''Rex Morgan, M.D.'' is an American

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

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 ...

, created May 10, 1948 by psychiatrist Dr.

Nicholas P. Dallis Nicholas Peter Dallis (December 15, 1911 - July 6, 1991), was an American psychiatrist turned comic strip writer, creator of the soap opera-style strips '' Rex Morgan, M.D.'', ''Judge Parker'' and '' Apartment 3-G''. Separating his comics caree ...

under the pseudonym Dal Curtis.

History

The name for the strip was inspired by the real life Rex S. Morgan Sr., the U.S. Army's "chief mortician" and a popular Philadelphia TV personality in the 1960s. The strip's look and content was influenced by the work of

Allen Saunders Allen Saunders (April 24, 1899 – January 28, 1986) was an American writer, journalist and cartoonist who wrote the comic strips '' Steve Roper and Mike Nomad'', ''Mary Worth'' and '' Kerry Drake''. He is credited with being the originator of t ...

and

Ken Ernst Kenneth Frederic Ernst (1918 – August 6, 1985) was a US comic book and comic strip artist. He is most notable for his work on the popular and long-running comic strip ''Mary Worth'' from 1942 to 1985.''Contemporary Graphic Artists'' By Gale Rese ...

on ''

Mary Worth ''Mary Worth'' is an American newspaper comic strip that has had an eight-decade run from 1938. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, this soap opera-style strip influenced several that followed. It was created by writer Allen Saunders and art ...

''. Initially syndicated by

Publishers Syndicate Publishers Newspaper Syndicate was a syndication service based in Chicago that operated from 1925 to 1967, when it merged with the Hall Syndicate. Publishers syndicated such long-lived comic strips as '' Big Chief Wahoo/Steve Roper'', ''Mary Wort ...

and then by

Field Newspaper Syndicate The Field Newspaper Syndicate was a syndication service based in Chicago that operated independently from 1941 to 1984, for a good time under the name the Chicago Sun-Times Syndicate. The service was founded by Marshall Field III and was part of F ...

, ''Rex Morgan, M.D.'' is now at

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 ...

. A 1952 attempt to create a

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

starring

Louis Heyward Louis M. "Deke" Heyward (born Louis Mortimere Horowitz, June 24, 1920 – March 26, 2002) was an American producer and film and television screenwriter. Life and career Born in New York City to Henry Horowitz and Rose Klein, immigrants from ...

was unsuccessful, with the

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

never shown.

Story and characters

The story centers on Dr. Rex Morgan, who in 1948 moves to the fictional small town of Glenwood to take over a late friend's practice. Helping him grapple with a dizzying array of medical problems is his old friend's office manager and nurse, June Gale. Morgan and Gale collaborated in resolving the medical and emotional problems of patients and friends over the years. Among their patients was feisty elder Melissa Clairidge, introduced in 1951. Rex's former classmate Keith Cavell was introduced in 1957 and starred in occasional story lines until he was killed off in 1995. Young Dr. Brice Adam sometimes had a story to himself from 1970 to 1978, for example in a situation which saw him taken hostage by two felons who had

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

. Rex and June married in 1995. They introduced their first child, a daughter named Sarah Ann Morgan, on February 22, 2000. Their second child, Michael Dallis Morgan, was introduced on 29 November 2015, and an adopted child, Johnny, joined the family in 2018. Rex and June now operate their own free clinic. They have a dog named Abbey. The strip has long been praised for its blunt tackling of social issues and taboo subjects, such as drug abuse, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, diabetes, organ transplants, adoption and sexual harassment. The story's constant realism about these issues has led groups such as the Leahy Foundation to use ''Rex Morgan'' as a teaching tool. In the case of the Leahy Foundation, the strip has been used to teach their students about epilepsy at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. Some issues, particularly in the strip's early years, proved too controversial. In 1950, the ''

Newark News The ''Newark Evening News'' was an American newspaper published in Newark, New Jersey. As New Jersey's largest city, Newark played a major role in New Jersey's journalistic history. At its apex, ''The News'' was widely regarded as the newspaper ...

'' refused to run one series in which a nurse tried to euthanize her sick father. The paper wrote that the sequences "dealt with an attempted mercy killing and had no place on this comic page." Dallis claimed he created the strip to inform the general public about medical issues in an entertaining manner. For instance, a continuity from 1970 depicted the plight of an attractive young woman who frequently experienced gaps of "missing time": Morgan diagnosed her as suffering from ''

petit mal Absence seizures are one of several kinds of Generalized epilepsy, generalized seizures. These seizures are sometimes referred to as petit mal seizures (from the French for "little illness", a term dated in the late 18th century). Absence seizure ...

