Will Gould was an American newspaper cartoonist, best known for his comic strip 'Red Barry' (1934-1940). He was born in 1911. Despite his last name and the fact that 'Red Barry' was also a popular detective comic he was not related to 'Dick Tracy' cartoonist Chester Gould. He was, however, related to Manny Gould, an animator who throughout his career worked for Raoul Barré, Looney Tunes directors Bob Clampett, Bob McKimson and Arthur Davis and, decades later, Ralph Bakshi.
Will Gould started his own career in 1929, when he worked as a sports cartoonist for the Bronx Home News. For this paper, he did the comic strip 'Felix O'Fan'. He moved to the New York Graphic, for which he created 'Asparagus Tipps'. In 1930, he moved to California, where he did freelance work for several syndicates. His first daily strip, 'Red Barry', appeared on 19 March 1934, distributed by King Features.
After years of arguments with the syndicate about competing with 'Dick Tracy', and over the amount of violence contained in the strip, Will Gould left comics in 1940. He became a scriptwriter for film and radio, and worked occasionally as a reporter. After 1963, he became the cartoon editor of the Writer's Forum, and drew the series 'The Schnoox'. He died in a Senior Citizens Home in 1984.
