Mr. O'Malley was a character in 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 ...

'' Barnaby'', by

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 ...

Crockett Johnson Crockett Johnson (October 20, 1906 – July 11, 1975) was the pen name of the American cartoonist and children's book illustrator David Johnson Leisk. He is best known for the comic strip ''Barnaby (comics), Barnaby'' (1942–1952) and the ''Harol ...

. He was the fairy godfather of five-year-old Barnaby. Jackeen J. O'Malley first appeared in response to Barnaby's wish for a fairy godmother. He was a , cigar smoking man with an overcoat and four tiny pink wings, and was a member of the Elves, Leprechauns, Gnomes, and Little Men's Chowder & Marching Society. His

magic wand A wand is a thin, light-weight rod that is held with one hand, and is traditionally made of wood, but may also be made of other materials, such as metal, bone or stone. Long versions of wands are often styled in forms of staves or sceptres, whi ...

was the stub of his half-smoked

Havana cigar Habanos S.A. is a Cuban manufacturing company of tobacco that controls the promotion, distribution, and export of premium cigars and other tobacco products for Cuba worldwide. It was established in 1994. Ownership of Habanos S.A. is split equall ...

. Mr. O'Malley's conceit was matched only by his inability to grant the simplest childhood request, and his misguided attempts never failed to get Barnaby into hot water. Mr. O'Malley was a comic strip original, though in appearance he had a passing resemblance to W.C. Fields. "Cushlamochree" (from the Irish ''cuisle mo chroí'', "beat of my heart") was his signature cry when shocked by the inevitable down-turn of events in response to his ineffectual meddling in Barnaby's affairs. Throughout the course of his comic career Mr. O'Malley stumbled his way into the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

and became a

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

tycoon.

Other media

"Barnaby and Mr. O'Malley", a 1946

stage play A play is a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than mere reading. The creator of a play is known as a playwright. Plays are staged at various levels, ranging ...

based on the comic, featured J. M. Kerrigan as O'Malley. The play was unsuccessful, completing only four performances before it "closed for repairs", never to return. The play was later adapted into a 1959 episode of

General Electric Theater ''General Electric Theater'' is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations. Radio After an audition show ...

, starring

Bert Lahr Irving Lahrheim (August 13, 1895 – December 4, 1967), known professionally as Bert Lahr, was an American stage and screen actor and comedian. He was best known for his role as the Cowardly Lion, as well as his counterpart Kansas farmworker "Z ...

as O'Malley. Many of the original comic strips were republished in three volumes of paperback books.

References

Barnaby (comic strip) Fictional fairies Comics characters who use magic Male characters in comics {{Comics-char-stub