Sidney Smith (The Gumps)
Encyclopedia
For the British expert on the Yoruba people
of Nigeria
, see Professor Robert Sidney Smith.
Robert Sidney Smith (February 13, 1877-October 20, 1935), known as Sidney Smith, was the creator of the influential comic strip, The Gumps
, based on an idea by Captain Joseph M. Patterson, editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune
.
He was born in Bloomington, Illinois
. The son of a dentist, Smith never finished high school and began drawing cartoons for his hometown newspaper when he was 18. He also delivered chalk talk
s and worked in newspaper art departments in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
In 1908, he signed on as a sports cartoonist at the Chicago Examiner
where he created a talking goat in a feature, Buck Nix, which involved continuity: "What will tomorrow bring?" In 1911, Smith moved to the Chicago Tribune, where he introduced a new goat character when Old Doc Yak
began as a daily on February 5, 1912 with the Sunday page starting a month later on March 10.
At the Chicago Tribune on October 28, 1914, he started a panel, "Light Occupations", which ran alongside an untitled local sports-oriented feature. Expanding from sports into a variety of recurring strips, it initially appeared in various odd sizes, continuing until Saturday, January 20, 1917.
The Gumps had a 42-year run in newspapers, continuing until October 17, 1959. The strip, its merchandising (toys, games, a popular song, toys, games, playing cards, food products) and media adaptations made Smith a wealthy man. In addition to his townhouse, he had a large estate near Chicago and a 2200 acres (8.9 km²) farm. He believed in physical fitness, keeping in shape with amateur boxing and long-distance running. Smith's studio was in a large 12-room lakefront house at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
. Wearing a coonskin cap, Smith threw large parties at his estate, which also had a log cabin, a caretaker’s home, a four-car garage and a statue of Andy Gump on the front lawn. The circular drive that led to the house surrounded a large illuminated fountain.
Sam Carr Polk wrote:
Smith's strip was adapted into a live-action/animated film series in 1920-21 by Wallace Carlson. During production, Carlson formed a partnership with Gumps writer Sol Hess
, and together they launched The Nebbs, a Gumps-like family comic strip which began May 1923 and continued until 1946.
In 1922, Smith signed million-dollar contract ($100,000 per year for ten years). Two years later, he published the 183-page Andy Gump, His Life Story (1924). In 1935, he signed a new contract, giving him $150,000 a year.
On his way home from signing that contract, he crashed his new Rolls-Royce and died in a head-on collision at the age of 58 on October 20, 1935.
and thus had a huge influence on the introduction of radio serial continuity and radio-television situation comedies
, as detailed by broadcast historian Elizabeth McLeod in the "Andy Gump to Andy Brown" section of her popular culture essay, "Amos 'n' Andy—In Person" and her book, The Original Amos 'n' Andy: Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, and the 1928-43 Radio Serial (McFarland, 2005). Mainly due to the research of McLeod, Sidney Smith is now regarded as a seminal figure in 20th-century popular culture.
s for his book, Sidney Smith's The Gumps, published in 1974 by Charles Scribner's Sons. However, the strips in this book were assembled in a slipshod manner with no apparent restoration.
Yoruba people
The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...
of Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, see Professor Robert Sidney Smith.
Robert Sidney Smith (February 13, 1877-October 20, 1935), known as Sidney Smith, was the creator of the influential comic strip, The Gumps
The Gumps
The Gumps, a popular comic strip about a middle-class family, was created by Sidney Smith in 1917, launching a 42-year run in newspapers from February 12, 1917 until October 17, 1959....
, based on an idea by Captain Joseph M. Patterson, editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
.
He was born in Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city in McLean County, Illinois, United States and the county seat. It is adjacent to Normal, Illinois, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area...