''. In later years, the story plots moved away from medical themes as Rex and June alternated in stories, confronting threats and danger from a variety of malfeasants. A popular story took place in 2006, in which longtime character Dr. Troy Gainer was revealed to be a fraud. Beginning in 2016, artist-writer

Terry Beatty Terry Beatty (born January 11, 1958''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; Page 107) is an artist who has worked as a penciler and inker in the American comic book industry, where he is perhaps best known for his co-creation of the fema ...

often put Rex back in medical settings, either at his clinic or in the hospital. Beatty also had Morgan tackle

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or falsifiability, unfa ...

in the form of a scam perpetrated by recurring

con artist A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have def ...

René Belluso, as discussed in a 2019 interview in

Skeptical Inquirer ''Skeptical Inquirer'' is a bimonthly American general-audience magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) with the subtitle: ''The Magazine for Science and Reason''. Mission statement and goals Daniel Loxton, writing in ...

. In 2019, the strip introduced Marti, a friend of Sarah's with

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

. In January 2022 Belluso returned, threatening a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Sarah (who allegedly committed intellectual theft involving characters Belluso said he created) in a bid to get revenge against Rex for his part in ending Belluso's pseudoscience scam. On the 30th, attorney Barry Stuhr was introduced.

Artists and writers

Dallis died in July 1991. Woody Wilson became the writer. His name appeared in September 1991. From 1948 to 1978, the strip was drawn by Marvin Bradley, with backgrounds by John Frank Edgington. Edgington retired in 1976. Their team was succeeded from 1979 to 1981 by former ''

Terry and the Pirates ''Terry and the Pirates'' is an action-adventure comic strip created by cartoonist Milton Caniff, which originally ran from October 22, 1934, to February 25, 1973. Captain Joseph Patterson, editor for the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate, ...

'' assistant

Frank Springer Frank Springer (December 6, 1929 – April 2, 2009) was an American comics artist best known for Marvel Comics' '' Dazzler'' and '' Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.''. As well, in collaboration with writer Michael O'Donoghue, Springer created one o ...

. Fernando Da Silva briefly took over the strip in 1982, then in 1983

Tony DiPreta Anthony Louis "Tony" DiPreta (July 9, 1921 – June 2, 2010) was an American comic book and comic strip artist active from the 1940s Golden Age of comic books. He was the longtime successor artist of the comic strip ''Joe Palooka'' (1959–84 ...

became the main artist. On 19 June 2000, long-time

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

artist

Graham Nolan Graham Nolan (born March 12, 1962) is an American comic book artist, best known for work for DC Comics on Batman-related titles in the 1990s and his work on ''The Phantom'' Sunday strip. He frequently collaborates with writer Chuck Dixon. Biograp ...

began a 13-year stint. On 30 December 2013,

made his debut as the strip's artist. In spring 2016 Wilson left and Beatty became the writer. Uncredited assistants during the 1970s included

Fran Matera Francis A. "Fran" Matera (December 9, 1924 – March 15, 2012) was an American comic strip artist best known for his King Features Syndicate adventure strip ''Steve Roper and Mike Nomad'' from 1984 to 2004. In addition to his extensive experien ...

Alex Kotzky Alex Kotzky (September 11, 1923 – September 26, 1996) was a cartoonist best known for his three decades of work on the comic strip ''Apartment 3-G'', originally distributed by Publishers Syndicate. Biography Early life and education Born ...

and André LeBlanc. With the changes in artists, the character have been known to change appearance. With Nolan's art first appearing in 2000, a complete overhaul of the characters' physical appearances was seen.

Pop culture references

In ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' episode "

Krusty Gets Kancelled "Krusty Gets Kancelled" is the twenty-second and final episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 13, 1993. In the episode, a new show fea ...

", Homer Simpson is reading the

funny pages A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

and comments, "Ah, ''Rex Morgan, M.D.'', you have the prescription for the daily blues." Cartoonist

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, ...

occasionally drew his syndicated newspaper comic strip ''

Calvin and Hobbes ''Calvin and Hobbes'' is a daily American comic strip created by cartoonist Bill Watterson that was syndicated from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995. Commonly cited as "the last great newspaper comic", ''Calvin and Hobbes'' has enjoyed ...

'' in the realistic style of ''Rex Morgan, M.D.'', when depicting six-year-olds Calvin and Susie playing "house."

References

External links

''Rex Morgan, M.D.'' at King Features
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia 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 ...