Mike and Ike (They Look Alike)
Encyclopedia
Mike and Ike was a comic strip by Rube Goldberg
, who introduced the identical twin characters in the San Francisco Bulletin
on September 29, 1907.
Don Markstein traced the history of the characters in his Toonopedia:
Goldberg's characters were adapted to film with Dancing Fools, released by Universal Pictures on September 21, 1927. Charles King (as Mike) and Charles Dorety (as Ike) portrayed the duo in eight of the 24 "Mike & Ike" comedy shorts (which ended with Good Skates, released August 28, 1929). The others starred Joe Young and Ned La Salle. The series ended August 28, 1929 with the release of Good Skates.
The candy company Just Born introduced their Mike and Ike
confection in 1940, but it was not a licensed product, as Goldberg's goofy guys were gone by then.
Rube Goldberg
Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer and inventor.He is best known for a series of popular cartoons depicting complex gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. These devices, now known as Rube Goldberg machines, are similar to...
, who introduced the identical twin characters in the San Francisco Bulletin
San Francisco Call
The San Francisco Call was a newspaper that served San Francisco, California. Because of a succession of mergers with other newspapers, the paper variously came to be called The San Francisco Call & Post, the San Francisco Call-Bulletin, San Francisco News-Call Bulletin, and the News-Call Bulletin...
on September 29, 1907.
Don Markstein traced the history of the characters in his Toonopedia:
- Mike & Ike started while Goldberg was in San Francisco, working as sports cartoonist for that city's Bulletin (where he'd replaced another great, Thomas A. "Tad" Dorgan, creator of Judge Rummy and his pals). The identical twin morons were originally done as a half-page Sunday series for World Color Printing Co.Quebecor WorldQuebecor World Inc. was a printing subsidiary of Quebecor Inc. based in Montreal, Quebec. It comprised a number of small and large print shops throughout the world. In 2010, Quebecor World was acquired by Wisconsin-based Quad/Graphics....
, which later printed most of America's comic books. At the time, it was functioning as both a printer and a syndicate for Sunday comics, distributing Slim Jim, Major Ozone and several others. They didn't have much impact there, but the concept hung around. For years afterward, Goldberg often slipped Mike & Ike panels, in which they played straight man and gag man, onto the ends of his daily comics, keeping them in the public eye. They were well enough known to have starred in the second issue of Comic Monthly (February, 1922) a short-lived magazine that reprinted various King Features offerings, such as Polly and Her PalsPolly and Her PalsPolly and Her Pals is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Cliff Sterrett, which ran from 1912 until 1958. It is regarded as one of the most graphically innovative strips of the 20th century...
in #1 and S'matter, Pop? in #3. Tho it didn't use what later became the standard format for comic books, Comic Monthly, which flitted across the publishing scene in a single year, long predated Famous FunniesFamous FunniesFamous Funnies is an American publication of the 1930s that represents what popular culture historians consider the first true American comic book, following seminal precursors.-Immediate precursors:...
as America's first periodic comic book. In the late 1920s, Goldberg asserted they were uncles of Boob McNuttBoob McNuttBoob McNutt was a comic strip by Rube Goldberg which ran from 1915 to September 1934. It was syndicated by the McNaught Syndicate from 1922 until the end of its run....
, and they became supporting characters in Boob's Sunday page.
Goldberg's characters were adapted to film with Dancing Fools, released by Universal Pictures on September 21, 1927. Charles King (as Mike) and Charles Dorety (as Ike) portrayed the duo in eight of the 24 "Mike & Ike" comedy shorts (which ended with Good Skates, released August 28, 1929). The others starred Joe Young and Ned La Salle. The series ended August 28, 1929 with the release of Good Skates.
The candy company Just Born introduced their Mike and Ike
Mike and Ike
Mike and Ike is a brand of fruit-flavored candies. They were first introduced in 1940 by Just Born, Inc., of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a family-owned company founded in 1923.-The candy:...
confection in 1940, but it was not a licensed product, as Goldberg's goofy guys were gone by then.
External links
- Just BornJust BornJust Born is a candy manufacturer based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Their tagline is "A great candy isn't made...it's Just Born."...
- St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture: Rube Goldberg