''The Family Circus'' (originally ''The Family Circle'', also ''Family-Go-Round'') is a
syndicated comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
created by cartoonist
Bil Keane
William Aloysius "Bil" Keane (October 5, 1922 – November 8, 2011) was an American cartoonist most notable for his work on the newspaper comic ''The Family Circus''. It began in 1960 and continues in syndication, drawn by his son Jeff Kea ...
and, since Bil's death in 2011, is
currently written, inked, and rendered (colored) by his son,
Jeff Keane
Jeff Keane is an American cartoonist. He is the youngest son of the late cartoonist Bil Keane who, following his father's death in 2011, became inker and colorist of the syndicated comic strip ''The Family Circus'', after having assisted on it s ...
. The strip generally uses a single captioned panel with a round border, hence the original name of the series, which was changed following objections from the magazine ''
Family Circle
''Family Circle'' was an American magazine that covered such topics as homemaking, recipes, and health. It was published from 1932 until the end of 2019. Originally distributed at supermarkets, it was one of the " Seven Sisters," a group of se ...
''. The series debuted on February 29, 1960, and has been in continuous production ever since. According to publisher
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 ...
, it is the most widely syndicated cartoon panel in the world, appearing in 1,500 newspapers. Compilations of ''Family Circus'' comic strips have sold over 13 million copies worldwide.
Characters
Family
The central characters of ''Family Circus'' are a family whose surname is rarely mentioned (although the cartoon of August 26, 2013, in which Billy refers to "Grandma Keane" and "Grandma Carne" indicates the same surnames as the author's family). The parents, Bil and Thelma (Thel), are modeled after the author and his wife,
Thelma Carne Keane.
[Inspiration For Circus Mom Dead at 82]
United Press International, UPI.com, May 26, 2008 Their four children, Billy, Dolly, Jeffy, and P.J., are fictionalized composites of the Keanes' five children. With the exception of P.J., no characters have aged appreciably during the run of the strip.
Bil (named Steve in the early years of the strip) works in an office, and he is believed to be a cartoonist, most likely based on the writer of the strip because he draws big circles on paper, presumably a cartoon version of the ''Family Circus''. Some panels refer to Bil as a veteran of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Thel is a college-educated homemaker. The ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' ran a feature article on the Thelma character when Keane updated her hairstyle in 1996.
The eldest child is 7-year-old Billy. A recurring theme involves Billy as a substitute cartoonist, generally filling in for a Sunday strip. The strips purportedly drawn by Billy are crudely rendered and reflect his understanding of the world and sense of humor. The first use of this gag by Keane was in ''
This Week'' magazine in 1962 in a cartoon titled "Life in Our House" which attributed the childish drawings to his 6-year-old son, Chris. Keane also modeled Billy after his eldest son
Glen
A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower ...
, now a prominent
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 ...
animator.
The character of 5-year-old Dolly was modeled after Keane's daughter and eldest child, Gayle.
Dolly was a nickname that Thelma Keane called little girls.
The character of 3-year-old Jeffy was named and modeled after Keane's youngest child, Jeff.
The comic family's youngest child P.J. (Peter John) was introduced into the strip through a series of cartoons about the Family Circus Mommy's pregnancy, which culminated in the baby's birth on August 1, 1962.
P.J. grows to be about one year old, and rarely speaks.
Extended family
Bil's mother (Florence, but usually called Grandma) appears regularly in the strip and apparently lives near the family. Bil's father (Al, called Granddad by the kids and Bil) is dead but occasionally appears in the strip as a spirit or watching from up in heaven. Bil's father (as a spirit) plays a prominent role in the TV special ''A Family Circus Christmas''. Al died after the launch of the feature. However, on November 25, 2012, reference is made to his having died before Jeffy was born even though the character Al was featured in strips prior to his Granddad's death.
Thel's parents are both alive but apparently live several hundred miles away in a rural area. Strips in the past have mentioned them living in Iowa, but one 2007 strip mentioned Florida. The family occasionally visits them for vacation.
Pets
The family pets are two dogs—a
Labrador
, nickname = "The Big Land"
, etymology =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Canada
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 ...
named Barfy and a shaggy-haired
mutt named Sam, a stray the children brought home on January 26, 1970—and an orange
tabby cat
A tabby is any domestic cat (''Felis catus'') with a distinctive 'M'-shaped marking on its forehead; stripes by its eyes and across its cheeks, along its back, and around its legs and tail; and (differing by tabby type), characteristic striped, d ...
named Kittycat.
