Bell Syndicate
Encyclopedia
The Bell Syndicate, launched in 1916 by editor-publisher John Neville Wheeler
, was an American syndicate which distributed columns, fiction, feature articles and comic strip
s to newspapers for decades. It was located in New York at 247 West 43rd Street and later at 229 West 43rd Street.
In 1913, while working as a sportswriter for the New York Herald
, Wheeler formed the Wheeler Syndicate to specialize in distribution of sports features to newspapers in the United States and Canada
. That same year his Wheeler Syndicate contracted with pioneering comic strip artist Bud Fisher
and cartoonist Fontaine Fox
to begin distributing their work.
Journalist Richard Harding Davis
was sent to Belgium as war correspondent and reported on early battlefield actions, as the Wheeler Syndicate became a comprehensive news collection and distribution operation. In 1916, it was purchased by the McClure Syndicate
, the oldest and largest news and feature syndicate in America.
Immediately upon the sale of the Wheeler Syndicate to McClure, Wheeler founded the Bell Syndicate, which soon attracted Fisher, Fox and other cartoonists. Ring Lardner
began writing a sports column for Bell in 1919. In 1924, Wheeler became executive editor of Liberty and served in that capacity while continuing to run Bell Syndicate.
In 1930, he became general manager of North American Newspaper Alliance
, established in 1922 by 50 major newspapers in the United States and Canada which absorbed Bell, both continuing to operate individually under joint ownership. NANA continued to acquire other syndicates, including the McClure Syndicate.
Film critic Mordaunt Hall
was a Bell copy editor, and he also contributed articles. Drew Pearson
's "Washington-Merry-Go-Round" column was carried in 600 newspapers. The liberal Washington columnist Doris Fleeson wrote a daily Bell political column from 1945 to 1954.
John Neville Wheeler
John Neville "Jack" Wheeler was an American newspaperman, publishing executive, magazine editor, and author. He was born in Yonkers, New York, graduated Columbia University , was a veteran of World War I serving in France as a field artillery lieutenant, began his newspaper career at the New York...
, was an American syndicate which distributed columns, fiction, feature articles and comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
s to newspapers for decades. It was located in New York at 247 West 43rd Street and later at 229 West 43rd Street.
In 1913, while working as a sportswriter for the New York Herald
New York Herald
The New York Herald was a large distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835, and 1924.-History:The first issue of the paper was published by James Gordon Bennett, Sr., on May 6, 1835. By 1845 it was the most popular and profitable daily newspaper in the UnitedStates...
, Wheeler formed the Wheeler Syndicate to specialize in distribution of sports features to newspapers in the United States and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. That same year his Wheeler Syndicate contracted with pioneering comic strip artist Bud Fisher
Bud Fisher
Harry Conway "Bud" Fisher was an American cartoonist who created Mutt and Jeff, the first successful daily comic strip in the United States....
and cartoonist Fontaine Fox
Fontaine Fox
Fontaine Talbot Fox Jr. was an American cartoonist and illustrator born near Louisville, Kentucky.Fox is best known for writing and illustrating his Toonerville Folks comic panel. It ran from 1913 to 1955 in 250 to 300 newspapers across North America.The cartoons are set in the small town of...
to begin distributing their work.
Journalist Richard Harding Davis
Richard Harding Davis
Richard Harding Davis was a journalist and writer of fiction and drama, known foremost as the first American war correspondent to cover the Spanish-American War, the Second Boer War, and the First World War. His writing greatly assisted the political career of Theodore Roosevelt and he also played...
was sent to Belgium as war correspondent and reported on early battlefield actions, as the Wheeler Syndicate became a comprehensive news collection and distribution operation. In 1916, it was purchased by the McClure Syndicate
McClure Syndicate
McClure Syndicate , the first American newspaper syndicate, introduced many American and British writers to the masses. Launched in 1884 by publisher Samuel S. McClure, it was the first successful company of its kind...
, the oldest and largest news and feature syndicate in America.
Immediately upon the sale of the Wheeler Syndicate to McClure, Wheeler founded the Bell Syndicate, which soon attracted Fisher, Fox and other cartoonists. Ring Lardner
Ring Lardner
Ringgold Wilmer Lardner was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical takes on the sports world, marriage, and the theatre.-Personal life:...
began writing a sports column for Bell in 1919. In 1924, Wheeler became executive editor of Liberty and served in that capacity while continuing to run Bell Syndicate.
In 1930, he became general manager of North American Newspaper Alliance
North American Newspaper Alliance
The North American Newspaper Alliance was a large newspaper syndicate that flourished between 1922 and 1980.Founded by John Neville Wheeler, NANA employed some of the most noted writing talents of its time, including Grantland Rice, Joseph Alsop, Michael Stern, Lothrop Stoddard, Dorothy Thompson,...
, established in 1922 by 50 major newspapers in the United States and Canada which absorbed Bell, both continuing to operate individually under joint ownership. NANA continued to acquire other syndicates, including the McClure Syndicate.
Comic strips
Comic strips distributed by the Bell Syndicate:- Bobby ThatcherBobby ThatcherBobby Thatcher was an American newspaper adventure comic strip created by the cartoonist George Storm . The central character's name was "Bobbie" in early episodes....
- George Storm - BullwinkleBullwinkle J. MooseBullwinkle J. Moose is a fictional character in the 1959–1964 animated television series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show, often collectively referred to as Rocky and Bullwinkle, produced by Jay Ward and Bill Scott...
- Al Kilgore - Cicero's Cat - Bud FisherBud FisherHarry Conway "Bud" Fisher was an American cartoonist who created Mutt and Jeff, the first successful daily comic strip in the United States....
