comics artist who is best known for her work as a colorist with her husband, the writer/artist Mike Allred. Awards * 1995: Won "Favorite Colorist" Wizard Fan Award * 1998: Nominated for "Best Colorist" Eisner A ...

(colorist).

Books

Over the years, many reprints of ''Dick Tracy'' newspaper strips have been published. Beginning in 2006, IDW Publishing started the series '' The Complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy'', reprinting the complete strip in hardcover volumes, eventually being done under their

The Library of American Comics Library of American Comics (abbreviated as LoAC) is an American publisher of classic American comic strips collections and comic history books, founded by Dean Mullaney and Bruce Canwell in 2007. History Background Dean Mullaney, the founder ...

imprint. Other collections include:''Crime Fiction IV: A Comprehensive Bibliography 1749–2000'', by Allen J. Hubin, addenda to the revised edition with annotations by Steve Lewis, accessed September 10, 2009
/ref> * ''The Exploits of Dick Tracy, Detective: The Case of the Brow''. Rosdon, hardcover, 1946. * ''The Celebrated Cases of Dick Tracy: 1931–1951''. Chelsea House, hardcover, 1970. - Does not include the Sunday strips * ''Dick Tracy: His Greatest Cases No. 1 — Pruneface''. Gold Medal, paperback, 1975. * ''Dick Tracy: His Greatest Cases No. 2 — Snowflake and Shaky plus The Black Pearl''. Gold Medal, paperback, 1975. * ''Dick Tracy: His Greatest Cases No. 3 — Mrs. Pruneface plus Crime, Inc.''. Gold Medal, paperback, 1975. * ''Dick Tracy: The Thirties - Tommy Guns and Hard Times''. Chelsea House, hardcover, 1978. * ''U.S. Classics Series - Dick Tracy: Tracy's Wartime Memories''. Ken Pierce Books, paperback, 1986. * ''The Complete Max Collins/Rick Fletcher Dick Tracy''. Dragon Lady Press, paperback. ** #1: ''50th Anniversary Dick Tracy''. June 1986. ** #2: ''Who Shot Pat Patton?''. February 1987. ** #3: ''The Ghost of Itchy''. August 1987. * ''Dick Tracy: Meets Angeltop''. Berkeley, paperback, 1990. * ''Dick Tracy #2: Meets the Punks''. Berkeley, paperback, 1990. * ''The Dick Tracy Casebook: Favorite Adventures 1931-1990''. St. Martin's Press, paperback, 1990. * ''Dick Tracy's Fiendish Foes! A 60th Anniversary Celebration''. St. Martin's Press, paperback, 1991. * ''Dick Tracy: Colorful Cases of the 1930s'', Sunday Press Books, hardcover, 2016.

ISBN The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier that is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency. An ISBN is assigned to each separate edition an ...

* ''Dick Tracy: The Collins Casefiles'', v1,2,3, Checker Books, 2003–2004. Other editions: * The first

Big Little Book The Big Little Books, first published during 1932 by the Whitman Publishing Company of Racine, Wisconsin, were small, compact books designed with a captioned illustration opposite each page of text. Other publishers, notably Saalfield, adopted t ...

was a Dick Tracy title and many subsequent ones in the series followed. Some were reprintings of newspaper strips and some alternate between text and original black-and white drawings. * ''Dick Tracy and the Spider Gang'', a novelization of the Republic serial,

#1446, the pages alternate between text and black-and-white photos from the movies. * ''Dick Tracy, Ace Detective''. Whitman, hardcover, 1943. * ''Dick Tracy Meets the Night Crawler''. Whitman, hardcover, 1945. * ''Dick Tracy and the Woo Woo Sisters'', Dell, unnumbered paperback with a pictorial back cover but not a

mapback Mapback is a term used by paperback collectors to refer to the earliest paperback books published by Dell Books, beginning in 1943. The books are known as mapbacks because the back cover of the book contains a map that illustrates the location ...

, 1947.

