Percy Crosby
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Percy Lee CrosbyPercy Lee Crosby
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. Retrieved on January 8, 2016.
(December 8, 1891 – December 8, 1964) Gives specific death date of December 8. was an American
author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
,
illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...
and
cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...
best known for his
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 ...
'' Skippy''. Adapted into
movies A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
, a
novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
and a
radio show A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio networ ...
, Crosby's creation was commemorated on a 1997
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stamp Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to: Official documents and related impressions * Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail * Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods * Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...
. An inspiration for
Charles Schulz Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz (; November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000) was an American cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', featuring what are probably his two best-known characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. He is wid ...
's ''
Peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ' ...
'', the strip is regarded by comics historian
Maurice Horn Maurice Horn (born 1931) is a French-American comics historian, author, and editor, considered to be one of the first serious academics to study comics. He is the editor of ''The World Encyclopedia of Comics'', ''The World Encyclopedia of Cartoon ...
as a "classic... which innovated a number of sophisticated and refined touches used later by Charles Schulz and
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 syndicated from 1985 to 1995. Watterson stopped drawing ''Calvin and Hobbes'' at the end of 1995, ...
." Humorist
Corey Ford Corey Ford (April 29, 1902 – July 27, 1969) was an American humorist, writer, outdoorsman, and screenwriter. He was friendly with several members of the Algonquin Round Table in New York City and occasionally lunched there. Early years Ford was ...
, writing in '' Vanity Fair'', praised the strip as "America's most important contribution to humor of the century".


Early life and career

Percy Crosby was born in
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, prior to the 1898 incorporation of the
five boroughs 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awar ...
of
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 ...
. He grew up in Richmond Hill, in what would be the borough of
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
but at the time was considered part of
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
. His father, Thomas Francis Crosby, the son of Catholic immigrants from
County Louth, Ireland County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to ...
, was an amateur painter who ran an art supply business. His mother Frances (née Greene), known as Fanny, was of
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
and Scottish descent. Percy had two younger sisters, Ethel and Gladys.Robinson, p. 5-6 Crosby quit high school during his sophomore year to take a job as an art department office boy at editor
Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm mora ...
's magazine ''
The Delineator ''The Delineator'' was an American women's magazine of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, founded by the Butterick Publishing Company in 1869 under the name ''The Metropolitan Monthly.'' Its name was changed in 1875. The magazine was publis ...
''. He was quickly promoted to artist, but the job ended after one issue. When he was 17, he sold a drawing to ''
Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
'' for $6. After delivering sandwiches and working as a magazine salesman, he found a position as an
editorial cartoonist An editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary. Their cartoons are used to convey and question an aspect of daily news or curren ...
for the
Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
newspaper the ''New York Daily Call''. There he published his first two comic strips, ''Biff'' and ''The Extreme Brothers—Laff and Sy'', but readers became outraged at frivolity in the paper and the strips were pulled. Crosby next became a sports columnist and illustrator at ''
The New York Globe ''The New York Globe'', also called ''The New York Evening Globe'', was a daily New York City newspaper published from 1904 to 1923, when it was bought and merged into ''The New York Sun''. It is not related to a New York City-based Saturday fami ...
''. On the side, he produced comics used as occasional filler for the paper. Eventually fired, he entered an
Edison Company The Edison Manufacturing Company, originally registered as the United Edison Manufacturing Company and often known as simply the Edison Company, was organized by inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Edison and incorporated in New York City in May 188 ...
contest for the best cartoon on the use of electric light. He won the $75 prize and saw his cartoon appear in every newspaper in New York City. The exposure led to a job at the ''
New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publi ...
'', "at the time the promised land for aspiring cartoonists". After a few years, he left to freelance, selling cartoons to ''World'' editor John Tennant. In 1916, the George Matthew Adams Service syndicated Crosby's first feature, the
daily Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
and
Sunday strip The Sunday comics or Sunday strip is the comic strip section carried in most western newspapers, almost always in color. Many newspaper readers called this section the Sunday funnies, the funny papers or simply the funnies. The first US newspap ...
''The Clancy Kids'', earning Crosby a respectable $135 a week.Robinson, p. 16 While continuing on this first strip, Crosby studied at
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
's
Art Students League The Art Students League of New York is an art school at American Fine Arts Society, 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists ...
under such instructors as
George Bridgman George Brant Bridgman (November 5, 1864 – December 16, 1943) was a Canadian-American painter, writer, and teacher in the fields of anatomy and figure drawing. Bridgman taught anatomy for artists at the Art Students League of New York for some ...
,
Frank DuMond Frank Vincent DuMond (August 20, 1865 – February 6, 1951) was one of the most influential teacher-painters in 20th-century America. He was an illustrator and American Impressionist painter of portraits and landscapes, and a prominent teac ...
,
Joseph Pennell Joseph Pennell (July 4, 1857 – April 23, 1926) was an American draftsman, etcher, lithographer and illustrator for books and magazines. A prolific artist, he spent most of his working life in Europe, and is known for his interest in landmarks, l ...
and
Max Weber Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of modern Western society. His ideas profo ...
. The painter and League president
Gifford Beal Gifford Beal (January 24, 1879 – February 5, 1956) was an American painter, watercolorist, printmaker and muralist. Early life Born in New York City, Gifford Beal was the youngest son in a family of six surviving children. His oldest brother R ...
, recognizing Crosby's talent, invited him to spend the summer in
Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
, where Crosby made the acquaintance of
Edwin Dickinson Edwin Walter Dickinson (October 11, 1891 – December 2, 1978) was an American painter and draftsman best known for psychologically charged self-portraits, quickly painted landscapes, which he called ''premier coups'', and large, hauntingly enigma ...
,
Edward Hopper Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882 – May 15, 1967) was an American realist painter and printmaker. While he is widely known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching. Hopper created subdued drama ...
,
Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...
and other habitues of the
Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provincet ...
artists colony. Back in New York, he fell in love with fellow League student Gertrude Volz, the artist-sculptor daughter of a well-to-do real-estate broker. After being commissioned a second lieutenant in the Officer Reserve Corps in 1916 and being called to active service the following year, serving for a time as a
jiujitsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...
instructor, he and Volz eloped and were married at the training camp in
Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding ...
, on July 7, 1917.Robinson, p. 17 While in training, Crosby created a daily comic panel, ''That Rookie from the Thirteenth Squad'', for the
McClure Syndicate McClure Newspaper Syndicate, the first American newspaper syndicate, introduced many American and British writers to the masses. Launched in 1884 by publisher Samuel S. McClure, it was the first successful company of its kind. It turned the marke ...
, writing and drawing it from the front in France while serving as a
first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...
in the 77th Division, AEF. The comic was collected into his first two books, ''That Rookie of the Thirteenth Squad'' (1917) and ''Between Shots'' (1919). While at the Argonne front, Crosby was struck by shrapnel in the eye, suffering no permanent damage, and earned the
Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...
. Following the war, he resumed his studies and syndicated a series of panel cartoons from 1921 to 1925. These covered a variety of subjects, with some series, such as ''Who Cares for the Feelings of a Small Boy'', ''The Local Boy'', ''Back o' the Flats'', ''The Little Girl Who Moved Away'' and ''Send a Poor Child to the Farm'', featuring children, particularly from the slums.


