Wallace Bond Bishop (August 17, 1905 - January 15, 1982),
better known as Wally Bishop, was an American cartoonist who drew his syndicated ''
Muggs and Skeeter
''Muggs and Skeeter'' was an American gag-a-day daily comic strip by Wally Bishop which ran from 1927 to 1974. Originally titled ''Muggs McGinnis'', it was syndicated by the Central Press Association and then King Features Syndicate.
Publicati ...
''
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 ...
for 47 years.
Biography
Born in
Normal, Illinois
Normal is a town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 52,736. Normal is the smaller of two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, and Illinois' seventh most ...
, he grew up in
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...
, where he spent a summer working as a newspaper copy boy. He studied at the
American Academy of Art
The American Academy of Art College is a private art school in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1923 for the education of fine and commercial arts students.
The school's Bill L. Parks Gallery is open to the public and features exhibitions ...
in Chicago. He was awarded a contract with
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 ...
at age 19.
[UPI]
"Wallace B. BISHOP, CARTOONIST OF 'MUGGS AND SKEETER' STRIP,"
''New York Times'' (JAN. 18, 1982).
In 1927, influenced by ''
The Gumps
''The Gumps'' is a comic strip about a middle-class family. It was created by Sidney Smith in 1917, launching a 42-year run in newspapers from February 12, 1917, until October 17, 1959.
According to a 1937 issue of ''Life'', ''The Gumps'' was i ...
'' creator
Sidney Smith (who also lived in Bloomington), Bishop began his comic strip ''
Muggs McGinnis'' (distributed by the
Central Press Association
The Central Press Association was American newspaper syndication company based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was in business from 1910 to 1971. Originally independent, it was a subsidiary of King Features Syndicate from 1930 onwards. At its peak, the ...
) at the age of 22. In 1928, he visited
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...
, and he later moved there from New York. He married Louise Carson in
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...
, in 1936, the same year his strip was retitled ''Muggs and Skeeter''.
[Wally Bishop]
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 ...
. (Syndication of the strip was eventually taken over by
King Features
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, editorial c ...
.)
In 1938, the Bishops bought and restored St. Petersburg developer
C. Perry Snell's historic Italianate villa at 375 Brightwaters Boulevard in St. Petersburg. Their nearby neighbor was cartoonist
Billy DeBeck
William Morgan DeBeck (April 15, 1890 – November 11, 1942), better known as Billy DeBeck, was an American cartoonist. He is most famous as the creator of the comic strip ''Barney Google'', later retitled ''Barney Google and Snuffy Smith'' ...
, who lived within walking distance at 321 Brightwaters Boulevard on Coffee Pot Bayou.
[Reynolds, Moira Davidson. ''Comic Strip Artists in American Newspapers, 1945-1980''. McFarland, 2003.]
/ref>[
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 ...
, Bishop was a Coast Guard pilot, and he later transferred to the Navy, serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters, leaving the service as a lieutenant commander.[
Bishop sometimes performed as a drummer. He also emceed charity and benefit shows and gave ]chalk talks
A chalk talk is an illustrated performance in which the speaker draws pictures to emphasize lecture points and create a memorable and entertaining experience for listeners. Chalk talks differ from other types of illustrated talks in their use of r ...
.[Wally & Louise Bishop Center for Ethical Leadership]
/ref>
Bishop was a fellow of London's Royal Academy of Arts
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...
. He helped found the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts, 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 Sigma Delta Chi
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 ...
.
Death and family
He died in 1982. Louise Bishop died in August 2005. Their daughter, Mary Joan Mann, grew up in the Brightwaters house, where she and Sam Mann Jr. had their wedding reception in 1948. A distinctive St. Petersburg landmark, the house sold for $5.1 million in 2006.[Park, Mary Jane. "Nothing to Rumble About". ''St. Petersburg Times'', October 15, 2006.]
/ref>
Archives
A collection of 450 ''Mugs and Skeeter'' original art strips of Bishop's are housed at University of South Florida St. Petersburg
The University of South Florida St. Petersburg is a campus of the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg, Florida. Opened in 1965 as a satellite campus of the University of South Florida, it was consolidated with the other two USF campus ...
in the Special Collections and University Archives of the Nelson Poynter
Nelson Poynter (1903–1978) was an American publisher and media proprietor. He was the owner of the Times Publishing Company, and the co-founder of the ''Congressional Quarterly''. He is the namesake of the Poynter Institute.
Early life
Poynter ...
Memorial Library.
References
External links
Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Art Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop, Wally
1905 births
1982 deaths
American comic strip cartoonists