Merrill Blosser
Encyclopedia
Merrill Blosser was the creator of the comic strip
Freckles and His Friends
, which had a long run (1915–71). Although his strip was set in the small town of Shadyside, it was obviously based on Blosser's hometown of Nappanee, Indiana
, since Blosser often referenced real Nappanee locations, such as Johnson's Drug Store. Nappanee holds the distinction of having the longest city name in the United States containing each letter in its name twice, and six successful cartoonists lived in Nappanee as children, including Fred Neher
(Life’s Like That
) and Bill Holman
(Smokey Stover
).
Growing up in Nappanee, where he was born, Blosser was encouraged by his parents to take drawing lessons, and he signed up for Charles N. Landon
's correspondence course. When Blosser was 12 years old, National Magazine held a writing competition, and he was a winner with his essay, "The Best Way to Spend $300." The prize was a trip to Washington, D.C.
Touring the city, the prizewinners were taken to the White House to meet President Theodore Roosevelt
. Lagging behind, Blosser drew a sketch of Roosevelt which prompted the President to exclaim, "Bully!" He then kept Blosser with him for half a day, advising him to continue in the field of art. Expelled from high school after he displayed caricatures of the high school faculty, including a drawing of the school principal as Satan, Blosser described the suspension as "the best break I ever had."
While attending Blue Ridge College in Union Bridge, Maryland
in 1911, Blosser sold drawings to the Frederick News in Frederick, Maryland
. When he was 20, he quit school after selling a cartoon to the Baltimore American
in 1912. Blosser studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. He did cartoons for Chicago's Motor-Cycling magazine and magazines at the Denton Publishing Company in Cleveland, and he also drew political cartoons for the Wheeling Register and the The Plain Dealer.
, and in May 1915, he hired Blosser to work at NEA. Blosser was 23 when he began in the NEA art department, initially doing cartoons based on news events and then drawing five daily panels. One of these, titled Freckles, began as a one-column daily gag panel on August 16, expanding into a full comic strip on September 20 when it was retitled Freckles and His Friends. One by one, each of the other panels were dropped.
In July 1916, Blosser started another strip, Miniature Movies, which evolved into Chestnut Charlie, continuing until early in 1918 when Blosser concentrated exclusively on Freckles and His Friends.
. Asked about his activities away from his drawing table, Blosser responded that he "travels, swims, and lives a simple life." A 1945 syndicated newspaper profile of Blosser described his life in Arcadia during the 1940s:
Blosser, who said he aimed for "simply good humor," was influenced by cartoonist Walter Hoban
(Jerry on the Job). After his first few decades of doing the strip, Blosser shared the work with Henry Formhals
, who began as Blosser's assistant in 1935. Eventually, Blosser drew the Sunday strip
s, while Formhals, beginning in 1938, drew the daily strip
s. The last daily strip signed by Blosser was on February 12, 1966. Daily strips between February 14 and March 19 have Formhals' signature covered with opaque white. The March 21, 1966 daily strip is the first to carry Formhals' signature.
, Blosser's use of the strip to promote the sale of War Bonds brought him a personal citation from Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr.
In New York in May, 1965, the National Cartoonists Society
held a testimonial dinner honoring Blosser. The NCS gave him an award "in recognition of the wholesome entertainment he has brought his myriad readers" and for the creation of "the oldest regular comic strip still piloted by its creator."
The following year, Blosser retired, and Formhals then worked alone on Freckles and His Friends from 1966 to 1971. The strip was discontinued on August 28, 1971. For most of his life, Blosser lived in Arcadia and Pasadena, California
, where he died in 1983.
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....
Freckles and His Friends
Freckles and His Friends
Freckles and his Friends was a popular American comic strip set in the peaceful small town of Shadyside where young Freckles McGoosey and his friends live...
, which had a long run (1915–71). Although his strip was set in the small town of Shadyside, it was obviously based on Blosser's hometown of Nappanee, Indiana
Nappanee, Indiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 6,710 people, 2,521 households, and 1,792 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,818.9 people per square mile . There were 2,647 housing units at an average density of 717.5 per square mile...
, since Blosser often referenced real Nappanee locations, such as Johnson's Drug Store. Nappanee holds the distinction of having the longest city name in the United States containing each letter in its name twice, and six successful cartoonists lived in Nappanee as children, including Fred Neher
Fred Neher
Fred 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....
(Life’s Like That
Life’s Like That
Life’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....
) and Bill Holman
Bill Holman (cartoonist)
Bill Holman was an American cartoonist who drew the classic comic strip Smokey Stover from 1935 until he retired in 1973. Distributed through the Chicago Tribune, it had the longest run of any strip in the screwball genre...
(Smokey Stover
Smokey Stover
Smokey Stover is an American comic strip written and drawn by cartoonist Bill Holman, from 1935 until he retired in 1973. Distributed through the Chicago Tribune, it features the wacky misadventures of the titular fireman, and had the longest run of any comic strip in the "screwball comics"...
).
Growing up in Nappanee, where he was born, Blosser was encouraged by his parents to take drawing lessons, and he signed up for Charles N. Landon
Charles N. Landon
Charles Nelson Landon , also known as C.N. Landon, was an illustrator for The Cleveland Press, art director for the Newspaper Enterprise Association and art editor of Cosmopolitan...