''Always Belittlin' ''

One such series, ''Always Belittlin''', presaged '' Skippy'' with its star, a child with a striped shawl and a bonnet with a black pop-pom, whose thoughts consisted of the text's daily aphorism. This series and two others, ''Bugville'' and ''Bug Lugs'', would eventually run as the supplemental topper feature accompanying the ''Skippy'' Sunday strip.


''Skippy'' (1923–45)

Crosby concurrently became a prolific contributor to ''Life'', where several of his cartoons featured a child named Timmy, who became the prototype for Skippy Skinner when Crosby pitched art director Frank Casey about a regular feature.Robinson, p. 24 As Crosby recalled, "I drew up three pages and thought of forty-four names (among them ''Beanie'' and ''Jumper'')—''Skippy'' last on the list. A minor editor put his oar in and suggested ''Tiny Tim''. I bristled with ic!--phrase is "bristled at"--> such uncalled-for interference, and... the thought flashed through my mind: '
he title He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
had to be ''Skippy'' and nothing else!'" Following a full-page house ad in the March 15, 1923, issue, ''Skippy'' premiered in ''Life'' and quickly became a success. It became a syndicated comic strip two years later, initially by Johnson Features, Central Press Association and Editors Features Service, before publisher
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 ...
signed Crosby to his
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 ...
. King distributed its first daily ''Skippy'' on October 7, 1926, and its first Sunday on April 1, 1929. Crosby retained the copyright, a rarity for strip artists of the time. The strip focused on Skippy Skinner, a young boy living in the city. Usually wearing an enormous collar and tie and a floppy checked hat, he was an odd mix of mischief and melancholy who might equally be found stealing from the corner fruit stand, failing to master skates or baseball, complaining about the adult world, or staring sadly at an old relative's grave: "And only last year she gave me a tie." The popular strip at one point guaranteed Crosby $2,350 a week,Archive of Nash, Collin. . ''
Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...
'', November 10, 2002. Site last updated 2004-02-13
an enormous sum at the time. Crosby published a ''Skippy'' novel and other books; there were Skippy dolls, toys and comic books. The comic was adapted as the 1931 movie ''Skippy'' by
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
. A hit, it won director
Norman Taurog Norman Rae Taurog (February 23, 1899 – April 7, 1981) was an American film director and screenwriter. From 1920 to 1968, Taurog directed 180 films. At the age of 32, he received the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Skippy'' (1931). He i ...
the
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for Best Director, and boosted the career of young star
Jackie Cooper John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor, television director, producer, and executive, known universally as Jackie Cooper. He was a child actor who made the transition to an adult career. Cooper was the first ...
, who played the title role. From 1928 to 1937, Crosby produced 3,650 ''Skippy'' strips, ten books of fiction, political and philosophical essays, drawings and cartoons, as well as numerous pamphlets, while also mounting a dozen exhibitions in New York City,
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and
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of his oils, watercolors and other paintings and drawings. With its success, he befriended a pantheon of famed creators, including the author
Marc Connelly Marcus Cook Connelly (December 13, 1890 – December 21, 1980) was an American playwright, director, producer, performer, and lyricist. He was a key member of the Algonquin Round Table, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1930. Biogra ...
, the humorist
Robert Benchley Robert Charles Benchley (September 15, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an American humorist best known for his work as a newspaper columnist and film actor. From his beginnings at ''The Harvard Lampoon'' while attending Harvard University, thro ...
, ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' editor
Harold Ross Harold Wallace Ross (November 6, 1892 – December 6, 1951) was an American journalist who co-founded ''The New Yorker'' magazine in 1925 with his wife Jane Grant, and was its editor-in-chief until his death. Early life Born in a prospector's ...
, ''
Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
'' magazine editor and future
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning playwright
Robert E. Sherwood Robert Emmet Sherwood (April 4, 1896 – November 14, 1955) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He is the author of '' Waterloo Bridge, Idiot's Delight, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Rebecca, There Shall Be No Night, The Best Years of Our ...
, and the cartoonists and painters
George McManus George McManus (January 23, 1884 – October 22, 1954) was an American cartoonist best known as the creator of Irish immigrant Jiggs and his wife Maggie, the main characters of his syndicated comic strip, ''Bringing Up Father''. Biography ...
,
H. T. Webster Harold Tucker Webster (September 21, 1885 – September 22, 1952) was an American cartoonist known for '' The Timid Soul'', ''Bridge'', ''Life's Darkest Moments'' and others in his syndicated series which ran from the 1920s into the 1950s. Because ...
and Guy Hoff.Robinson, p. 76


