Frederick Burr Opper (January 2, 1857 – August 28, 1937) is regarded as one of the pioneers of American newspaper

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 ...

s, best known for his comic strip ''

Happy Hooligan ''Happy Hooligan'' is an American comic strip, the first major strip by the already celebrated cartoonist Frederick Burr Opper. It debuted with a Sunday strip on March 11, 1900 in the William Randolph Hearst newspapers, and was one of the first p ...

''. His comic characters were featured in magazine

gag cartoon A gag cartoon (also panel cartoon, single-panel cartoon, or gag panel) is most often a single-panel cartoon, usually including a caption beneath the drawing. A pantomime cartoon carries no caption. In some cases, dialogue may appear in speech b ...

s, covers,

political cartoon A political cartoon, a form of editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combine a ...

s and comic strips for six decades. Born to

Austrian-American Austrian Americans (, ) are Americans of Austrian descent, chiefly German-speaking Catholics and Jews. According to the 2000 U.S. census, there were 735,128 Americans of full or partial Austrian descent, accounting for 0.3% of the population. The ...

immigrants Lewis and Aurelia Burr Oppers in

Madison, Ohio Madison is a village in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,184 at the 2010 census. Madison was incorporated as a village in 1867. Geography Madison is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the village ...

, Frederick was the eldest of three children. At the age of 14, he dropped out of school"Marquis Who's Who in America"
1901-1902 edition to work as a printer's apprentice at the local ''Madison Gazette'', and at 16, he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

where he worked in a store and continued to draw. He studied briefly at

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...

, followed by a short stint as pupil and assistant to illustrator Frank Beard. Opper's first cartoon was published in ''Wild Oats'' in 1876, followed by cartoons and illustrations in ''

Scribner’s Monthly ''Scribner's Monthly: An Illustrated Magazine for the People'' was an illustrated American literary periodical published from 1870 until 1881. Following a change in ownership in 1881 of the company that had produced it, the magazine was relaunch ...

'' and '' St. Nicholas Magazine''. He worked as illustrator at ''

Frank Leslie's Weekly ''Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper'', later renamed ''Leslie's Weekly'', was an American illustrated literary and news magazine founded in 1855 and published until 1922. It was one of several magazines started by publisher and illustrator Frank ...

'' from 1877 to 1880. Opper was then hired to draw for '' Puck'' by publishers

Joseph Keppler Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (February 1, 1838 – February 19, 1894) was an Austrian-born American cartoonist and caricaturist who greatly influenced the growth of satirical cartooning in the United States. Early life He was born in Vienna. His p ...

and Adolph Schwarzmann. He stayed with ''Puck'' for 18 years, drawing everything from spot illustrations to

chromolithograph Chromolithography is a method for making multi-colour printmaking, prints. This type of colour printing stemmed from the process of lithography, and includes all types of lithography that are printed in colour. When chromolithography is used to ...

covers. Opper married Nellie Barnett on May 18, 1881. They had three children, Lawrence, Anna and Sophia. Happy Hooligan 1921-10-23

Career

''Happy Hooligan''

In 1899, Opper accepted an offer by

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

for a position with the ''

New York Journal :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 t ...

''. His ''Happy Hooligan'' strip first appeared in the ''New York Journal'' in 1900, and it ran until 1932. Hooligan was a tramp with a little tin can hat whose gentle simplicity and bumbling good nature made him a success. On Happy's 30th birthday, Opper threw a party attended by President Hoover, former President Coolidge, Charles Schwab, Alfred E. Smith and others. Opper's other popular strips were ''

Alphonse and Gaston ''Alphonse and Gaston'' is an American comic strip by Frederick Burr Opper, featuring a bumbling pair of Frenchmen with a penchant for politeness. It first appeared in William Randolph Hearst's newspaper, the ''New York Journal'' on September ...

'', ''

And Her Name Was Maud ''And Her Name Was Maud'' is a comic strip by Frederick Burr Opper. It first appeared in the Hearst newspapers on July 24, 1904.topper to ''Happy Hooligan'', where it ran until both strips came to a conclusion on October 14, 1932. Opper's strips were very popular in Italy, where Hooligan was th
most loved strip character in Italy
before the coming of

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

, as declared by the major Italian poet

Attilio Bertolucci Attilio Bertolucci (18 November 1911 – 14 June 2000) was an Italian poet and writer. He was father to film directors Bernardo and Giuseppe Bertolucci. Biography Bertolucci was born at San Lazzaro ( province of Parma), to a family of agricult ...

