Thelma Keane
Encyclopedia
Thelma "Thel" Keane was the Australia
n-born American
wife of The Family Circus
newspaper cartoonist
, Bil Keane
. Keane served as her husband's inspiration and model for the "Mommy" character
in his long running comic strip
and was instrumental in restoring the copyrights for The Family Circus to her husband.
, Australia
, in 1926. Her father was a banana
farmer. For much of her early childhood, Carne lived in a four-room canvas
tent
within the borders of the Amamoor Forest Reserve
while her father worked on a local reforestation
project. She lived with relatives in Gympie while in high school and returned home to her family on the weekends.
. Bil Keane was a United States Army
promotional artist who drew posters and flyer
s for the war effort. Thelma had been hired as an accounting secretary
for the office. Their desks and workstation
s were next to one another. Cartoonist Bil Keane later spoke of meeting Thelma in the office saying, "Thel was a very pretty 18-year-old with a gorgeous figure, long brown hair and I just happened to have a desk drawing next to her and I got the nerve to ask her out. We started laughing then and never stopped."
Thelma and Bill were married in 1948. She moved from Australia to her husband's hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
and eventually settled in the suburb
of Roslyn, Pennsylvania
. The couple would have five children between 1949 and 1958. Thelma, her husband and their children moved to Paradise Valley, Arizona
, a suburb
of Phoenix
, in 1959.
comic strip
in 1960. He modeled the Mommy in the cartoon of his wife, Thelma. The Mommy character in the comic was even named "Thel" after his wife's nickname. Bil Keane later told the Associated Press
after Thelma's death in 2008, "She was the inspiration
for all of my success. When the cartoon first appeared, she looked so much like Mommy that if she was in the supermarket
pushing her cart
around, people would come up to her and say, 'Aren't you the Mommy in 'Family Circus?' And she would admit it." Keane later altered the "Mommy" character's hair in 1996 because the style had become outdated.
Thelma Keane worked as the full-time financial and business manager
for her husband while he continued to draw The Family Circus. Her family credited Thelma's business
skills as the main reason that Bil Keane became one of the first syndicated
newspaper cartoonist
s in the country to regain the full rights to his comic. She led the 1988 negotiations with King Features Syndicate
to return the copyrights for The Family Circus. King Features finally agreed to return the rights to the cartoon to Bil Keane after long and protracted talks with Thelma Keane. The comic strip currently runs in approximately 1,500 newspaper
s as of 2008.
Thelma Keane died at the age of 82 at the Barton House assisted living
facility in Paradise Valley, Arizona on May 23, 2008. She had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease
. Keane was survived by her husband, Bil Keane, and the couple's five children, Gayle, Neal, Glen
, Jeff and Christopher. Her youngest son, Jeff Keane
, continued to help his father draw and publish The Family Circus as an assistant inker
and colorist
until Bil Keane died in 2011.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
wife of The Family Circus
The Family Circus
The Family Circus is a syndicated comic strip created by cartoonist Bil Keane and currently written, inked, and colored by his son, Jeff Keane. The strip generally uses a single captioned panel with a round border, hence the original name of the series, which was changed following objections from...
newspaper cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
, Bil Keane
Bil Keane
William Aloysius Keane , better known as Bil Keane, was an American cartoonist. He is most notable for his work on the long-running newspaper comic The Family Circus, which began its run in 1960 and continues in syndication, drawn by his son Jeff Keane.-Biography:Born in Philadelphia,...
. Keane served as her husband's inspiration and model for the "Mommy" character
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in his long running comic strip
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....
and was instrumental in restoring the copyrights for The Family Circus to her husband.
Early life
Keane was born Thelma Carne in Gympie, QueenslandGympie, Queensland
Gympie is a regional town in south eastern Queensland, Australia, about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River. Gympie is the administrative centre for the Gympie Region area...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, in 1926. Her father was a banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
farmer. For much of her early childhood, Carne lived in a four-room canvas
Canvas
Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other items for which sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched across a wooden frame...
tent
Tent
A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using guy ropes tied to stakes or tent pegs...
within the borders of the Amamoor Forest Reserve
Amamoor Forest Reserve
The Amamoor State Forest and Forest Reserve is a riverine rainforest near the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. The forest is composed of subtropical vegetation dominated by stands of Melia azedarach , Toona ciliata , Araucaria cunninghamii and A. bidwillii...
while her father worked on a local reforestation
Reforestation
Reforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands that have been depleted, usually through deforestation....
project. She lived with relatives in Gympie while in high school and returned home to her family on the weekends.
Personal life
Thelma Carne met her future husband, Bil Keane, an American, while working in the United States war bonds office in Brisbane, Australia, 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...
