Harry J. Tuthill
Encyclopedia
Harry J. Tuthill was an American cartoonist best known for his comic strip The Bungle Family.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, he grew up in the tenements and worked as a newsboy, quitting when a tough guy muscled in on his corner. At age 15, he traveled the midwest, finding employment with a foot surgeon, selling baking powder, patented eggbeaters and pictures, plus working as a medicine show barker in a street carnival. As he recalled, he left "to work on and at such things as selling enlarged pictures, soliciting for a corn doctor, and for one delirious season carrying on with a medicine show. I would not mention these things except that I feel what may be a pardonable pride in their diversity."
During his late teens, he settled in St. Louis, Missouri
, where he was employed for $10 a week as a foreman at the St. Louis Dairy, where he washed milk cans for seven years.
By the age of 30, he still had not sold any cartoons. Finding encouragement on his artwork from Bob Grable of World Color Printing
, he worked for the St. Louis Star and then moved to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He took night classes at Washington University, studying engineering and art, and signed on as a full-time cartoonist with the St. Louis Star during World War I, doing a strip titled Lafe about a lazy handyman, and attracting national attention for his editorial cartoons.
. During the six-year run, it introduced George and Josephine Bungle, and he retitled it as The Bungle Family in 1924. Distributed initially by the McClure Syndicate
and later by the McNaught Syndicate
, the strip was carried by 120 newspapers. Comics historian Rick Marschall
praised Tuthill's work, "Seldom has there been a strip (Moon Mullins
comes to mind) registering a sustained, masterful indictment of petite-bourgeois sensibilities and preoccupations as did The Bungle Family."
He also drew Alice and Her Bothersome Little Brother and Napoleon Blunder during the 1920s. Little Brother ran as a topper
strip to The Bungle Family. Tuthill’s strips from 1919 to 1926 were created in his home studio at 4537 Tower Grove Place in St. Louis, eventually moving to Ferguson, Missouri
outside St. Louis. His sister, Irene Morrisson, also lived in the St. Louis area.
Tuthill continued to draw The Bungle Family for McNaught until he had a dispute with the syndicate in 1939, which no longer carried the strip in 1942. After a hiatus, the strip returned May 16, 1943, with newspapers running a promotional banner, "The Bungles Are Back!" The final two years were syndicated by Tuthill himself until 1945 when he retired. He died of heart disease in 1957.
His son, Harold Tuthill, who worked for 47 years as a St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports writer, died of a heart ailment in 1988 at the age of 82.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, he grew up in the tenements and worked as a newsboy, quitting when a tough guy muscled in on his corner. At age 15, he traveled the midwest, finding employment with a foot surgeon, selling baking powder, patented eggbeaters and pictures, plus working as a medicine show barker in a street carnival. As he recalled, he left "to work on and at such things as selling enlarged pictures, soliciting for a corn doctor, and for one delirious season carrying on with a medicine show. I would not mention these things except that I feel what may be a pardonable pride in their diversity."
During his late teens, he settled in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, where he was employed for $10 a week as a foreman at the St. Louis Dairy, where he washed milk cans for seven years.
By the age of 30, he still had not sold any cartoons. Finding encouragement on his artwork from Bob Grable of World Color Printing
World Color Press
World Color Press Inc. was a company which provided high-value and comprehensive print, digital, and related services to businesses worldwide...
, he worked for the St. Louis Star and then moved to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He took night classes at Washington University, studying engineering and art, and signed on as a full-time cartoonist with the St. Louis Star during World War I, doing a strip titled Lafe about a lazy handyman, and attracting national attention for his editorial cartoons.
Comic strips
In 1918, Tuthill launched Home Sweet Home, a strip about apartment life, in the New York Evening MailNew York Evening Mail
The New York Evening Mail was an American daily newspaper published in New York City.The paper was made up of the New York Evening Express, which dated from 1836, and the Daily Advertiser. It was eventually merged with the Evening Telegram, which became the New York World-Telegram in 1927.From New...
. During the six-year run, it introduced George and Josephine Bungle, and he retitled it as The Bungle Family in 1924. Distributed initially 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...
and later by the McNaught Syndicate
McNaught Syndicate
The McNaught Syndicate was an American newspaper syndicate founded in 1922. It was established by Virgil Venice McNitt and Charles V. McAdam. Its best known contents were the columns by Will Rogers and O. O. McIntyre, the Dear Abby letters section and comic strips, including Joe Palooka and...
, the strip was carried by 120 newspapers. Comics historian Rick Marschall
Rick Marschall
Rick Marschall is a writer/editor and comic strip historian, described by Bostonia magazine as "America's foremost authority on pop culture." Marschall has served as an editor for both Marvel and Disney comics, plus several syndicates.Marschall has written and edited more than 62 books on cultural...
praised Tuthill's work, "Seldom has there been a strip (Moon Mullins
Moon Mullins
Moon Mullins, created by cartoonist Frank Willard , was a popular American comic strip which had a long run as both a daily and Sunday feature from June 19, 1923 to June 2, 1991. Syndicated by the Chicago Tribune/New York News Syndicate, the strip depicts the lives of diverse lowbrow characters who...
comes to mind) registering a sustained, masterful indictment of petite-bourgeois sensibilities and preoccupations as did The Bungle Family."
He also drew Alice and Her Bothersome Little Brother and Napoleon Blunder during the 1920s. Little Brother ran as a topper
Topper (comic strip)
A topper in comic strip parlance is a small secondary strip seen along with a larger Sunday strip. In the 1920s and 1930s, leading cartoonists were given full pages in the Sunday comics sections, allowing them to add smaller strips and single-panel cartoons to their page.Toppers usually were drawn...
strip to The Bungle Family. Tuthill’s strips from 1919 to 1926 were created in his home studio at 4537 Tower Grove Place in St. Louis, eventually moving to Ferguson, Missouri
Ferguson, Missouri
Ferguson is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 21,203 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Ferguson is located at ....
outside St. Louis. His sister, Irene Morrisson, also lived in the St. Louis area.
Tuthill continued to draw The Bungle Family for McNaught until he had a dispute with the syndicate in 1939, which no longer carried the strip in 1942. After a hiatus, the strip returned May 16, 1943, with newspapers running a promotional banner, "The Bungles Are Back!" The final two years were syndicated by Tuthill himself until 1945 when he retired. He died of heart disease in 1957.
His son, Harold Tuthill, who worked for 47 years as a St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports writer, died of a heart ailment in 1988 at the age of 82.