''Grandma'' is a comic strip by Charles Kuhn that ran from April 14, 1947 to June 28, 1969. He usually signed the strip "Chas. Kuhn".

Publication history

''Grandma'' began April 14, 1947. It was originally distributed by Duke Richardson's Indianapolis-based syndicate, Richardson Feature Service. A year later, ''Grandma'' was picked up by King Features Syndicate, which distributed it from June 28, 1948, until June 28, 1969. The

Sunday page 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 ...

began November 20, 1949. Kuhn used it to introduce an innovative, interactive device; a single panel in the middle tier was displayed minus colors, so that young readers could use crayons to complete the coloring. It was captioned "Color this one, kids!" or "Here's one to color, kids!"''Grandma''
at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Archived
from the original on August 29, 2016. By 1952, the strip ran internationally in 240 newspapers.

Characters and story

The strip depicted humorous events in the life of a friendly, fun-loving woman known to her friends and neighbors only as Grandma. As 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 Toonopedi ...

described the character: :Grandma was known by no other name, to children and grownups alike, despite the fact that she gave no evidence of having actual progeny of her own. Like the much earlier '' Lady Bountiful'', she palled around day in and day out with the neighborhood kids; but unlike her, Grandma wasn't interested in improving them. She was just having fun. Otherwise, she kept busy around the house, but of course, the household chores included a lot of baking. Kuhn derived much of her character from his own mother, who, in her dotage by most standards, was always ready to dress up, sing, and even dance a jig to help out a small theatrical production put on by her friends, the children of the neighborhood. Kuhn sometimes used ''Grandma'' to publicize Goodwill Industries in Indianapolis. He was so totally absorbed by and devoted to his strip that when he was asked about hobbies, he answered, "''Grandma'' and creating toys for the kids." Toys belonging to the neighborhood kids were also a key topic in many ''Grandma'' strips; she sometimes reverted to a second childhood and played with the toys herself. Kuhn's other main interest was fishing.''Indiana Evening Gazette'' (Indiana, Pennsylvania), September 29, 1950.
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Awards

At the 1958 Chicago convention of the Grandmothers Club of America, Charles and Lois Kuhn were named Foster Grandparents of the Year. In addition to a plaque from the National Grandmother and Grandfather awards committee, actress

Jane Darwell Jane Darwell (born Patti Woodard; October 15, 1879 – August 13, 1967) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. With appearances in more than 100 major movies spanning half a century, Darwell is perhaps best remembered for her p ...

presented the Kuhns with their awards: miniature gold rocking chairs with red plush seats.''The Denton Record-Chronicle'', October 23, 1958.
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References

External links

{{King Features Syndicate Comics 1947 comics debuts 1969 comics endings American comics characters American comic strips Comics about women Comics characters introduced in 1947 Female characters in comics Gag-a-day comics Works about old age