Mr. O'Malley was a character in the

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 ...

'' Barnaby'', by

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

Crockett Johnson Crockett Johnson (October 20, 1906 – July 11, 1975) was the pen name of the American cartoonist and children's book illustrator David Johnson Leisk. He is best known for the comic strip ''Barnaby'' (1942–1952) and the ''Harold'' series of book ...

.Crockett Johnson, ''Barnaby'', Henry Holt and Company, 1943. He was the fairy godfather of five-year-old Barnaby. Jackeen J. O'Malley first appeared in response to Barnaby's wish for a fairy godmother. He was a , cigar smoking man with an overcoat and four tiny pink wings, and was a member of the

Elves, Leprechauns, Gnomes, and Little Men's Chowder & Marching Society The Elves, Leprechauns, Gnomes, and Little Men's Chowder & Marching Society was the fraternal organization frequented by Mr. O’Malley, the fairy godfather in Crockett Johnson’s daily comic strip ''Barnaby''. The actual locale of the ELGLMC&MS ...

. His

magic wand A wand is a thin, light-weight rod that is held with one hand, and is traditionally made of wood, but may also be made of other materials, such as metal or plastic. Long versions of wands are often styled in forms of staves or sceptres, which c ...

was the stub of his half-smoked

Havana cigar Habanos S.A. is a Cuban manufacturing company of tobacco that controls the promotion, distribution, and export of premium cigars and other tobacco products for Cuba worldwide. It was established in 1994. Ownership of Habanos S.A. is split equa ...

. Mr. O'Malley's conceit was matched only by his inability to grant the simplest childhood request, and his misguided attempts never failed to get Barnaby into hot water. Mr. O'Malley was a comic strip original, though in appearance he had a passing resemblance to

W.C. Fields WC or wc may refer to: * Water closet or flush toilet Arts and entertainment * ''W.C.'' (film), an Irish feature film * WC (band), a Polish punk rock band * WC (rapper), a rapper from Los Angeles, California * Westside Connection, former hi ...

. "Cushlamochree" (from the Irish "cuisle mo chroí", "beat of my heart") was his signature cry when shocked by the inevitable down-turn of events in response to his ineffectual meddling in Barnaby's affairs. Throughout the course of his comic career Mr. O'Malley stumbled his way into the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

and became a

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

tycoon.

Other Media

stage play A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and intended for theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Reading (process), reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright. Pla ...

entitled "Barnaby and Mr. O'Malley" using most of the comic strip characters was created in 1946 with Thomas Wm. Hamilton (

4897 Tomhamilton 4897 Tomhamilton, provisional designation , is a stony asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 14 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 22 August 1987, by American astronomer Eleanor Helin at Palomar Observatory, ...

) and

J. M. Kerrigan Joseph Michael Kerrigan (16 December 1884 – 29 April 1964) was an Irish actor. Early life Joseph Michael Kerrigan was born on 16 December 1884 in Dublin, which was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland at that time. H ...

in the title roles. A 1950s television show ran briefly with

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

in one role. Many of the original comic strips were republished in three volumes of paperback books.

References

Barnaby (comic strip) Fictional fairies and sprites Comics characters who use magic {{Comics-char-stub