Film

Film serials

Dick Tracy made his film debut in '' Dick Tracy'' (1937), a 15-chapter

movie serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

by Republic Pictures starring

Ralph Byrd Ralph Byrd (April 22, 1909 – August 18, 1952) was an American actor. He was most famous for playing the comic strip character Dick Tracy on screen, in serials, films and television. Early life and career The son of George and Edna ...

. The Spider Gang was on the loose, tired of Dick Tracy's cunning skills. Through the 15-chapter serial, 15 different cases were solved, all plots by the Spider Gang. Dick Tracy was also in search of his missing brother, Gordon Tracy (

Carleton Young Captain Carleton Scott Young (October 21, 1905 – November 7, 1994) was an American character actor who was known for his deep voice. Early years Born in Fulton, Oswego, New York, Young was the second and only surviving child of Sta ...

). The Dick Tracy character proved very popular, and a second serial, ''

Dick Tracy Returns ''Dick Tracy Returns'' (1938) is a Republic Movie serial based on the Dick Tracy comic strip. It was the eleventh of the sixty-six serials Republic produced and a sequel to the 1937 serial ''Dick Tracy'', with Ralph Byrd reprising his role as the ...

'', appeared in 1938 (reissued in 1948). ''

Dick Tracy's G-Men ''Dick Tracy's G-Men'' (1939) is a 15-Chapter Republic movie serial based on the ''Dick Tracy'' comic strip by Chester Gould. It was directed by William Witney and John English. This serial was the fifteenth of the sixty-six produced by Rep ...

'' was released in 1939 (reissued in 1955). The last was ''

Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc. ''Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc.'' (1941) is a Republic Movie serial based on the Dick Tracy comic strip. It was directed by the team of William Witney and John English with Ralph Byrd reprising his role from the earlier serials. It was the last of ...

'' in 1941 (reissued as ''Dick Tracy vs. the Phantom Empire'' in 1952). The sequels were produced under an interpretation of the contract for the first ''Dick Tracy'' serial, which gave license for "a series or serial". As a result, Chester Gould received no further money for the sequel serials. In these serials, Dick Tracy is portrayed as an

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

agent, or "

G-Man ''G-man'' (short for "government man", plural ''G-men'') is an American slang term for agents of the United States Government. It is especially used as a term for an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). ''G-man'' is also a term ...

", based in California rather than as a detective in the police force of a

Midwestern The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

city resembling Chicago, and, aside from himself and Junior, no characters from the strip appear in any of the four films. However, comic relief sidekick "Mike McGurk" bears some resemblance to Tracy's partner from the strip, Pat Patton; Tracy's secretary, Gwen Andrews (played by several actresses in the course of the series, including

Jennifer Jones Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned over five decades, she was nominated ...

under a variation of her real name, Phyllis Isley), provides the same kind of feminine interest as Tess Trueheart; and FBI Director Clive Anderson ( Francis X. Bushman and others) is the same kind of avuncular superior as Chief Brandon. The first serial, ''Dick Tracy'', is now in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

Early feature films

Six years after the release of the final Republic serial, Dick Tracy headlined four feature films, produced by

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

. '' Dick Tracy'' (a.k.a. ''Dick Tracy, Detective'') (1945) was followed by ''

Dick Tracy vs. Cueball ''Dick Tracy vs. Cueball'' is a 1946 American action film based on the 1930s comic strip character of the same name created by Chester Gould. The film stars Morgan Conway as Dick Tracy in the second installment of the ''Dick Tracy'' film serie ...

'' in 1946, both with

Morgan Conway Morgan Conway (born Sidney Conway, March 16, 1903 – November 16, 1981) was an American actor, best known for his portrayals of Dick Tracy. Early life and career Conway was educated at Columbia University in New York City. He had a bro ...

as Tracy. Ralph Byrd returned for the last two features, both released in 1947: ''

Dick Tracy's Dilemma ''Dick Tracy's Dilemma'', released in the United Kingdom as ''Mark of the Claw'', is a 1947 American action film based on the Dick Tracy, 1930s comic-strip character of the same name created by Chester Gould. Ralph Byrd stars as Dick Tracy, repr ...