's correspondence course. When Blosser was 12 years old, National Magazine held a writing competition, and he was a winner with his essay, "The Best Way to Spend $300." The prize was a trip to Washington, D.C.
Touring the city, the prizewinners were taken to the White House to meet President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
. Lagging behind, Blosser drew a sketch of Roosevelt which prompted the President to exclaim, "Bully!" He then kept Blosser with him for half a day, advising him to continue in the field of art. Expelled from high school after he displayed caricatures of the high school faculty, including a drawing of the school principal as Satan, Blosser described the suspension as "the best break I ever had."
While attending Blue Ridge College in Union Bridge, Maryland
Union Bridge, Maryland
Union Bridge is a town in Carroll County, Maryland, United States. The population was 989 at the 2000 census.Much of the town was added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Union Bridge Historic District in 1994.-Geography:...
in 1911, Blosser sold drawings to the Frederick News in Frederick, Maryland
Frederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
. When he was 20, he quit school after selling a cartoon to the Baltimore American
Baltimore News-American
The Baltimore News-American was a Baltimore, Maryland, broadsheet newspaper with a continuous lineage of more than two hundred years of Baltimore newspapers. Its final edition was published on May 27, 1986.-History:...
in 1912. Blosser studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. He did cartoons for Chicago's Motor-Cycling magazine and magazines at the Denton Publishing Company in Cleveland, and he also drew political cartoons for the Wheeling Register and the The Plain Dealer.
Freckles and His Friends
Landon was also an editor at Newspaper Enterprise AssociationUnited Media
United Media is a large editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States, owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. It syndicates 150 comics and editorial columns worldwide. Its core business is the United Feature Syndicate and the Newspaper Enterprise Association...
, and in May 1915, he hired Blosser to work at NEA. Blosser was 23 when he began in the NEA art department, initially doing cartoons based on news events and then drawing five daily panels. One of these, titled Freckles, began as a one-column daily gag panel on August 16, expanding into a full comic strip on September 20 when it was retitled Freckles and His Friends. One by one, each of the other panels were dropped.
In July 1916, Blosser started another strip, Miniature Movies, which evolved into Chestnut Charlie, continuing until early in 1918 when Blosser concentrated exclusively on Freckles and His Friends.
Life in Arcadia
Blosser married shortly after he drew the earliest Freckles and His Friends strips. For years, the couple lived in Cleveland, where the NEA office was located, until they moved in 1927 to Los Angeles. During the early 1940s, they lived at 751 Masselin Avenue before moving to the Los Angeles suburb of ArcadiaArcadia, California
Arcadia is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and located approximately northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....
. Asked about his activities away from his drawing table, Blosser responded that he "travels, swims, and lives a simple life." A 1945 syndicated newspaper profile of Blosser described his life in Arcadia during the 1940s:
- Blosser had a beautiful home built to his own ideas. He has his own studio there and does all his work at home. He likes to raise flowers and vegetables, but he doesn't like to mow lawns, so he planted his front yard in variegated ivy instead of grass. It worked out fine. He is youthful, friendly and enthusiastic. He likes the outdoors, loves football games, long automobile rides and kids. He admires good art work and is a collector of fine paintings.
Blosser, who said he aimed for "simply good humor," was influenced by cartoonist Walter Hoban
Walter Hoban
Walter C. Hoban was an American cartoonist best known for his comic strip Jerry on the Job.Born in Philadelphia, Hoban came from a newspaper family...
(Jerry on the Job). After his first few decades of doing the strip, Blosser shared the work with Henry Formhals
Henry Formhals
Henry Martin Formhals was an American cartoonist best known for his work on the comic strip Freckles and His Friends....
, who began as Blosser's assistant in 1935. Eventually, Blosser drew the Sunday strip
Sunday strip
A Sunday strip is a newspaper comic strip format, where comic strips are printed in the Sunday newspaper, usually in a special section called the Sunday comics, and virtually always in color. Some readers called these sections the Sunday funnies...
s, while Formhals, beginning in 1938, drew the daily strip
Daily strip
A daily strip is a newspaper comic strip format, appearing on weekdays, Monday through Saturday, as contrasted with a Sunday strip, which typically only appears on Sundays....
s. The last daily strip signed by Blosser was on February 12, 1966. Daily strips between February 14 and March 19 have Formhals' signature covered with opaque white. The March 21, 1966 daily strip is the first to carry Formhals' signature.
Awards
Although the characters in the strip never joined up with the military during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Blosser's use of the strip to promote the sale of War Bonds brought him a personal citation from Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr.
Henry Morgenthau, Jr.
Henry Morgenthau, Jr. was the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He played a major role in designing and financing the New Deal...
In New York in May, 1965, the National Cartoonists Society
National Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...
held a testimonial dinner honoring Blosser. The NCS gave him an award "in recognition of the wholesome entertainment he has brought his myriad readers" and for the creation of "the oldest regular comic strip still piloted by its creator."
The following year, Blosser retired, and Formhals then worked alone on Freckles and His Friends from 1966 to 1971. The strip was discontinued on August 28, 1971. For most of his life, Blosser lived in Arcadia and Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, where he died in 1983.