'Donald Duck' Sunday page (14 February 1971) - © Disney.
Frank Grundeen was an American animator and comic artist, working for the Walt Disney Company. Between 1969 and 1976, he was the second artist to draw the 'Donald Duck' newspaper comic strip.
Early life and career
According to data found on ancestry.com, John Franklin Grundeen was born in 1911 in New York City, where he studied at the National Academy of Design. During the 1930s and 1940, he was an animator for the Walt Disney Studios, where he contributed to the animated feature films 'Pinocchio' (1940), 'Fantasia' (1940), 'Dumbo' (1941) and 'Bambi' (1942). Later that decade, he made comic book artwork for Ned Pines' Standard Comics and worked as a commercial illustrator until halfway through the 1960s. His comic book work is largely unidentified; he at least drew one 6-page story from a script by Bob Karp for 'Barnyard Comics' issue #11 of April 1947. His cartoons have frequently appeared in The Saturday Evening Post, The American, Western Living and other national publications.
'Along the Catnip Trail' (Barnyard Comics #11, April 1947).
Donald Duck
In 1967, Frank Grundeen became an assistant of Al Taliaferro, who had been drawing the 'Donald Duck' newspaper gag-a-day comic since 1938 and was already in ailing health. He inked both the daily comic and the full-page Sunday episode. Only two years later, Grundeen took over the series completely; Al Taliaferro died that same year. By the time Grundeen stepped in, characters originally created in the Disney comic books, like 'Uncle Scrooge' and 'Ludwig Von Drake', had made regular appearances in the newspaper comics as well, and remained part of the cast during his tenure. Bob Karp, who had been Taliaferro's gag writer for decades, continued his collaboration with Grundeen until 1974, after which Greg Crosby became the new gag writer.
Frank Grundeen drew 'Donald Duck' until his retirement in 1976. The final Grundeen strip appeared in the papers on 22 May of that year. He was succeeded as the strip's artist by Frank Smith (1976-1986), Jim Franzen (1986), Daan Jippes (1986-1987), Ulrich Schröder (1986), Jørgen Klubien (1986), Tony Strobl (1986-1987), Bill Langley (1987), Pete Alvarado & Larry Mayer (1987-1989) and Larry Knighton (1990-1995). From 9 September until 6 December 1968, Grundeen had also filled in for Floyd Gottfredson on the 'Mickey Mouse' daily strip.
'Donald Duck' Sunday page of 21 September 1969. © Disney.
Personal life and death
Not much is known about the further life of Frank Grundeen. According to an article in The Palm Beach Post of 19 May 1957, he was an avid angler, who fished the coastal waters of Florida many times while on vacation. At the time of the article, he was a resident of the Pacific Coast, who had traveled extensively throughout his country and Europe. The paper concluded with: "He is well acquainted with Florida's large number of scenic attractions, many of which have furnished inspiration for his brush and palette." That is probably why the editors asked him to illustrate the cover to that edition's supplement of The All Florida Weekly Magazine. Frank Grundeen is believed to have passed away in California on 23 January 1986.
Cover illustration for The All Florida Weekly Magazine, 19 May 1957.