Personal life

Crosby's marriage to Gertrude Volz had become strained during the 1920s, and after a few years of legal separation the two were divorced in 1927. She received custody of Patricia, their only child. Crosby later dated the
torch singer A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affecte ...
and stage-
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
actress
Libby Holman Elizabeth Lloyd Holman (née Holzman; May 23, 1904 – June 18, 1971) was an American socialite, actress, singer, and activist. Early life Elizabeth Lloyd Holzman was born May 23, 1904, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of a lawyer and stockbrok ...
and became friends with such actresses as
Colleen Moore Colleen Moore (born Kathleen Morrison; August 19, 1899 – January 25, 1988) was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era. Moore became one of the most fashionable (and highly-paid) stars of the era and helped po ...
, Elsie James and
Marilyn Miller Marilyn Miller (born Mary Ellen Reynolds; September 1, 1898 – April 7, 1936) was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, and the combination of these ...
.Robinson, p. 77 But during this time, making the rounds of
speakeasies A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...
and
night clubs A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...
, Crosby began developing an
alcohol addiction Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...
. Crosby was a member of several private clubs—the Players Club, the Salamagundi Club, the
Dutch Treat Club The Dutch Treat Club is a society of illustrators, writers and performers based in New York City. Primarily social in nature, the club has had as members such leading literary figures and humorists as Robert Benchley, Rube Goldberg, Robert M. McBr ...
and the Coffee House Club at the Hotel Seymour, where he lived, dining with
George Abbott George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887 – January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades. Early years Abbott was born in Forestville, New Yo ...
,
Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...
,
Ring Lardner Ringgold Wilmer Lardner (March 6, 1885 – September 25, 1933) was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical writings on sports, marriage, and the theatre. His contemporaries Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Wo ...
,
John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...
,
Rube Goldberg Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg (July 4, 1883 – December 7, 1970), known best as Rube Goldberg, was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor. Goldberg is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated gadge ...
,
Heywood Broun Heywood Campbell Broun Jr. (; December 7, 1888 – December 18, 1939) was an American journalist. He worked as a sportswriter, newspaper columnist, and editor in New York City. He founded the American Newspaper Guild, later known as The Newspaper ...
and
Frank Crowninshield Francis Welch Crowninshield (June 24, 1872 – December 28, 1947), better known as Frank or Crownie (''informal''), was an American journalist and art and theater critic best known for developing and editing the magazine '' Vanity Fair'' for 2 ...
. After nights at these clubs, he sometimes would awaken with no recollection of the previous evening. Regardless, Crosby continued to explore numerous creative realms, writing ''Skippy'' prose vignettes for ''Life'' that led to a ''Skippy'' novel for
G. P. Putnam's Sons G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam and J ...
. He fell in love with the secretary assigned to him, Vassar graduate Agnes Dale Locke, and the two were married on April 4, 1929. While on vacation in Europe, Crosby stopped drinking alcohol, becoming a teetotaler for the next seven years.Robinson, p. 79 Weathering the
stock market crash A stock market crash is a sudden dramatic decline of stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especia ...
of that fall, Crosby and his wife moved to
McLean, Virginia McLean ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. McLean is home to many diplomats, military, members of Congress, and high-ranking government officials partially due to its proxim ...
, where Crosby bought an estate called "The Beeches". They later moved to an even larger estate in the area, "Ridgelawn".Robinson, p. 80 The couple would have four children: son Percy Jr., nicknamed Skippy, the eldest, and daughters Barbara, Joan, and Carol, who were, respectively two, three and four years younger. During this time, Crosby
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
ed a firearm that incorporated a pistol in the stock of a rifle. With his wife and an agent handling his business affairs, Crosby oversaw a ''Skippy'' empire that included a
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
show, three novels, a series of 34 posters for
Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...
