Richard Arthur Allan Browne (August 11, 1917 – June 4, 1989) was an American cartoonist, best known for writing and drawing Hägar the Horrible and Hi and Lois.[1]
Dik Browne | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Richard Arthur Allan Browne August 11, 1917 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 4, 1989 (aged 71) Sarasota, Florida, U.S. |
| Education | Cooper Union (attended) |
| Occupation | Cartoonist |
| Notable work | Hägar the Horrible |
| Children | 3, including Chance and Chris |
Early life and education
editDik Browne was born on August 11, 1917, in Manhattan.[2] He attended Cooper Union for a year,[2] then started work at the New York Journal-American as a copy boy. He later worked in the art department, drawing maps and charts.[2]
Career
editIn 1936, photographers and artists were banned from the Lucky Luciano compulsory prostitution trial.[3][4] Browne slipped in undetected, and his courtroom sketches gave the New York Journal-American a news exclusive on the story.[3][4][5][6][7]
During World War II, in 1942, Browne joined the United States Army, and was assigned to draw maps and charts for an Army engineering unit, eventually rising to staff sergeant.[2] In his spare time, he created the comic "Ginny Jeep", a comic strip about the Women's Army Corps, appearing in Army and Air Force newspapers.[8][9]
In the late 1940s, he worked as an illustrator for Newsweek, as well as, for Johnstone & Cushing, an advertising company, where, in 1944, he created the Carmen-Miranda-inspired Miss Chiquita trademark/logo, for Chiquita, and later, the Birds Eye bird, a Campbell's Soup kids redesign, and a Mounds candy bar ad.[10][11]
From 1950 to 1960, he drew The Tracy Twins, a comic strip, for Boys' Life.[2] His work for this strip, and for the Mounds candy bar ad, brought him to the attention of King Features Syndicate.[2]
In 1954, cartoonist Mort Walker, seeing the Mounds candy bar ad,[10] enlisted Browne[10] to co-create the comic strip Hi and Lois, a spin-off of Walker's popular Beetle Bailey strip, featuring Beetle's sister, brother-in-law and their family. Walker wrote the strip, which Browne illustrated until his death. The series is now drawn by his son Chance and written by Walker's sons. In 1973, Browne created Hägar the Horrible about an ill-mannered red-bearded medieval viking. The comic was then produced by his son Chris until 2023. Both strips have been successful, appearing in hundreds of newspapers for decades.[12]
Recognition
editHe got the National Cartoonists Society's Best Humor Strip plaque in 1959, 1960, and 1972, and its Reuben Award as Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year in 1962, for Hi and Lois.[2] He was National Cartoonists Society president in 1963.[2] The National Cartoonists Society gave Browne a second Reuben Award for Hägar the Horrible in 1973, and three more Best-Humor Strip awards in 1977, 1984, and 1986.[2] In 1973, the National Cartoonists Society gave him the Elzie Segar Award.[citation needed]
Personal life
editBrowne and his wife, Joan, had two sons and one daughter. He died of cancer on June 4, 1989, at the age of 71, in Sarasota, Florida.[13][14]
References
edit- ^ "Dik Browne, 71, Cartoonist, Dies". The New York Times. June 5, 1989. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Browne, Dik (1989). Happy Hour. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-515-10225-3.
- ^ a b "'Hi and Lois' artist Browne dies". Tulsa World. AP. June 5, 1989. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
- ^ a b "'Hagar the Horrible' creator dead of cancer at 71". UPI. June 4, 1989. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
- ^ "Dik Browne". lambiek.net. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
- ^ "Charles 'Lucky' Luciano Trial: 1936". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
- ^ Poulsen, Ellen (2007). The Case Against Lucky Luciano: New York's Most Sensational Vice Trial. Clinton Cook. ISBN 978-0-9717200-1-5.
- ^ "Dik Browne, 71, Cartoonist, Dies". The New York Times. June 5, 1989. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
- ^ "Dik Browne Cartoons An inventory of his cartoons". library.syr.edu at Syracuse University. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
- ^ a b c Conradt, Stacy (October 13, 2015). "What Hägar the Horrible and the Chiquita Banana Girl Have in Common". mentalfloss.com. Minute Media. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ "Spotlight On: Dik Browne". National Cartoonists Society. September 9, 2010. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
- ^ "Hagar The Horrible". comicskingdom.com. KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, INC. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ "Chris Browne: Hagar the Horrible artist! INTERVIEW 2/4". March 22, 2011. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2020 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ "Dik Browne; Cartoonist Drew 'Hagar,' 'Hi and Lois'". Los Angeles Times. June 6, 1989. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
Sources
edit- Strickler, Dave. Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index. Cambria, California: Comics Access, 1995. ISBN 0-9700077-0-1
- Social Security Death Index