. The son of a dentist, Smith never finished high school and began drawing cartoons for his hometown newspaper when he was 18. He also delivered chalk talk
Chalk talk
A chalk talk was a popular act in vaudeville. A performer used chalk on a blackboard to make changes in a drawing while delivering a monologue. Some performers would do caricatures of audience members. The term also was used to describe an act done with crayons...
s and worked in newspaper art departments in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
In 1908, he signed on as a sports cartoonist at the Chicago Examiner
Chicago's American
Chicago American, an afternoon newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, was the last flowering of the aggressive journalistic tradition depicted in the play and movie The Front Page....
where he created a talking goat in a feature, Buck Nix, which involved continuity: "What will tomorrow bring?" In 1911, Smith moved to the Chicago Tribune, where he introduced a new goat character when Old Doc Yak
Old Doc Yak
Old Doc Yak was a comic strip by Sidney Smith that centered around a talking goat. The origin of the character was Buck Nix, a goat Smith drew in 1908 for the Chicago Evening Journal. For three years, Nix romanced a she-goat called Nanny...
began as a daily on February 5, 1912 with the Sunday page starting a month later on March 10.
At the Chicago Tribune on October 28, 1914, he started a panel, "Light Occupations", which ran alongside an untitled local sports-oriented feature. Expanding from sports into a variety of recurring strips, it initially appeared in various odd sizes, continuing until Saturday, January 20, 1917.
From goats to Gumps
The last Old Doc Yak ended February 10, 1917 with the well-dressed Yak and his family leaving their house, wondering who might next move into it. The last panel showed only the empty house. On February 12, 1917, in the space formerly occupied by Old Doc Yak, newspapers displayed the initial episodes of The Gumps, showing them moving into the same house.The Gumps had a 42-year run in newspapers, continuing until October 17, 1959. The strip, its merchandising (toys, games, a popular song, toys, games, playing cards, food products) and media adaptations made Smith a wealthy man. In addition to his townhouse, he had a large estate near Chicago and a 2200 acres (8.9 km²) farm. He believed in physical fitness, keeping in shape with amateur boxing and long-distance running. Smith's studio was in a large 12-room lakefront house at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
Lake Geneva is a city in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 7,148 at the 2000 census. A resort city located on Geneva Lake, it is southwest of Milwaukee and popular with tourists from metropolitan Chicago and Milwaukee.-History:...
. Wearing a coonskin cap, Smith threw large parties at his estate, which also had a log cabin, a caretaker’s home, a four-car garage and a statue of Andy Gump on the front lawn. The circular drive that led to the house surrounded a large illuminated fountain.
Sam Carr Polk wrote:
- The Gumps episode with inventor "Tom Carr" and his lady love "Mary Gold" was inspired by Smith's friendship with my uncle, inventor E. G."Ted" Carr and his beautiful red-head secretary, Mary Bridgeman. Uncle Ted manufactured road machinery of his own invention at 939 West North Avenue in Chicago, and Smith fell in love with his secretary—for a while. When they broke up, poor Mary Gold had an untimely death, which inspired the flood of letters he's lying among in the publicity photo.
Smith's strip was adapted into a live-action/animated film series in 1920-21 by Wallace Carlson. During production, Carlson formed a partnership with Gumps writer Sol Hess
Sol Hess (writer)
Sol Hess was a comic strip writer best known for creating the long-run strip The Nebbs with artist Wallace Carlson....
, and together they launched The Nebbs, a Gumps-like family comic strip which began May 1923 and continued until 1946.
In 1922, Smith signed million-dollar contract ($100,000 per year for ten years). Two years later, he published the 183-page Andy Gump, His Life Story (1924). In 1935, he signed a new contract, giving him $150,000 a year.
On his way home from signing that contract, he crashed his new Rolls-Royce and died in a head-on collision at the age of 58 on October 20, 1935.
Influence
The Gumps inspired Amos 'n' AndyAmos 'n' Andy
Amos 'n' Andy is a situation comedy set in the African-American community. It was very popular in the United States from the 1920s through the 1950s on both radio and television....
and thus had a huge influence on the introduction of radio serial continuity and radio-television situation comedies
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
, as detailed by broadcast historian Elizabeth McLeod in the "Andy Gump to Andy Brown" section of her popular culture essay, "Amos 'n' Andy—In Person" and her book, The Original Amos 'n' Andy: Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, and the 1928-43 Radio Serial (McFarland, 2005). Mainly due to the research of McLeod, Sidney Smith is now regarded as a seminal figure in 20th-century popular culture.
Books
Herb Galewitz compiled daily stripDaily 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 for his book, Sidney Smith's The Gumps, published in 1974 by Charles Scribner's Sons. However, the strips in this book were assembled in a slipshod manner with no apparent restoration.