'' and ''

Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome ''Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome'' (also known as ''Dick Tracy Meets Karloff'' and ''Dick Tracy's Amazing Adventure'' (UK) ) is a 1947 thriller film starring Boris Karloff, Ralph Byrd, and Anne Gwynne. The film is the fourth and final installment of t ...

''. ''Gruesome'' is probably the best known of the four, with the villain portrayed by

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film '' Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

. All four movies had many of the visual features associated with film noir: dramatic, shadowy photographic compositions, with many exterior scenes filmed at night (at the RKO Encino

movie ranch A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate. The fir ...

Lyle Latell Lyle Latell (born Lyle Zeiem; April 9, 1904 – October 24, 1967) was an American character actor. He was perhaps best known for playing Pat Patton in the ''Dick Tracy'' film series. Biography Latell was born Lyle Zeiem on April 1904 in ...

co-starred in all four films as Pat Patton.

Anne Jeffreys Anne Jeffreys (born Annie Jeffreys Carmichael; January 26, 1923 – September 27, 2017) was an American actress and singer. She was noted as the female lead in the 1950s TV series '' Topper''. Career Jeffreys was born Annie Jeffreys Carmichae ...

played Tess Trueheart in the first two, succeeded by Kay Christopher and finally

Anne Gwynne Anne Gwynne (born Marguerite Gwynne Trice; December 10, 1918 – March 31, 2003) was an American actress who was known as one of the first scream queens because of her numerous appearances in horror films. Gwynne was also one of the most popula ...

;

Ian Keith Ian Keith (born Keith Ross; February 27, 1899 – March 26, 1960) was an American actor. Early years Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Keith grew up in Chicago. He was educated at the Francis Parker School there and played Hamlet in a school p ...

joined the cast as the actor Vitamin Flintheart for two films; Joseph Crehan played Chief Brandon. RKO stocked the films with familiar faces, creating a veritable rogues' gallery of characters:

Mike Mazurki Mike Mazurki (December 25, 1907 – December 9, 1990) was a Ukrainian-American actor and professional wrestler who appeared in more than 142 films. His 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) presence and face had him typecast as often brainless athletes ...

as Splitface,

Dick Wessel Richard Michael Wessel (April 20, 1913 – April 20, 1965) was an American film actor who appeared in more than 270 films between 1935 and 1966. He is best remembered for his only leading role, a chilling portrayal of strangler Harry "Cu ...

as Cueball,

Esther Howard Esther Howard (April 4, 1892 – March 8, 1965) was an American stage and film character actress who played a wide range of supporting roles, from man-hungry spinsters to amoral criminals, appearing in 108 films in her 23-year screen career ...

as Filthy Flora, Jack Lambert as hook-handed villain the Claw; baldheaded, pop-eyed Milton Parsons, mild-mannered

Byron Foulger Byron Kay Foulger (August 27, 1898 – April 4, 1970) was an American character actor who over a 50-year career performed in hundreds of stage, film, and television productions. Early years Born in Ogden, Utah, Byron was the second of four ...

, dangerous

Trevor Bardette Trevor Bardette (born Terva Gaston Hubbard; November 19, 1902 – November 28, 1977) was an American film and television actor. Among many other roles in his long and prolific career, Bardette appeared in several episodes of '' Adventures of S ...

and pockmarked, gently sinister

Skelton Knaggs Skelton Barnaby Knaggs (27 June 1911 – 30 April 1955) was an English stage actor who also appeared in films, especially in horror films. Biography Knaggs was born in the Hillsborough district of Sheffield, England. Knaggs moved to Lond ...

1990 feature film

produced, directed, and starred in the film, whose supporting cast includes Al Pacino, Madonna,

Glenne Headly Glenne Aimee Headly (March 13, 1955 – June 8, 2017) was an American actress. She was widely known for her roles in '' Dirty Rotten Scoundrels'', ''Dick Tracy'', and '' Mr. Holland's Opus''. Headly received a Theatre World Award and four Joseph ...

