Thaddeus Shearer (November 1, 1919 – December 26, 1992)Thaddeus Shearer
at the

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via FamilySearch.org. Retrieved on March 27, 2015
Archived
from the original on march 27, 2015. was an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

advertising art director and cartoonist whose 1970–1986 '' Quincy'' was one of the earliest mainstream

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 to star an African American in the lead role.

Early life and career

Shearer was born in

May Pen, Jamaica May Pen is the capital and largest town in the parish of Clarendon Parish, Jamaica, Clarendon in Middlesex County, Jamaica, Middlesex County, Jamaica. It is located on the Rio Minho river (Jamaica's longest), and is a major market centre for th ...

, to parents Samuel and Sophie (née Parnell), and raised from infancy in the

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

area of

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 ...

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. Note: While TheCartoonists.ca gives 1921, the

gives November 1, 1919. From a young age, his ambition was to produce a comic strip. While attending

DeWitt Clinton High School , motto_translation = Without Work Nothing Is Accomplished , image = DeWitt Clinton High School front entrance IMG 7441 HLG.jpg , seal_image = File:Clinton News.JPG , seal_size = 124px , ...

, he met African-American cartoonist

E. Simms Campbell Elmer Simms Campbell (January 2, 1906 – January 27, 1971) was an American commercial artist best known as the cartoonist who signed his work, E. Simms Campbell. The first African-American cartoonist published in nationally distributed, slick ...

, who became his mentor. At 16, Shearer sold his first cartoon, to the newspaper the ''

New York Amsterdam News The ''Amsterdam News'' (also known as ''New York Amsterdam News'') is a weekly Black-owned newspaper serving New York City. It is one of the oldest newspapers geared toward African Americans in the United States and has published columns by s ...

''. From 1938 to 1940, he studied at night at the

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 ...

, on scholarship. During

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 ...

, Shearer served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

's segregated 92nd Infantry Division, reaching the rank of sergeant, and earning the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

for his position as art director for the division's magazine, ''The Buffalo''. He provided illustrations to the military newspaper '' Stars and Stripes'' and contributed comics about military life to the newspaper syndication service Continental Features. After the war, he began doing illustrations for magazines including ''

The Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...

'' and ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'', as well as ''Our World'' and ''

Collier's ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Collie ...

'', and in newspapers including the ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...

''. From 1946 to 1947, he studied art at the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

Advertising and comic-strip career

Through Continental Features, Shearer syndicated two one-panel comics, ''Around

'', about teens and young adults in that Manhattan neighborhood, and the family-centered ''Next Door''. After those strips were discontinued in the 1950s, Shearer joined the New York City advertising agency

BBDO BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The agency originated in 1891 with the George Batten Company, and in 1928, through a merger with Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BDO), the agency became Batten, B ...

, where he served as an art director for 15 years, winning five awards. During this time, he sold single-panel gag cartoons to

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 ...

's ''

Laff-a-Day ''Laff-a-Day'' is a daily gag cartoon panel distributed to newspapers by King Features Syndicate from 1936 to 1998. The cartoonists included Frank Beaven, Henry Boltinoff, Dave Breger, Bo Brown, Orlando Busino, George Gately, Martin Giuffre, Al ...

'' feature. After a chance commuter-train meeting with King Features artist Bill Gilmartin, to whom Shearer showed some of his work and noted that his cartoons had been published in major magazines, an impressed Gilmartin brought Shearer's work to wider attention at the syndicate. Through King Features, Shearer launched the comic strip ''Quincy'', starring an

elementary-school boy being raised by his grandmother in Harlem. It debuted on June 13 or June 17, 1970 (sources differ). Upon launching the comic strip, Shearer left BBDO. The strip ended with Shearer's retirement in 1986. Cartoon historian Bill Crouch, Jr. wrote that Shearer Another comics historian,

Don Markstein 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 Toonop ...

, said the strip "wasn't preachy, the way pioneers of this type often wear their virtue on their sleeves. ... Shearer's characters were identifiably minorities in lifestyle as well as skin tones, and often derived gags from the fact, but weren't vocal advocates of change. Mostly, they were just a bunch of kids who got along together and didn't give much thought to their racial identity." With his photojournalist son John Shearer as writer, Ted Shearer illustrated the book series ''Billy Jo Jive'', which became the basis for animated segments on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

children's education program ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

'', and for an animated feature, ''Billy Jo Jive Super Private Eye'', produced by Shearer Visuals in 1979. Late in life, Shearer exhibited as a painter in numerous shows.

Personal life

In 1945, Shearer married Phyllis Wildman, an attorney and, later, a deputy commissioner of social services for

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

. The couple had a son, John Shearer (who would also go on to become a photographer), and a daughter, Kathleen. Shearer was a founding member of the African-American professionals civic group the Westchester Clubmen, and was a member of the

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

and the

Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...

. Shearer, who lived in

Pound Ridge, New York Pound Ridge is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 5,104 at the 2010 census. The town is located toward the eastern end of the county, bordered to the north and east by the town of Lewisboro, by Stamford, Conn ...

, died of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

Northern Westchester Hospital Northern Westchester Hospital (NWH), now known as Northwell Health, is a not-for-profit, 245-bed, all-private-room facility in Mount Kisco, New York. Founded in 1916, it serves residents of Northern Westchester, Putnam County and southern Du ...

Mount Kisco, New York Mount Kisco is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village and Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The town of Mount Kisco is coterminous municipality, coterminous with the vil ...

Bibliography

As illustrator; children's chapter books written by John Shearer *''Billy Jo Jive, Super Private Eye: The Case of the Missing Ten Speed Bike'' (Yearling, 1978) *''Billy Jo Jive and the Case of the Missing Pigeons'' (Delacorte Press, 1978) *''Billy Jo Jive, Super Private Eye: The Case of the Sneaker Snatcher'' (Dell Publishing, 1979) *''Billy Jo Jive and the Case of the Midnight Voices'' (Delacorte Press, 1982) *''Billy Jo Jive and the Walkie-Talkie Caper'' (Dell Publishing, 1984)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shearer, Ted 1919 births 1992 deaths African-American comics creators American comics creators African Americans in New York (state) American comics artists American comic strip cartoonists Jamaican emigrants to the United States People from Clarendon Parish, Jamaica Artists from Harlem People from Mount Kisco, New York Military personnel from New York City DeWitt Clinton High School alumni 20th-century African-American people