Robert Thaves (October 5, 1924 – August 1, 2006) was the creator of the

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of 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 terminology#Captio ...

'' Frank and Ernest'', which began in 1972.

Early life

Robert Lee Thaves was born on October 5, 1924, in Burt, Iowa, where his father, John, published local newspapers. His father died when he was 13. Thaves' desire to become a

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 comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

began in his childhood. He had no formal training; instead, he practiced by studying and drawing the works of other cartoonists. He was so skilled he could identify the cartoonist of a

without looking at the

signature A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, Handwriting, handwritt ...

. He attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, where he received both a bachelor's and master's degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

. His cartoons were published in the university humor magazine ''Ski-U-Mah'' and newspaper '' The Minnesota Daily''. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Thaves served in Europe in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

's 89th Infantry Division. He married his wife Katie in 1954, and moved with her to

Manhattan Beach, California Manhattan Beach is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, on the Coastal California, Pacific coast south of El Segundo, California, El Segundo, west of Hawthorne, California, Hawthorne and Redondo Beach, and north ...

three years later. He enrolled in the Ph.D. program at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, but left before completing his degree due to the success of his business career.

Career

While still at college, the first of his cartoons was printed in magazines. He continued to be interested in cartooning, and developed the ''Frank and Ernest'' strip while working as an industrial psychologist, occasionally selling comics to publications such as the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

'', ''

True True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * ...

'', and ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

''. ''Frank and Ernest'' began appearing in magazines as early as the 1960s. It was first nationally syndicated on November 6, 1972. ''Frank and Ernests distributor, United Media, said that the strip was carried by more than 1,300 newspapers and read by 25 million people. It was the first single panel strip to appear in the "panel" format, and the first to use block letters for its dialogue. He also drew the short-lived ''King Baloo'' strip, which ran during the 1980s. Co-created with Scott Stantis, its format was identical to ''Frank and Ernest'', but featured the titular King. His son Tom began collaborating with him on ''Frank and Ernest'' in 1997. The elder Thaves had planned on transitioning his son to take over the strip before his death.

Ginger Rogers quote

In a 1982 ''Frank and Ernest'' comic strip, Thaves wrote about

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

: "Sure he was great, but don't forget that

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

did everything he did, backwards… and in high heels." The officia
Ginger Rogers website
credits Thaves and uses his original line. Often the quote is incorrectly attributed to Faith Whittlesey. Sometimes the quote is attributed to

Ann Richards Dorothy Ann Richards (née Willis; September 1, 1933 – September 13, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995. A Democrat, she first came to national attention as the Texas State Treasurer, ...

, who popularized the line in her 1988 Democratic National Convention speech, paraphrasing it as: "But if you give us a chance, we can perform. After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels," though Richards credited television journalist Linda Ellerbee for giving her the line. Ellerbee said she heard the line from a fellow passenger on an airplane.Keyes, Ralph (2006) The Quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and When. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. p. 77

Awards

He won several awards for ''Frank and Ernest'' including the

National Cartoonist 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 ...

Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for 1983, 1984 and 1986. He won the H.L. Mencken Award for the best cartoon in 1985 and he was selected as "Punster of the Year" in 1990.

Death

Thaves died of

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a r ...

Torrance, California Torrance is a coastal city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the metropolitan ...

at the age of 81.

Tributes

Several comic strips paid tribute to Thaves in the weeks after his death in 2006: '' Candorville'' on August 14; '' Arlo & Janis'' on August 29, and '' Prickly City'' (a strip written by his ''King Baloo'' collaborator Scott Stantis) on September 10.

References

External links

Frank and Ernest's official homepageNCS Awards
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thaves, Bob 1924 births 2006 deaths University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni American comic strip cartoonists American comics writers American comics artists American humorists People from Kossuth County, Iowa People from Manhattan Beach, California United States Army personnel of World War II Deaths from respiratory failure