. Hooligan's name in Italy was Fortunello (''small lucky''), and Maud's name was Checca (Francy).

Political cartoons

Among Opper's contributions for Puck was a cartoon that satirized the rise of sensationalism in journalism: this cartoon, from March 7, 1894, shows a newspaper mogul (possibly Joseph Pulitzer) raking in the profits, yet misleading the public. Noteworthy in this political cartoon is an early use of the term "

fake news Fake news is false or misleading information presented as news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person or entity, or making money through advertising revenue.Schlesinger, Robert (April 14, 2017)"Fake news in reality ...

." In addition, Opper drew influential political cartoons supporting Hearst's campaign against the "trusts" with characters "Willie and Teddy", depicting

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

and

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

, "Willie and his Papa", satirizing McKinley and "Papa Trusts", and "Nursie", a depiction of Cleveland industrialist

Mark Hanna Marcus Alonzo Hanna (September 24, 1837 – February 15, 1904) was an American businessman and Republican politician who served as a United States Senator from Ohio as well as chairman of the Republican National Committee. A friend and pol ...

. Opper's other characters included Mr. Common Man, which is believed to be the origin of John Q. Public. His artwork appeared in Hearst's ''New York Journal'', ''

Boston American The ''Boston American'' was a daily tabloid newspaper published in Boston, Massachusetts from March 21, 1904 until September 30, 1961. The newspaper was part of William Randolph Hearst's chain, and thus was also known as ''Hearst's Boston Americ ...

'', '' Chicago Examiner'', ''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...

'' and ''

Los Angeles Examiner The ''Los Angeles Examiner'' was a newspaper founded in 1903 by William Randolph Hearst in Los Angeles, California. The afternoon '' Los Angeles Herald-Express'' and the morning ''Los Angeles Examiner'', both of which had been publishing in the ...

''. In 1902 he published "Nursery Rhymes for Infant Industries: An Alphabet of Joyous Trusts" in which each of the 26 Alphabet letters began an anti-trust rhyme. Opper also illustrated books for

Edgar Wilson Nye Edgar Wilson "Bill" Nye (August 25, 1850February 22, 1896) was an American humorist. He was also the founder and editor of the ''Laramie Boomerang''. Biography Nye was born in Shirley, Maine. His parents removed to a farm on the St. Croix rive ...

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

Marietta Holley Marietta Holley (pen names, Jemyma, later, Josiah Allen's Wife; July 16, 1836 – March 1, 1926), was an American humorist who used satire to comment on U.S. society and politics. Holley enjoyed a prolific writing career and was a bestselling au ...

(ie: ''Samantha at Saratoga, or Racin' After Fashion''), and

Finley Peter Dunne Finley Peter Dunne (born Peter Dunne; July 10, 1867 – April 24, 1936) was an American humorist, journalist and writer from Chicago. In 1898 Dunne published ''Mr. Dooley in Peace and in War'', a collection of his nationally syndicated Mr. Dooley ...

, and, as well, published his own books, including ''Puck's Opper Book'' (1888), ''The Folks in Funnyville'' (1900) and ''Happy Hooligan Home Again'' (1907). Opper was a member of several New York clubs, and he painted as a hobby. He retired in 1934 due to failing eyesight. He died August 28, 1937 at his home in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

and was cremated. Cartoonists

Russ Westover Russell Channing Westover (March 8, 1886 – May 3, 1966) was a cartoonist best known for his long-run comic strip ''Tillie the Toiler''. Early life Westover was born in Los Angeles, California. He recalled, "When the time came... to make a livi ...

and

Alex Raymond Alexander Gillespie Raymond Jr. (October 2, 1909 – September 6, 1956) was an American cartoonist who was best known for creating the '' Flash Gordon'' comic strip for King Features Syndicate in 1934. The strip was subsequently adapted into m ...

took part in an August 29, 1937 memorial to Opper broadcast on New York's WNEW. Opper-Bismarck-Gladstone-Puck_Feb_20_1895

References

External links

* *

ridiculing TR and McKinley as pawns of Trusts and Sen. Hanna
Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum
at The Ohio State University

Britannica Student Encyclopedia: brief biography

''Stripper's Guide''
blog by Allan Holtz (blogspot.com) *

*

*

* ttp://www.toonopedia.com/antedilu.htm ''Our Antediluvian Ancestors''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 April 4, 2012 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Opper, Frederick Burr 1857 births 1937 deaths People from Madison, Ohio American people of Austrian descent American comics artists American comic strip cartoonists Artists from New Rochelle, New York

Career

''Happy Hooligan''

Political cartoons

References

Further reading

External links