. Bil Keane was a United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
promotional artist who drew posters and flyer
Flyer (pamphlet)
__notoc__A flyer or flier, also called a circular, handbill or leaflet, is a form of paper advertisement intended for wide distribution and typically posted or distributed in public place....
s for the war effort. Thelma had been hired as an accounting secretary
Secretary
A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
for the office. Their desks and workstation
Workstation
A workstation is a high-end microcomputer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems...
s were next to one another. Cartoonist Bil Keane later spoke of meeting Thelma in the office saying, "Thel was a very pretty 18-year-old with a gorgeous figure, long brown hair and I just happened to have a desk drawing next to her and I got the nerve to ask her out. We started laughing then and never stopped."
Thelma and Bill were married in 1948. She moved from Australia to her husband's hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
and eventually settled in the suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Roslyn, Pennsylvania
Roslyn, Pennsylvania
Roslyn is an unincorporated community in Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally called Hillside, the name Roslyn came from rose gardens that once grew there....
. The couple would have five children between 1949 and 1958. Thelma, her husband and their children moved to Paradise Valley, Arizona
Paradise Valley, Arizona
Paradise Valley is a small, affluent town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2005 Census Bureau, the population of the town was 14,558. Despite the town's relatively small area and population compared to other municipalities in the Phoenix metropolitan area, Paradise...
, a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, in 1959.
The Family Circus
Bil Keane began drawing The Family CircusThe Family Circus
The Family Circus is a syndicated comic strip created by cartoonist Bil Keane and currently written, inked, and colored by his son, Jeff Keane. The strip generally uses a single captioned panel with a round border, hence the original name of the series, which was changed following objections from...
comic strip
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....
in 1960. He modeled the Mommy in the cartoon of his wife, Thelma. The Mommy character in the comic was even named "Thel" after his wife's nickname. Bil Keane later told the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
after Thelma's death in 2008, "She was the inspiration
Artistic inspiration
Inspiration refers to an unconscious burst of creativity in a literary, musical, or other artistic endeavour. Literally, the word means "breathed upon," and it has its origins in both Hellenism and Hebraism. The Greeks believed that inspiration came from the muses, as well as the gods Apollo and...
for all of my success. When the cartoon first appeared, she looked so much like Mommy that if she was in the supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
pushing her cart
Shopping cart
A shopping cart is a cart supplied by a shop, especially supermarkets, for use by customers inside the shop for transport of merchandise to the check-out counter during shopping...
around, people would come up to her and say, 'Aren't you the Mommy in 'Family Circus?' And she would admit it." Keane later altered the "Mommy" character's hair in 1996 because the style had become outdated.
Thelma Keane worked as the full-time financial and business manager
Business manager
In a general context, a business manager is a person who manages the work of others in order to run a business efficiently and make a large profit...
for her husband while he continued to draw The Family Circus. Her family credited Thelma's business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
skills as the main reason that Bil Keane became one of the first syndicated
Print syndication
Print syndication distributes news articles, columns, comic strips and other features to newspapers, magazines and websites. They offer reprint rights and grant permissions to other parties for republishing content of which they own/represent copyrights....
newspaper cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
s in the country to regain the full rights to his comic. She led the 1988 negotiations with 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...
to return the copyrights for The Family Circus. King Features finally agreed to return the rights to the cartoon to Bil Keane after long and protracted talks with Thelma Keane. The comic strip currently runs in approximately 1,500 newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s as of 2008.
Thelma Keane died at the age of 82 at the Barton House assisted living
Assisted living
Assisted living residences or assisted living facilities provide supervision or assistance with activities of daily living ; coordination of services by outside health care providers; and monitoring of resident activities to help to ensure their health, safety, and well-being.Assistance may...
facility in Paradise Valley, Arizona on May 23, 2008. She had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
. Keane was survived by her husband, Bil Keane, and the couple's five children, Gayle, Neal, Glen
Glen Keane
Glen Keane is an American animator, author, illustrator and director. Keane is best known for his character animation at Walt Disney Studios for feature films including The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, and Tangled...
, Jeff and Christopher. Her youngest son, Jeff Keane
Jeff Keane
Jeff Keane is the youngest son of Bil Keane, and currently inks and colors the syndicated comic strip The Family Circus.The character Jeffy from The Family Circus was based on Jeff when he was growing up. Jeff was a theater major in college, but gradually grew in to the family business...
, continued to help his father draw and publish The Family Circus as an assistant inker
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
and colorist
Colorist
In comics, a colorist is responsible for adding color to black-and-white line art. For most of the 20th century this was done using brushes and dyes which were then used as guides to produce the printing plates...
until Bil Keane died in 2011.