, and Charlie Korsmo. ''Dick Tracy'' depicts the detective's romantic relationships with

Breathless Mahoney Breathless Mahoney is a fictional character in the American comic strip ''Dick Tracy'', created by Chester Gould. She first appeared in the strip on May 11, 1945, and was apparently killed on August 26, 1946. The character found worldwide fame in ...

and

Tess Trueheart ''Tess Trueheart'' is the love interest character in the American comic strip '' Dick Tracy'', which was created by Chester Gould in 1931. The character eventually became the wife of Dick Tracy in the original comic strip. In the 1934-1948 radi ...

, as well as his conflicts with crime boss

Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice Big Boy is a fictional gangster in the comic strip '' Dick Tracy'', created by Chester Gould, and was the first featured in a long line of colorful ''Dick Tracy'' villains. The character was featured in the 1990 film, paired with Breathless Mah ...

and his henchmen. Tracy also begins fostering a young street urchin named Kid. Development of the film began in the early 1980s with

Tom Mankiewicz Thomas Frank Mankiewicz (June 1, 1942 – July 31, 2010) was an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures and television whose credits included ''James Bond'' films and his contributions to '' Superman: The Movie'' (1978) a ...

assigned to write the script. The screenplay was written instead by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., both of '' Top Gun'' fame. The project also went through directors ( Steven Spielberg,

John Landis John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American comedy and fantasy filmmaker and actor. He is best known for the comedy films that he has directed – such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978 ...

Walter Hill Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1 ...

, and

Richard Benjamin Richard Samuel Benjamin (born May 22, 1938) is an American actor and film director. He has starred in a number of well-known film productions, including ''Goodbye, Columbus'' (1969), based on the novella by Philip Roth; ''Catch-22'' (1970), fro ...

) before the arrival of Beatty. It was filmed mainly at

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

. Danny Elfman was hired to compose the score, and the film's music and songs were featured on three separate soundtrack albums.

Filmography

* '' Dick Tracy'' (1937, serial, 15 episodes, starring

) ** ''Dick Tracy'' (1937, feature version of the above serial, starring Ralph Byrd) * ''

'' (1938 serial, 15 episodes starring

) * ''

'' (1939, serial, 15 episodes, starring Ralph Byrd) * '' Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc.''(1941, serial, 15 episodes, starring Ralph Byrd) * '' Dick Tracy'' (1945, film starring

) - #1 of 4 in RKO Radio Pictures series * ''

'' (1946, film starring Morgan Conway) - #2 of 4 in RKO Radio Pictures series * ''

'' (1947, film starring Ralph Byrd) - #3 of 4 in RKO Radio Pictures series * ''

'' (1947, film starring Ralph Byrd) - #4 of 4 in RKO Radio Pictures series * Dick Tracy (1990 film), ''Dick Tracy'' (1990, film starring

)

Television

* ''Dick Tracy'' (1950–1951, live action television series starring Ralph Byrd) * ''

The Dick Tracy Show ''The Dick Tracy Show'' is an American animated television series based on Chester Gould's comic strip crime fighter. The series was produced from 1961 to 1962 by UPA. In the show, policeman Dick Tracy employed a series of cartoony subordinat ...

'' (1961, animated television series with various voices including Everett Sloane and Mel Blanc) * ''The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo'', "Dick Tracy and the Mob" (1965 animated half-hour TV episode with the voices of Everett Sloane and

Jim Backus James Gilmore Backus (February 25, 1913 – July 3, 1989) was an American actor. Among his most famous roles were Thurston Howell III on the 1960s sitcom ''Gilligan's Island,'' the father of James Dean's character in '' Rebel Without a Cause, ...

) * ''Dick Tracy'' (1967, television pilot starring

Ray MacDonnell Ray MacDonnell (March 5, 1928 – June 10, 2021) was an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Joe Martin, patriarch of the Martin family, on the daytime soap opera ''All My Children'', a role he played for 40 years. Early years MacDo ...

) * ''

Archie's TV Funnies ''Archie's TV Funnies'' is a Saturday morning cartoon animated series produced by Filmation which appeared on CBS from September 11, 1971, to September 1, 1973. The series starred Bob Montana's Archie characters, including Archie Andrews, Betty C ...

