'Mac'.
Andrew A. Munch was a mid-20th century clerk, photographer and publicist. He was briefly active as a comic artist, continuing the 'Mac' feature for the Newspaper Enterprise Association between 1930 and 1936.
Early life
Andrew A. Munch was born in 1908 in Cleveland, Ohio, as Andrew A. Montsch. His parents were Germans, who had come to Cleveland in the early 20th century. His father was a tailor. According to his 1957 obituary in the Bay City Times, Munch "was hardly old enough to realize when [his parents] died. Youngest of five children, he was one of Bishop LaFonde's "chosen few" as a student at St. Anthony's Home in Cleveland." Somewhere during the 1920s, Andrew changed his last name to "Munch", and worked as an office boy for the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), where he developed his passion for photography.
Mac
By 1930, he was also a newspaper artist through this same syndicate, succeeding the late Irving S. Knickerbocker on 'Mac', a weekly gag comic about a street kid with a giant tie. It was part of the NEA's budget features, aimed at smaller newspapers, and so not very widespread. 'Mac' however knew a certain durability. Munch managed to continue the comic from 14 March 1930 through 2 November 1936. He was succeeded by Howard Boughner (1936-1941) and Bob Moyer (1941-1943).
Final years and death
After 1936, Munch worked as a photographer for the NEA News Service. During World War II, he was called to Washington, D.C., where he could quickly photograph and submit pictures pertinent to the war effort. According to his obituary, he "made contact with the country's top salons and foreign diplomats and felt the pulse of the nation at his fingertips, recording it on his camera's film."
In 1942, he became assistant manager for ACME Newspictures. Five years later, he moved to Bay City, Michigan, and was publicity director for the East Michigan Tourist Association. During the last four years of his life, Munch was a photographer with the Bay City Times newspaper. He passed away in Bay City, Michigan, on 6 June 1957. In his obituary, the Bath City Times named him "one of Michigan's most talented newspaper photographers".
Picture of Andrew A. Munch with his obituary in the Bay City Times (7 June 1957).