Other characters
* Morrie is a playmate of Billy, and the only recurring black character in the strip. Keane created the character in 1967 as a tribute to his close friend
Morrie Turner
Morris Nolton Turner (December 11, 1923 – January 25, 2014) was an American cartoonist, creator of the strip ''Wee Pals'', the first American syndicated strip with an integrated cast of characters.
Biography
Turner was raised in Oakland, Ca ...
, creator of ''
Wee Pals
''Wee Pals'' is an American syndicated comic strip about a diverse group of children, created and produced by Morrie Turner. It was the first comic strip syndicated in the United States to have a cast of diverse ethnicity, dubbed the "Rainbow Gan ...
''.
* Mr. Horton is Bil's boss.
Location
The ''Family Circus'' takes place in
Scottsdale, Arizona
, settlement_type = City
, named_for = Winfield Scott
, image_skyline =
, image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg
, image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg
, nick ...
. They often visit a popular
ice cream parlor
Ice cream parlors (American English) or ice cream parlours (British English) are places that sell ice cream, gelato, sorbet, and/or frozen yogurt to consumers. Ice cream is typically sold as regular ice cream (also called hard-packed or hard s ...
named the Sugar Bowl (based on the actual same-named restaurant which features many strips signed by Keane), and Jeffy once went to St. Joseph's Hospital for a
tonsillectomy
Tonsillectomy is a list of surgical procedures, surgical procedure in which both palatine tonsils are fully removed from the back of the throat. The procedure is mainly performed for recurrent tonsillitis, throat infections and obstructive sleep ...
. Thel was seen playing tennis with a racket marked "Scottsdale Racket", and Bil mentioned moving up to B class at Scottsdale Racket Club in a 1984 strip. Also, a sign for
Paradise Valley, where Bil Keane lived the latter part of his life, is seen in one 1976 strip. Sometimes the family is depicted enjoying snow at their home in the strip, whereas Scottsdale gets very little snow in the winter. Bil Keane commented that he took aspects of his boyhood in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, such as snow, and added them to the strip.
Themes
Religion
One distinguishing characteristic of the ''Family Circus'' is the frequent use of Christian imagery and themes, ranging from generic references to God to Jeffy daydreaming about Jesus at the grocery store. Keane states that the religious content reflects his own upbringing and family traditions. Keane was
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, and in past cartoons the children have been shown attending Catholic schools with sisters as teachers and attending Catholic church services, much as Keane did in his childhood years at
St. William Parish in Philadelphia. Keane was a frequent contributor to his high school newspaper, ''The Good News'', at
Northeast Catholic High School for Boys in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he graduated in 1940. Some of his comics with scenes in Billy's bedroom depict an NC pennant hanging on the wall, a tribute to his alma mater and his Catholic education.
Billy the Substitute Cartoonist
Sometimes Keane's strips would have crude drawings purportedly done by "Billy, Age 7". Some of "Billy's" drawings would be explaining vocabulary, only he does not understand the right word, such as confusing "hysterical" with "historical" or defining "acquire" as "a
group of singers in church". Oftentimes the "Billy" drawings would show a more detailed drawing of Keane's, such as Billy crying over losing a game to his father, then the next strip saying "This is what really happened, by Billy", showing the crude drawing of Billy winning and an annoyed Bil Keane storming off saying "No more games, I gotta draw Sunday's cartoon!" One series of strip for the dailies in 1990 had the father off on a business trip, whereas "Billy" explains a multitude of childish reasons for his absence, such as alien abduction or being baked into a witch's pie. The story arc ended with a Keane drawing showing the father back home and the kids asking about such preposterous happenings, to the dad's befuddlement.
Dotted lines
One of the best-known features of Keane's work is the dotted line comics, showing the characters' paths through the neighborhood or house with a thick dotted line. The earliest appearance of the dotted line was on April 8, 1962 (an un-dotted path had first appeared on February 25). This concept has been
parodied
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
by other comic strips, including ''
Pearls Before Swine
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living animal shell, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pea ...
'', ''
For Better or For Worse'', ''
FoxTrot
The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a tim ...
'', ''
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 ...