'', ''Dick Tracy'' episodes, 1971 Original mini Tracy episodes using the classic villains and cast from the strip, more faithful in tone than the earlier animated series and minus the racial stereotypes. The strip has had limited exposure on television with one early live-action series, two animated series, one unsold pilot that was never picked up, and a proposed TV series currently held up in litigation.

First live action series

, who had played the square-jawed sleuth in all four Republic movie serials and two of the RKO feature-length films, reprised his role in a short-lived live action '' Dick Tracy'' series that ran on ABC from 1950 to 1951. Additional episodes intended for first-run

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

continued to be produced into 1952. Produced by P. K. Palmer, who also wrote many of the scripts, the series often featured Gould-created villains such as

Flattop A flattop is a type of haircut where the hair on the top of the head is cut and styled upright to form a flat profile when viewed from the front or side. Styling In the most classic and mainstream style of flattop for men and boys, the hair ...

, Shaky, the Mole, Breathless Mahoney, Heels Beals and Influence, all of whom appeared on film for the first time on this series. Other cast members included Joe Devlin as Sam Catchem, Angela Greene as Tess Tracy (née Trueheart), Martin Dean as Junior, and Pierre Watkin as Chief Patton. Criticized for its violence, the series remained popular. It ended, not in response to criticism, but because of Byrd's unexpected, premature death in 1952. The series was filmed on a low budget, with many long hours and a rushed shooting schedule. Many episodes of this series have been released on various public domain TV detective DVD sets.

Animated cartoons

The first cartoon series was produced from 1960 to 1961 by UPA. Tracy employed a series of cartoon-like subordinate flatfoots to fight crime each week, contacting them on his two-way wrist radio. Everett Sloane voiced Tracy and supporting characters and villains were voiced by Jerry Hausner, Mel Blanc,

Benny Rubin Benny Rubin (February 2, 1899 – July 15, 1986) was an American comedian and film actor. Born in Boston, Rubin made more than 200 radio, film and television appearances over a span of 50 years. Career In 1929, Rubin went to Hollywood, where he ...

, Johnny Coons,

Paul Frees Solomon Hersh "Paul" Frees (June 22, 1920November 2, 1986) was an American actor, comedian, impressionist, and vaudevillian. He is known for his work on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walter Lantz, Rankin/Bass, and Walt Disney theatrical cartoons during ...

and others. These subordinates included "Go-Go" Gomez, Joe Jitsu, Hemlock Holmes and the Retouchables, and Officer Heap O'Calorie. 130 five-minute cartoons were designed and packaged for syndication, usually intended for local children's shows. UPA was also the production company behind the Mr. Magoo cartoons, so it was possible for them to arrange a meeting between Tracy and Magoo in a 1965 episode of the season-long TV series '' The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo''. In the episode "Dick Tracy and the Mob", Tracy persuades Magoo (a well-known actor in the context of the ''Famous Adventures'' series) to impersonate an international hit man named Squinty Eyes, who he resembles, and infiltrate a gang of criminals made up of Flattop, Pruneface, Itchy, Mumbles and others. Unlike the earlier animated Tracy shorts, this longer episode was played relatively straight, with Tracy getting much more screen time. Pitting Tracy against a coalition of several of his foes was adopted more than two decades later in the 1990 film. A second cartoon series was produced in 1971 and was a feature in ''

'', produced by

Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and ...

. It adhered more closely to the comic strip, although it was hampered by cruder animation than the UPA shorts, typical of the studio's production standards.