- Don Winslow of the Navy - Ken ErnstKen ErnstKenneth Ernst , known professionally as Ken Ernst, was an 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. With his realistic style, uncommon in those early years, Ernst paved the way for soap opera...
- Flyin' JennyFlyin' JennyFlyin' Jenny was an aviation adventure comic strip created by illustrator Russell Keaton and distributed to newspapers by Bell Syndicate. Launched in October 1939, Flyin' Jenny was published both as a daily and Sunday strip, each running a separate storyline.-Characters and story:Initially a test...
- Russell Keaton - FunnymanFunnyman (comics)Funnyman is a fictional comic book character whose adventures were published in 1948 by Magazine Enterprises.-Publication history:After leaving DC Comics and suing that company in a dispute over the rights to Superman, the character's co-creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, rejoined their former...
- Jerry SiegelJerry SiegelJerome "Jerry" Siegel , who also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter, Jerry Ess, and Herbert S...
and Joe ShusterJoe ShusterJoseph "Joe" Shuster was a Canadian-born American comic book artist. He was best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with writer Jerry Siegel, first published in Action Comics #1... - Hambone's Meditations - J. P. AlleyCal AlleyCal Alley was the editorial cartoonist for The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tennessee from 1945 until 1970.-Hambone's Meditations:...
- Life’s Like ThatLife’s Like ThatLife’s Like That was a gag panel by Fred Neher which found humor in life's foibles. Spanning five decades, the series was initially distributed by the Bell Syndicate and later by Consolidated News Features and the United Features Syndicate....
- Fred NeherFred NeherFred Neher was an American cartoonist best known for his syndicated gag panel, Life’s Like That, which offered a humorous look at human nature, with a focus on American society and family life, for more than five decades.... - Looie the Lawyer - Martin BrannerMartin BrannerMartin Michael Branner , known to his friends as Mike Branner, was a cartoonist who created the popular comic strip Winnie Winkle...
- Miss Fury - Tarpe MillsTarpe MillsTarpé Mills was the pseudonym of comic book creator June Mills, one of the first major female comics artists. She is best known for her action comic strip, Miss Fury, the first female action hero created by a woman....
- Mutt and JeffMutt and JeffMutt and Jeff was a long-popular American newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist Bud Fisher in 1907 about "two mismatched tinhorns." It is commonly regarded as the first daily comic strip. The concept of a newspaper strip featuring recurring characters in multiple panels on a six-day-a-week...
- Bud Fisher - Tailspin TommyTailspin TommyTailspin Tommy was an air adventure comic strip about a youthful pilot, "Tailspin" Tommy Tompkins. Originally illustrated by Hal Forrest and initially distributed by John Wheeler's Bell Syndicate and then by United Feature Syndicate, the strip had a 14-year run from 1928 to 1942.In the wake of...
- Hal ForrestHal ForrestHal Forrest was an American comic strip artist best known for the his work on Tailspin Tommy.Forrest was born July 22, 1895, in Philadelphia. When he was 16, he drew a comic strip, Percy the Boy Scout, for the Philadelphia Telegraph, and a year later he became the youngest scoutmaster in the... - Reg'lar FellersReg'lar FellersReg'lar Fellers was a long-run newspaper comic strip adapted into a feature film, a radio series on NBC and an animated cartoon. Created by Gene Byrnes , the comic strip offered a humorous look at a gang of suburban children...
- Gene ByrnesGene ByrnesEugene Francis Byrnes created the long running comic strip Reg'lar Fellers, which he signed Gene Byrnes... - S'Matter, Pop? - C. M. PayneC. M. PayneCharles M. Payne was an American cartoonist best known for his popular long-run comic strip S'Matter, Pop? He signed his work C. M. Payne and also adopted the nickname Popsy....
- You Know Me AlYou Know Me AlYou Know Me Al is a book by Ring Lardner, and, after, a nationally-syndicated comic strip which Lardner scripted, drawn by Will B. Johnstone and Dick Dorgan...
- Ring LardnerRing LardnerRinggold Wilmer Lardner was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical takes on the sports world, marriage, and the theatre.-Personal life:...
Writers and columnists
Kathleen Caesar was the Bell Syndicate's editor. Henry M. Snevily was the firm's president with Joseph P. Agnelli as executive vice-president and general manager. His wife, Muriel Agnelli, wrote the "Dorothy Dix" advice column; it ran in 160 newspapers, and in 20 newspapers it appeared under the byline Muriel Nissen, her maiden name. Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer wrote the Dorothy Dix advice column until her death in 1951, when Muriel Agnelli took over. Born in Manhattan, Muriel Agnelli attended Hunter College and also studied journalism and psychology at Columbia University. After marrying in 1929, she began editing Bell's four-page children's tabloid, the "Sunshine Club", and she later wrote a column about stamps and stamp collecting.Film critic Mordaunt Hall
Mordaunt Hall
Mordaunt Hall was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for The New York Times, from October 1924 to September 1934....
was a Bell copy editor, and he also contributed articles. Drew Pearson
Drew Pearson (journalist)
Andrew Russell Pearson , known professionally as Drew Pearson, was one of the best-known American columnists of his day, noted for his muckraking syndicated newspaper column "Washington Merry-Go-Round," in which he attacked various public persons, sometimes with little or no objective proof for his...
's "Washington-Merry-Go-Round" column was carried in 600 newspapers. The liberal Washington columnist Doris Fleeson wrote a daily Bell political column from 1945 to 1954.
See also
- List of comic strip syndicates
- Comic strip syndication