Pete the Tramp
Encyclopedia
Pete the Tramp was a comic strip by Clarence D. Russell
(1895–1963) which was distributed by King Features Syndicate
for more than three decades. Howard Eugene Wilson, in the Harvard Educational Review
, described the strip's title character as "a hobo with a gentleman's instincts."
Russell studied at the Chicago Art Institute and then began working as a freelance artist. During World War I, he went overseas with the American Expeditionary Force. When he returned to America in 1920, he worked for several New York newspapers while also contributing to Judge.
Comic strip historian Don Markstein
offered this description of Pete the Tramp:
During its long run, Pete the Tramp had several topper strips
, as detailed by comic strip historian Allan Holtz
:
The Further Adventures of Pete the Tramp (1944) was a live-action stag film which stole Russell's character and put him in an erotic situation. During World War II, Russell and Otto Soglow
drew their characters at kids' bond rallies in Albany, New York
and elsewhere. To cheer up soldiers, Russell also did Pete the Tramp drawings in hospitals during WWII.
Pete the Tramp ended December 12, 1963, following Russell's death on October 22 of that year.
Clarence D. Russell
Clarence D. Russell was an American cartoonist best known for his syndicated comic strip Pete the Tramp.Born in Buffalo, New York, Russell studied at the Chicago Art Institute and began working as a freelance artist...
(1895–1963) which was distributed by King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers worldwide...
for more than three decades. Howard Eugene Wilson, in the Harvard Educational Review
Harvard Educational Review
The Harvard Educational Review is a peer-reviewed academic journal of opinion and research dealing with education, associated with the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and published by the Harvard Education Publishing Group. The journal was established in 1930.Since 1945, editorial decisions...
, described the strip's title character as "a hobo with a gentleman's instincts."
Russell studied at the Chicago Art Institute and then began working as a freelance artist. During World War I, he went overseas with the American Expeditionary Force. When he returned to America in 1920, he worked for several New York newspapers while also contributing to Judge.
Characters and story
Russell's work for Judge included cartoons of a homeless man who was given the name Pete the Tramp when he was syndicated to newspapers beginning January 10, 1932.Comic strip historian Don Markstein
Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Don Markstein's Toonopedia was a web encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation. Don D...
offered this description of Pete the Tramp:
During its long run, Pete the Tramp had several topper strips
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...
, as detailed by comic strip historian Allan Holtz
Allan Holtz
Allan Holtz is a comic strip historian who researches and writes about newspaper comics for his Stripper's Guide, launched in 2005. His research encompasses some 7,000 American comic strips and newspaper panels...
:
- C.D. Russell's wonderful Pete The Tramp went through a trio of topper strips on its Sunday pages. The first, Pete's Pup, was a dog strip, sort of a canine counterpart to the 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...
topper, Cicero's Cat. The next was The Topper Twins, my favorite because the name is an in-joke to the industry term "topper". For some reason, Russell alternatively called this strip The Tucker Twins. The last topper was Snorky... It started in 1935 and is believed to have run as late as 1939. Getting an end date on these later toppers can be a Herculean task, because fewer and fewer papers printed the toppers as the decade of the 1930s wore on. In fact, I have no examples of Snorky later than 1937 in my collection; the 1939 date is based on the strip's listing in the Editor & PublisherEditor & PublisherEditor & Publisher is a monthly magazine covering the North American newspaper industry. It is based in New York City. E&P calls itself "America's Oldest Journal Covering the Newspaper Industry" and describes itself on its website as "the authoritative journal covering all aspects of the North...
yearbooks.
The Further Adventures of Pete the Tramp (1944) was a live-action stag film which stole Russell's character and put him in an erotic situation. During World War II, Russell and Otto Soglow
Otto Soglow
Otto Soglow was an American cartoonist best known for his comic strip The Little King.Born in Yorkville, Manhattan, Soglow grew up in New York City, where he held various jobs as a teenager and made an unsuccessful effort to become an actor. His first job was painting designs on baby rattles...
drew their characters at kids' bond rallies in Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
and elsewhere. To cheer up soldiers, Russell also did Pete the Tramp drawings in hospitals during WWII.