, and the aforesaid movie and a sequel, ''Sooky''.Robinson, p. 81 To assist him on the ''Skippy'' strip, Crosby hired an old friend, artist Richard Reddy, who continued with him through the end of Crosby's career. In the late 1930s, Crosby began drawing more overtly political and philosophical ''Skippy'' strips. Following his third ''Skippy'' prose-fiction book, the essay collection ''Skippy Rambles'', Crosby began using his writing as primarily a vehicle for his beliefs. His 1931 memoir ''A Cartoonist's Philosophy'' was found to be too polemical for eight publishers, and Crosby published it himself, in a money-losing venture; his future books were all privately published under his own name or Freedom Press, which he founded in 1936. ''Life'' dropped him when Crosby agreed to do humorous cartoons only if the magazine agreed to publish his political work as well; the rival magazine ''
Judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
'' obliged. Of the nine books and pamphlets published from 1932 on, only ''Sports Drawings'' (1933) and the poetry collection ''Rays'' (1937) were not political or philosophical.Robinson, p. 97 Speeches, articles and cartoons would appear as paid ads in the ''
Washington Herald ''The Washington Herald'' was an American daily newspaper in Washington, D.C., from October 8, 1906, to January 31, 1939. History The paper was founded in 1906 by Scott C. Bone, who had been managing editor of ''The Washington Post'' from 1888 ...
'', 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 ...
'', ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' and the ''
New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...
''. Although he had voted for
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
in the 1932 U.S. Presidential election, Crosby opposed Roosevelt's controversial
Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937 The Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937, frequently called the "court-packing plan",Epstein, at 451. was a legislative initiative proposed by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt to add more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court in order ...
. Crosby's vitriolic editorials called the president "crazed for power", and referred to Roosevelt's
Fireside Chat The fireside chats were a series of evening radio addresses given by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, between 1933 and 1944. Roosevelt spoke with familiarity to millions of Americans about recovery from the Great De ...
s as "talking from the Moscow room of the Spite House". He also fired editorial broadsides at the
gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...
Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...
. When the
Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...
brought a tax claim against Crosby and his
corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...
Skippy, Inc., for more than $67,000 in 1937, Crosby—who fought the decision for years, ultimately unsuccessfully—claimed it was in retaliation for his political writing. The previous year, Crosby had begun drinking again, and his behavior became increasingly erratic. His marriage suffered, and after a violent episode in February 1939, Crosby left for
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
for two weeks. When he returned, repentant, his family had decamped, and his wife had filed for divorce. He never again saw his children, then aged five to nine. A devastated Crosby moved back to
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
and eventually entered Presbyterian Hospital for an extended stay for exhaustion and an infection.Robinson, p. 101 There he met nurse Carolyn Soper, whom he took on a first date to the 1939–40 New York World's Fair. The two were married in May 1940, and they honeymooned in
Venice, Florida Venice is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. The city includes what locals call "Venice Island", a portion of the mainland that is accessed via bridges over the artificially created Intracoastal Waterway. The city is located in Sou ...
.Robinson, p. 102 About the same time, a California food packer, Joseph Rosefield, began to sell his newly developed hydrogenated peanut butter, which he labeled " Skippy" without Crosby's permission. Years of expensive litigation followed, which Crosby's heirs have continued into the 2000s. His finances dire due to tax claims, the divorce settlement, legal fees, and
alimony Alimony, also called aliment (Scotland), maintenance (England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Canada, New Zealand), spousal support (U.S., Canada) and spouse maintenance (Australia), is a legal obligation on a person to provide financial suppo ...
, Crosby sold Ridgelawn for a fraction of its value; his farm and other Virginia real-estate were awarded to his second wife. His beloved strip ''Skippy'' suffered; as his biographer,
Jerry Robinson Sherrill David Robinson (January 1, 1922 – December 7, 2011), known as Jerry Robinson, was an American comic book artist known for his work on DC Comics' Batman line of comics during the 1940s. He is best known as the co-creator of Robin and ...
, wrote:


Later years (1945–64)

In his later years, Crosby's
alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...
contributed to the cartoonist being unable to find employment. His wife Carolyn returned to work as a nurse and
dietitian A dietitian, medical dietitian, or dietician is an expert in identifying and treating disease-related malnutrition and in conducting medical nutrition therapy, for example designing an enteral tube feeding regimen or mitigating the effects of ca ...
. Efforts to revive ''Skippy'' went nowhere.Robinson p. 103 In December 1948, Crosby was committed to the psychiatric ward of
Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States b ...
after attempting suicide following the death of his mother. In January 1949, he was transferred to the mental ward at Kings Park Veterans' Hospital, in
Kings Park, New York Kings Park is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Smithtown, New York, Town of Smithtown, in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York (state), New York, United States. The population wa ...
, where he was declared a
paranoid Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy c ...
schizophrenic Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...
. His confinement was authorized by Arthur Soper, an uncle of Crosby's wife. Though he would spend the last 16 years of his life institutionalized, Crosby continued to produce artwork and manuscripts, though no work was published and it is uncertain how much was sent to publishers by the hospital staff, through whom all mail had to be vetted. Carolyn, a
diabetic Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased app ...
whose workday began at 5:30 a.m., was unable to obtain legal counsel or the help of friends to try to secure Crosby's release. Crosby's estranged daughters Barbara and Joan had graduated from
Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...
, and Carol from the
Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...
, without having known of their father's whereabouts; son Skip had become a
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...
. Crosby had received infrequent visits from his two sisters, and from his cartoonist friend
Rube Goldberg Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg (July 4, 1883 – December 7, 1970), known best as Rube Goldberg, was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor. Goldberg is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated gadge ...
.Robinson, p. 134 Carolyn, whose failing health had eventually precluded visits, died November 8, 1949.Robinson, p. 135 On December 8, 1964, after a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
that had left him in a
coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...
for months, Crosby died in the asylum on his 73rd birthday. He was buried in Pine Lawn Veterans' Cemetery on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
.


References

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External links

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Percy Crosby
at the
Lambiek Comiclopedia Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum, ), though since 2007, his son Boris Kousemaker is the current owner. From 1968 to 2015, it was located ...

Archived
October 18, 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Crosby, Percy 1891 births 1964 deaths American comic strip cartoonists American people of English descent American people of Irish descent American people of Scottish descent Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in art competitions Olympic competitors in art competitions People from Brooklyn People from Kings Park, New York People from Richmond Hill, Queens