'', ''
Garfield
''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976, then in nationwide syndication from 1978 as ''Garfield'', it chronicles the life of the title character Garfield the cat, his human ...
'', ''
Liō
''Liō'' is a daily comic strip created by American artist Mark Tatulli and distributed by Universal Press Syndicate/Universal Uclick/Andrews McMeel Syndication since May 15, 2006. As a pantomime strip, it has an international appeal. In 2008, t ...
'', ''
Marvin'', and ''
xkcd
''xkcd'', sometimes styled ''XKCD'', is a webcomic created in 2005 by American author Randall Munroe. The comic's tagline describes it as "a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language". Munroe states on the comic's website that the name ...
''. In an interview, Jeff Keane, who now produces the strip, described how he creates the line: by drawing one continuous black line and then breaking it into segments with white. The dotted line has taken on different formats, such as when the family took a vacation to San Francisco and showed them in a dotted line down the famous Lombard Street ("the crookedest street in the world"), or Jeffy and his grandfather taking a walk in the park, where Jeffy is shown running around pell-mell marked by a squiqqly dotted line, as opposed to a long rigid dotted line marking his granddad's, who stayed on the path. Other strips would show the dotted line with captions, such as when Billy used the restroom when the family was at a pancake house, with captions of Billy's lingering ("helps busboy pick up pieces of broken plate", "finds quarter in payphone", "uses quarter to play at an arcade cabinet").
Gremlins
In April 1975, Keane introduced an invisible gremlin named "Not Me", who watches while the children try to shift blame for a misdeed by saying, "Not me." Additional gremlins named "Ida Know" (in September 1975), "Nobody," "O. Yeah!," and "Just B. Cause" were introduced in later years. Although it is clear that the parents do not accept the existence of the gremlins, they did include them as members of the family, perhaps
tongue-in-cheek
The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner.
History
The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scott ...
, when being interviewed by a member of the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
. Another time when Thel was sick of hearing about the gremlins from the kids ("Who's been rummaging in Gramma's purse?" "Not me!"), she asked her mother-in-law if she ever dealt with such absurdity, causing Florence to remark, "Well, I'm sure that he has been around at least since I was a little girl," in which there is a
flashback to Florence's childhood with her father demanding to know, "Who scratched my new
Glenn Miller
Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ...
record?," with little Florence firmly stating, "Not me!", and the "Not Me" entity smugly standing by.
Grown children
One theme Keane tried from time to time was picturing the children as adults, or what might come of it. One time when Billy had been asked by Thelma not to leave the house until he finished his homework, she told him, "One day when you are grown up you will thank me for this!," causing Billy to imagine the absurdity of himself as a full grown man paying a visit to his elderly mother just to thank her for telling him that as a child. Other adult ideas included the parents telling Jeffy not to be shy when they invited friends over, and then he is pictured 25 years later as an outgoing late night
talk show host
Below is a list of talk show hosts, sorted alphabetically by their surnames.
__NOTOC__
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y
Z
See also
* List of game show hosts
This is a list of ...
akin to
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...
. Another example was P.J. not wishing to be introduced to the toddler daughter of family friends, only to show 30 years later that both are now grown and are celebrating their wedding day. Yet another had Thel telling Billy she cannot clean up after him his whole life, then imagining a full-grown Billy as a businessman running a chain of "High Hat Hotels", and an aged, weary Thel working as one of the maids.
Family car
For the first 25 years, the family car was a station wagon, first based on Keane's own 1961
Buick
Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
.
In 1985, a year after the introduction of the
Plymouth Voyager
Plymouth Voyager is a nameplate for a range of vans that were marketed by the Plymouth division of Chrysler. From 1974 until 1983, the Voyager was a full-size van, sold as the counterpart of Dodge Sportsman (later the Dodge Ram Wagon). For 1984 ...
and the
Dodge Caravan
The Dodge Caravan (and the long-wheelbase Dodge Grand Caravan) is a series of minivans that was manufactured by Chrysler from the 1984 to 2020 model years. The Dodge version of the Chrysler minivans, the Caravan was marketed as both a passenger v ...
