Roger Petersen, a friend and fellow cartoonist, told me that whenever he tells people in the neighborhood what he does, quite often they bring up Bil Keane’s name. Since you are holding a newspaper in your hand while reading this, I assume you come from a generation that appreciated the value of the printed newspaper, and hopefully the funny pages too. If you do remember a time when printed comics were widely read and treasured, you probably know Bil Keane’s work. Keane was most widely known for his daily comic strip, “Family Circus”. It’s the single panel comic about the safest family in America starring the kids Billy, Jeffy, Dolly and PJ. Instead of being laid out in square blocks like most comics, Family Circus’ panel is circular.
Sadly, Bil passed away in early November. I should state early on that this article is in no way intended to eulogize Bil Keane. There are a lot of articles in national press where you can read about his career and long list of accomplishments. Instead, I just wanted to give some insight into the Bil Keane I knew, a man who went out of his way to help a young snot-nosed cartoonist when he really didn’t have to.
I met Bil Keane first by mail when I was a student at North Catholic. The reason so many people bring up Bil’s name to Rog is because there are so many N.C. graduates in the neighborhoods where Roger lives and hangs out. Keane was definitely one of North’s most famous graduates. He graduated in 1940, and his art hung all over the school when I was there. My grandfather was not really into comics, or any visual art for that matter. However, I have distinct memories of him pointing out “N.C.” and “Falcons” pennants in the Family Circus comic panels when Bil would draw one of the children’s bedrooms.
During my junior year, I was feeling pretty confident writing and drawing for North’s paper, “The Good News”. Throughout my high school years, the school paper gave me that first taste of seeing my work in print. It was a great thrill. I was amazed at the amount of people my work could reach, that it could travel beyond my sketch tablet or the refrigerator door. Albin Dixon, the paper’s moderator, often showed off the collection of hardbound Good News issues from the 1920’s through the 1950’s. Back in the day, the Good News wasn’t a four or eight page paper. It was a deluxe magazine that the students worked on like a part-time job. Bil Keane (back then he spelled Bill with two l’s) illustrated a whole slew of covers that were really great. He also did a lot of spot illustrations. I was inspired after studying those collections, amazed that this work was around after so many years to be studied by students generations later. I asked Mr. Dixon if I could interview Bil for the school paper. After haggling with Father Simon to give me Bil’s mailing address, I sent a list of questions to Bil about his time at North Catholic and his cartooning career.
I was ecstatic a few weeks later when a reply arrived on Bil’s personalized stationary. He wrote a cover letter to me in a giant word balloon, and answered all my questions on the paper I provided. Mr. Dixon was impressed with the fact that he wrote me back because Father Simon said Bil a private person. I am not sure if any of my classmates even read or remember the interview, but that was one of those momentous occasions that changed my life. I felt like I was part of the club. One great thing about most cartoonists is that they do this work that reaches so many people, yet they are a breed that tend not to take themselves too seriously. I learned through this first point of personal contact that I could approach cartoonists for career advice and sometimes even technical advice. Most of the time, they have been happy to oblige. Later in the school year, along with North teacher Mr. FitzSimmons and fellow art students Marvin Bowe and Sean Osborne, I was invited to Bil’s induction into the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Hall of Fame. It was great for city kids like us to see that you could really make it big if you worked really hard. It gave me a lot of incentive seeing Bil up at that podium. Plus I got to see something that Joe Walker would later testify to. Joe graduated North two years after Bil, and he often speaks of Bil as a great emcee. Joe says that Bil Keane was a very funny public speaker. I got to see that in action when he gave his acceptance speech. Bil was like a vaudeville comedian. He reminded me of a cross between Groucho Marx and Sid Caesar.
Over the years, we kept in touch through mail. I would send copies of whatever art I was working on. He would send me back encouraging letters, always written in giant word balloons. As I went through my “angry young man” college years, I would even tease him a bit by redrawing his characters saying sarcastic or subversive things. Once I draw little Jeffy trailing the dotted line you often see Billy trailing behind him in the Sunday strips, except I made it like it was a trail of dog dirt and Jeffy was saying, “Geez! What did I tread in?!?!” I think I may have hurt Bil’s feelings with that one, because he responded with a somewhat ribbing of his own, stating, “With your biting wit and aggression, you have the makings of a great editorial cartoonist.” Even his insults were encouraging.
As I got out of college, my youth and anger subsided and I really started to take cartooning seriously. Bil’s son Glen was one of the head animators at Disney. Bil was kind enough to fast track my work right to Glen’s office instead of making me hurdle the proper channels. I got a rejection letter shortly after because I didn’t have enough quick sketches. But still, it was awesome that Bil did that for me.
When we started the Philadelphia Cartoonist Society in 1997, we gave Bil and local editorial cartoonist Sam Joyner our first awards of appreciation. Keane always responded graciously, encouraging our efforts. That is why I thanked him in the back of my first book, Petey. That is also why I have often signed some of my indie comics “Jef” with one f in tribute.
As I became a teacher at North Catholic, I always made sure to keep in touch with Bil. My last contact was letting him know we were naming North’s art room after him. Unfortunately, news of the school’s closing came soon after. We never even had the opportunity to have a reception or hang a commemorative plaque. Still, Bil was thankful and sent a really nice letter to fellow art teacher Shannon Gallagher and I, thanking us.
You may or may not know that I can actually be a deeply sarcastic and mean person at times. I am no stranger to the fact that Bil’s Family Circus panels no longer define the family values of this beaten down and cynical generation. I realize that a lot of people make fun of Bil’s work. When I was at Kutztown, the radio station zine had dozens of Family Circus strips with the captions switched with satirical and sometimes disgusting replacement text. Through the years, even as I have told other cartoonists about my pen pal friendship with Bil, some have rolled their eyes or even laughed. Following his passing, the Onion, a paper I love, took shots at him because his work is so clean and idealistic, stating, “The strip is revealed to take place in an alternate universe where Dwight Eisenhower has been elected president 11 times.” Being a man with a sharp sense of humor, I think Bil would have laughed at that send up.
I believe Bil Keane’s cartooning was something he looked at as his service to God and society. It was clean and wholesome because that’s how he wanted to see the world – from the time he started the strip until he passed away. I think Bil understood that Family Circus was seen by many, and he was doing his best to influence people in the most loving and positive way he could. I know in this society, where we live in a constant state of deep dark fear, that brand of work is not exactly fashionable anymore. But that’s why I applaud Bil Keane for “sticking to his guns,” so to speak. The strip continues to be printed and syndicated, and is being drawn by Bil’s son Jeff even after his passing. So somewhere, a lot of other people want to see the world that way too.
Tracking my memories of Bil has made me think about my own cartoons and why I make them. I am not a person that thinks an artist has a duty to try and change the world with their work. To be honest, thinking of cartoonists as role models frightens me. However, for me personally, I like the idea of using cartoons to do something positive, even in the smallest way – like making someone laugh or smile. So I guess I owe Mr. Keane a lot more than I ever realized. Say what you want about Bil Keane, my world is a lot worse without him.
