Yesterday, I sent off (what I hope is) the final revision of the manuscript for my biography of Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss. After I did, I began reading Storyteller: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl (2010), which Donald Sturrock (the author) begins by describing his own relationship with his subject. It helped me understand
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Crockett Johnson worked with Lou Bunin on some television advertisements. Â But he had a hard time taking Madison Avenue seriously, as indicated by his parody of an ad for Bosco chocolate syrup (below). Â Though it’s undated, Johnson (known to his friends as “Dave” ) seems to have sent
As noted last month, a color Sunday Barnaby ran from 1946 to 1948 – apt, because the original Barnaby strip that helped Crockett Johnson sell the comic to PM was also a Sunday strip. Courtesy of the generous Colin Myers, here’s a Christmas Barnaby from 63 years ago – December 21, 1947. (Don’t forget: clicking
Is reporting on one’s editorial process the height of self-indulgent blogging? Join us in one man’s journey to find out.
69 years ago this week, the United States entered the Second World War.  Classified 4-F (not fit for military service), 35-year-old Crockett Johnson was not called to serve.  Instead, in January of 1942, he enlisted in the Allied propaganda effort, helping found (with Greg d’Allessio, J. A. Blackmer, and Mel Casson) the American Society of Magazine
Cushlamochree! 70 years after Crockett Johnson‘s Barnaby made its debut, the entire ten-year run (1942-1952) will be published in full … for the first time!  Daniel Clowes will design the books – five in all, the first of which will appear in 2012. I’ll be providing biographical & historical notes.  The publisher is Fantagraphics, whose lovingly
The first dramatic adaptation of Crockett Johnson‘s Barnaby appeared on the Frank Morgan Show of June 12, 1945.  Morgan (best known as the title character in MGM’s Wizard of Oz) played Mr. O’Malley, Norma Jean Nilsson played Barnaby, and Ralph Bellamy played Mr. Baxter. The radio dramatization begins in the second half of the show – at 15:30 of the
For those who care about such minutiae, here are some outtakes from Chapter 14, “At Home with Ruth and Dave” – from which I’ve just cut 540 words. Â The chapter, which covers Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss in 1947 and 1948, draws heavily on Ruth’s 123-page account of their daily lives in late winter 1948:
Working in a little biography-editing while at the American Studies Association conference in San Antonio. Â (Why, yes, I would like some more workahol. Â Thank you for offering!) Â I’ve just condensed three paragraphs on Crockett Johnson‘s visit to Commonwealth College (radical labor school in Mena, Arkansas, 1922-1940) down to a single paragraph. Â For the record, that
One reason that so much must be thrown out from a biography – or, at least, from my forthcoming biography of Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss – is that a lot of research can underwrite a very small fact. Â For example, I sometimes had to read a book in order to write a single sentence.