, the family appears in a series of cartoons trading in the station wagon for a new minivan (when the salesman assures Mom and Dad that "
Lee Iacocca
Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca ( ; October 15, 1924 – July 2, 2019) was an American automobile executive best known for the development of the Ford Mustang, Continental Mark III, and Ford Pinto cars while at the Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, an ...
stands behind every vehicle we sell," the children scuttle around and look behind the van to see if Mr. Iacocca is back there). The family's minivan resembles Dodge/Plymouth twins and includes the
Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
corporate pentastar logo on its hood. The children enjoy showing off the new van to their friends: "And it has a sliding door, like an elevator." Early strips also showed the family in a small convertible, a caricature based on Keane's
Sunbeam Rapier
The Sunbeam Rapier is an automobile produced by Rootes Group from 1955 until 1976, in two different body-styles, the "Series" cars (which underwent several revisions) and the later (1967–76) fastback shape, part of the "Arrow" range.
The first ...
.
[
]
Format
Daily strip
The daily strip consists of a single captioned panel with a round border. The panel is occasionally split in two halves. One unusual practice in the series is the occasional use of both speech balloons within the picture and captions outside the circle. The daily strip does not generally follow a weekly story arc
A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vide ...
, with the exception of family vacations.
Sunday strip
The format of the Sunday strip varies considerably from week to week, though there are several well-known recurring themes. One recurring theme is a single picture surrounded by multiple speech balloons, representing the children's response to a given scenario, although the speaker of any given speech balloon is never explicitly shown (this format began on May 30, 1965).
Other media
Book collections
There are 89 compilations of ''Family Circus'' cartoons. For a full list of book titles, see '' Family Circus collections''.
Television
The ''Family Circus'' characters appeared in animated form in three television holiday specials, all broadcast on NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
:
''A Special Valentine with the Family Circus'' (1978),
''A Family Circus Christmas'' (1979),
''A Family Circus Easter'' (1982).
The Easter special featured jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...
as the Easter Bunny. This special is a musical and features Dolly singing "Hey There, Easter Bunny".
Feature film
In October 2010, 20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
and Walden Media
Walden Media, LLC or Walden Media is an American film investor, distributor, and publishing company. Its films are based on children's literature, biographies or historical events, as well as documentaries and some original screenplays.
The corpo ...
announced that they had acquired the film rights for a live-action feature film based on the ''Family Circus'' cartoon. Nichole Millard and Kathryn Price have been hired to adapt the comic strip as a live-action project.
Video game
An educational video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
was released for home computers in 1992. Called ''Our House featuring the Family Circus'' (a.k.a. ''Now and Then''), the game compares life in modern times to those when the parents, grandparents and other ancestors of the comic were young.
Parodies
The ''Family Circus'' has been widely satirized
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
in film, television, and other daily comic strips. In an interview with ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', Keane said that he was flattered and believed that such parody "...is a compliment to the popularity of the feature..." The official ''Family Circus'' website contains a sampling of syndicated comic strips from other authors which parody his characters.
Some newspaper comic strips have devoted entire storylines using ''Family Circus'' characters. In 1994, the surreal ''Zippy the Pinhead
Zippy the Pinhead is a fictional character who is the protagonist of ''Zippy'', an American comic strip created by Bill Griffith. Zippy's most famous quotation, "Are we having fun yet?", appears in ''Bartlett's Familiar Quotations'' and became a ...
'' comic strip made multiple references to the ''Family Circus'', including an extended series during which the titular character, a pinhead, sought "Th' Way" to enlightenment from Bil, Thel, Billy, and Jeffy.[Bill Griffith]
Still asking, "Are we having fun yet?"
''Interdisciplinary Comic Studies'', Vol. 1 No. 2, 2004, Bil Keane was credited as "guest cartoonist" on these strips, drawing the characters exactly as they appear in their own strip, but in Zippy's world as drawn by Zippy creator Bill Griffith
William Henry Jackson Griffith (born January 20, 1944) is an American cartoonist who signs his work Bill Griffith and Griffy. He is best known for his surreal daily comic strip '' Zippy''. The catchphrase "Are we having fun yet?" is credited to ...
. Griffith described the ''Family Circus'' as "the last remaining folk art strip." Griffith said, "It's supposed to be the epitome of squareness, but it turns the corner into a hip zone."
For the 1997 April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...
comic strip switcheroo
The comic strip switcheroo (also known as the Great Comics Switcheroonie or the Great April Fools' Day Comics Switcheroonie) was a massive practical joke in which several comic strip writers and artists (cartoonists), without the foreknowledge of t ...
