'Charlie McCarthy' (French-language version from Quebec newspaper Le Soleil, 1939).
Ben Batsford was an early 20th-century American-Canadian newspaper comic artist, best known as the original artist for the celebrity comic 'Mortimer Snerd & Charlie McCarthy' (1939), based on the puppet creations of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. He also created 'Unk and Billy' (AKA 'Billy's Uncle', 1921-1924). In addition, Batsford continued other artists' newspaper comics, including 'Doings of the Duffs' (1925-1928), 'Little Annie Rooney' (1929-1930) and 'The Boomers' (1934-1938, later retitled to 'The Doodle Family' and 'Frankie Doodle'). He was a comic book artist for the Sangor shop, illustrating the 'Helpful Herbert' feature in Coo Coo Comics.
'Doings of the Duffs'.
Early life and career
Benjamin Theodore Batsford was born in 1892 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as the second of five children of a house painter. Originally residing in Duluth, Minnesota, in March 1901 the Batsford family moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada. Seven years later, Batsford sold his first cartoon to the Manitoba Free Press. Besides working at the paper's art department, he also wrote a column called 'Motoring' (1915) for them. In addition, Batsford was active as a sketch writer for the theater, contributing to the show 'The Passing Follies of 1915' by the Young Hebrew Dramatic Society. During World War I, he was drafted into the Canadian Army and served in France until the end of the war. Back in Winnipeg, he returned as staff editorial cartoonist in the Manitoba Free Press, which from December 1931 on was called the Winnipeg Free Press.
Cartooning career
On 9 July 1921, Batsford launched his first comic strip in the Winnipeg Free Press, 'Unk and Billy', which also ran under the title 'Billy's Uncle', 1921-1924). The daily comic featured a young boy, Billy, and his uncle who enjoyed all kinds of wacky adventures. By the time of its launch, the paper mentioned it was the first Canadian daily to have a comic strip of its own. In April 1922, the 'Billy's Uncle' strip disappeared from the Free Press, as it was picked by an American syndicate, the George Matthews Adams Service. As such, Batsford was the first Canadian cartoonist to have a comic strip syndicated in the United States. For the occasion, the cartoonist left Winnipeg and moved to New York, settling in Floral Park outside of Long Island, and eventually in East Northport.
'Little Annie Rooney' (27 September 1930).
After continuing to work on 'Billy's Uncle' for a couple of more years, Batsford also began working on American newspaper comics, for instance continuing Walter Allman's newspaper comic 'Doings of the Duffs' (1925-1928) for the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA). At King Features Syndicate, he succeeded Ed Verdier on the melodramatic adventures of orphan girl 'Little Annie Rooney' (22 July 1929-4 October 1930), before passing the pencil to Darrell McClure Under the pen name Benbee, he briefly drew the daily 'Room and Board' panel for the Central Press Association.
'Frankie Doodle' (from Sparkler Comics #9 by United Features, March 1942).
Between 1934 and 1938, Batsford took over 'The Boomers' from Dick Richards at United Feature Syndicate, which at that point was renamed to 'The Doodle Family' and later 'Frankie Doodle' (as a pun on the song 'Yankee Doodle'). This comic, which had originally started in 1931 under the title 'Susy Sunshine' by Earl Hurd, was also published in comic books like Sparkler Comics and Tip Top Comics, published by United Features.
In 1939, for the McNaught Syndicate, Ben Batsford drew a comic strip based on ventriloquist Edgar Bergen's puppet characters Mortimer Snerd and Charlie McCarthy. Batsford drew the 'Mortimer & Charlie' strip from July through September 1939, and was then succeeded by Carl Buettner, who continued the feature until 1940. In the early 1940s, Batsford drew comic book art through the Sangor Shop, illustrating the 'Helpful Herbert' feature for Coo Coo Comics by Better Publications. After his career in newspaper comics, Ben Batsford was a cartoonist for the New York Times.
Death
Ben Batsford passed away in 1977 in East Northport, New York. His daughter was oil painter Ramone Batsford Bendin (1924-2013).
'Helpful Herbert' (Coo Coo Comics #1, October 1942).