Live action television pilot

William Dozier William McElroy Dozier (; February 13, 1908 – April 23, 1991) was an American film and television producer, writer and actor. He is best known for two television series, ''Batman'' and ''The Green Hornet''. Early life Dozier was born in Omaha, ...

produced a pilot for a live action Dick Tracy series in 1967 starring

in the title role. (Dozier was the producer responsible for the 1966 '' Batman'' TV series.) The pilot was "The Plot to Kill NATO", featuring "Special Guest Villain"

Victor Buono Victor Charles Buono (February 3, 1938January 1, 1982) was an American actor, comic, and briefly a recording artist. He was known for playing the villain King Tut in the television series ''Batman (TV series), Batman'' (1966–1968) and musician ...

as 'Mr. Memory'. The series was not purchased by either

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

Eve Plumb Eve Aline Plumb (born April 29, 1958) is an American actress, singer and painter. She is best known for portraying the middle daughter Jan Brady on the ABC sitcom ''The Brady Bunch''. A native of Southern California, Plumb began appearing in co ...

, who would later find fame as Jan Brady on ''

The Brady Bunch ''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family with six children. The show aired for five seasons and, afte ...

'', is credited for a character named Bonnie Braids, who does not appear in the pilot, nor does Davey Davison as Tess.

Licensed products

In the 1960s,

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

produced a plastic model kit of Dick Tracy sliding down a fire escape ladder into an alley, in hot pursuit with gun drawn. A Dick Tracy Space Coupe model came next. Both have been reissued by Polar Lights. Also in the market were Mattel's Dick Tracy range of

toy gun Toy guns are toys which imitate real guns, but are designed for recreational sport or casual play by children. From hand-carved wooden replicas to factory-produced pop guns From Gilroy Gardens and cap guns, toy guns come in all sizes, price ...

s. In 1990,

Playmates Toys Playmates Toys Limited is a Hong Kong toy company. The company was founded in Hong Kong in 1966 by Sam Chan as Playmates Industrial, manufacturing dolls for other companies. In 1975, Playmates began marketing their own line of pre-school toys, ...

released a line of action figures called ''Dick Tracy: Coppers and Gangsters'' to coincide with the Dick Tracy movie. The figures were 5" tall, stylized with exaggerated comic looks and was accompanied by many accessories. Two figures in the line had limited availability; Steve the Tramp (called "The Tramp" on the package front) was pulled from the assortment after complaints of portrayal of a homeless person as a criminal. The figure of "The Blank" was added to the assortment well after the film's release to keep the secret of the identity of the character. As a result, only limited quantities of these two figures made it to store shelves. Various distinct video games tied in with the film were developed. Titus Software did versions many platforms including Amiga, Commodore and MS-DOS. ''Dick Tracy'' is a side scrolling action shooting game. The player controls Dick Tracy through five stages. The Commodore 64 version is infamous for being released in an unfinished state (minimal animation for the main character, missing headlines in the linking screens, flick scrolling), and scored Commodore Format magazine's lowest ever review score of 11% There were also games made for the Nintendo Entertainment System (1990),

Sega Master System The is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of consoles, which was released in Japan in 1985 and ...

(1990), Sega Genesis (1990), and

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...

(1991)., and a graphic adventure for MS-DOS and the Amiga. In 2009, Shocker Toys released a monochromatic Dick Tracy action figure as an exclusive product for the

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is ...

. The figure appears in a suit with two-way wrist radio. There was also a variant figure released of Dick Tracy in his signature trench coat and fedora with a

tommy gun The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United Sta ...

accessory.

Rights to adapt in other media

Media outlets reported a legal battle being waged over rights to the Dick Tracy character. Warren Beatty announced plans to make a sequel to his 1990 movie. At the same time, television producers announced plans for a new ''Dick Tracy'' TV series. Both sides claimed that they were the legal owners of the rights to Dick Tracy. In May 2005, Beatty sued the Tribune Company, claiming he has owned the rights to the Dick Tracy character since 1985. Pressure from Beatty led to the cancellation of a proposed collaboration between artist Mike Oeming and writer Brian Bendis on a new serialized Dick Tracy comic. The lawsuit was resolved in Beatty's favor, with a U.S. District judge ruling that Beatty did everything contractually required of him to keep the rights to the character.

In popular culture

* ''

'' is a long-running parody of Dick Tracy that appeared intermittently as a strip-within-a-strip in Al Capp's satirical hillbilly comic strip, ''

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbilly, hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written a ...