, ''Dilbert
''Dilbert'' is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Scott Adams, first published on April 16, 1989. It is known for its satirical office humor about a white-collar, micromanaged office with engineer Dilbert as the title characte ...
'' creator Scott Adams
Scott Raymond Adams (born June 8, 1957) is an American author and cartoonist. He is the creator of the syndicated ''Dilbert'' comic strip, and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, and business. ''Dilbert'' gained nation ...
swapped cartoons with Keane; and Stephan Pastis
Stephan Thomas Pastis (; born January 16, 1968) is an American cartoonist and former lawyer who is the creator of the comic strip ''Pearls Before Swine''. He also writes children's chapter books, commencing with the release of ''Timmy Failure: ...
drew a series in which ''Family Circus'' "invaded" ''Pearls Before Swine
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living animal shell, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pea ...
'' in 2007. Pastis, who had a close relationship with Bil and Jeff Keane, created numerous parodies of ''Family Circus'' "because it was an icon."
The '' Dysfunctional Family Circus'' was a satire website which paired Keane's illustrations with user-submitted captions. Keane claimed to have found the site funny at first. However, disapproving feedback from his readership, coupled with the website's use of double entendre
A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...
and vulgarity, prompted Keane to request that the site be discontinued.
The webcomic ''Jersey Circus'' is a mashup of artwork from ''The Family Circus'' and dialogue from the reality show ''Jersey Shore
The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...
''. It juxtaposes the innocent artwork of the comic with the often adult dialogue from the show to parody both media phenomena.
The 1999 novel ''The Funnies'', by J. Robert Lennon
John Robert Lennon (born 1970) is an American novelist, short story writer, musician and composer.
Early life
Lennon was raised in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. He earned a B.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania (1992) and an M.F.A. (19 ...
, centered around a dysfunctional family whose late patriarch drew a cartoon similar to ''The Family Circus''. Lennon later said, although there was a "resemblance", he did not "know anything about Bil Keane and made up my characters from scratch."
The cartoon has been the subject of gags on many television sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
s including episodes of ''Pinky and the Brain
''Pinky and the Brain'' is an American animated television series that was created by Tom Ruegger that premiered on Kids' WB on September 9, 1995. It was the first animated television series to be presented in Dolby Surround and the fourth col ...
'', ''Mystery Science Theater 3000
''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...
'', ''The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'', ''Drawn Together
''Drawn Together'' is an American adult animation, adult animated sitcom created by Dave Jeser and Matt Silverstein and premiered on Comedy Central on October 27, 2004. The series is a parody of ''The Surreal Life'' and follows the misadventures ...
'', ''Robot Chicken
''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writers, ...
'', '' Mad'', an episode of ''Family Guy
''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...
'' ("Dog Gone
"Dog Gone" is the eighth episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series '' Family Guy''. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 29, 2009. The episode features Brian, the family pet, attempting to prove that a dog' ...
") and the 1999 movie '' Go''.
In the ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid
''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' is an American children’s book series and media franchise created by author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney. The series follows Greg Heffley, a middle-schooler who illustrates his daily life in a diary (although he const ...
'' book and film series, the main character and his dad share a common dislike "for the lameness of a ''Family Circus'' knockoff comic."
Some ''Pearls Before Swine
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living animal shell, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pea ...
'' strips include appearances by the ''Family Circus'' characters or parodic ''Family Circus'' strips. In one series of strips, Rat is captured by ''Family Circus'' fans after poking fun at the ''Family Circus''. In the week of June 27, 2005, Stephan Pastis portrayed the cartoon Keane family inviting Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...
into their house. Bin Laden is captured by the police while following Billy's dotted lines, and the whole family is imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay for harboring a terrorist.
The 2016 graphic novel ''The Fun Family'' by Benjamin Frisch tells the dark story of the family of the creator of a ''Family Circus''-like strip.
References
External links
The Family Circus Official Homepage
The Family Circus at King Features
at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...
Archived
from the original on June 27, 2016.
at Syracuse University (primary source material)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Family Circus, The
1960 comics debuts
American comics characters
American comic strips
Arizona in fiction
Comic strips set in the United States
Comics about married people
Christian comics
Fictional characters from Arizona
Fictional families
Gag cartoon comics
Gag-a-day comics