'' (1934–1977). *

Gilbert Shelton Gilbert Shelton (born May 31, 1940) is an American cartoonist and a key member of the underground comix movement. He is the creator of the iconic underground characters '' The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'', ''Fat Freddy's Cat'', and ''Wonder W ...

parodied Dick Tracy as "Tricky Prickears" in his ''

Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' is an Underground comix, underground comic about a fictional trio of Cannabis culture, stoner characters, created by the American artist Gilbert Shelton. The Freak Brothers first appeared in ''The Rag'', an u ...

'' comic strips. * The artist

Jess Collins Jess Collins (August 6, 1923 – January 2, 2004), simply known today as Jess, was an American visual artist. Biography Jess was born Burgess Franklin Collins in Long Beach, California. He was drafted into the military and worked on the product ...

used an

X-Acto X-Acto is a brand name for a variety of cutting tools and office products owned by Elmer's Products, Inc. Cutting tools include hobby and utility knives, saws, carving tools and many small-scale precision knives used for crafts and other applic ...

knife and rubber cement to reassemble Gould's strip into ''Tricky Cad'' (an anagram of "Dick Tracy"). Gould threatened to sue if the ''Tricky Cad'' collages were published. * The UPA version of Dick Tracy (though already having appeared in the novel) was scheduled to appear as a cameo in the deleted scene "Acme's Funeral" from the film ''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American live-action/animated comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely adapted by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman from Gary K. Wolf's 19 ...

''. * ''

Calvin and Hobbes ''Calvin and Hobbes'' is a daily American comic strip created by cartoonist Bill Watterson that was syndicated from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995. Commonly cited as "the last great newspaper comic", ''Calvin and Hobbes'' has enjoyed b ...

'' had three segments parodying the strip, where Calvin imagines himself as an alter-ego named Tracer Bullet.

Bill Watterson William Boyd Watterson II (born July 5, 1958) is a retired American cartoonist and the author of the comic strip ''Calvin and Hobbes'', which was Print syndication, syndicated from 1985 to 1995. Watterson stopped drawing ''Calvin and Hobbes'' at ...

acknowledged this was inspired by Dick Tracy. * In

Ralph Ellison Ralph Waldo Ellison (March 1, 1913 – April 16, 1994) was an American writer, literary critic, and scholar best known for his novel '' Invisible Man'', which won the National Book Award in 1953. He also wrote ''Shadow and Act'' (1964), a collec ...

's novel ''

Invisible Man ''Invisible Man'' is a novel by Ralph Ellison, published by Random House in 1952. It addresses many of the social and intellectual issues faced by African Americans in the early twentieth century, including black nationalism, the relationship b ...

'', a 'trial' is held on thin evidence. The protagonist asks, "Is everyone reading Dick Tracy these days?" *

Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created for Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Mel ...

parodied Dick Tracy as "Duck Twacy" in the 1946 '' Looney Tunes'' cartoon ''

The Great Piggy Bank Robbery ''The Great Piggy Bank Robbery'' is a 1946 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' theatrical cartoon directed by Bob Clampett. The cartoon was released on July 20, 1946, and stars Daffy Duck. The short is Clampett's penultimate Warner cartoon, produced s ...

''. * Dick Tracy was parodied by the

adult animated An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

sketch comedy TV show '' Robot Chicken'' in the season 3 episode "Rabbits on a Roller Coaster".

References

Notes Bibliography *

External links

Dick Tracy at gocomics.com

Dick Tracy at Tribune Content Agency

The Chester Gould Dick Tracy Museum

at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Archived
from the original on September 9, 2015.
Dick Tracy Depot

Grand Comics Database: ''Dick Tracy'' comic books

Dick Tracy at the Comic Book Database

Zoot Radio, free old time radio show downloads of Dick Tracy

''Dick Tracy, Detective'' (1945)

Boxcars711: ''Dick Tracy'': two 1938 episodes

Internet Archive: Dick Tracy films and radio episodes

The Comics Journal - ''The Gould Rush: The Mad Allure of Dick Tracy'' by Frank M. Young
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