'Mutt & Jeff'. French-language version, 5 April 1975.
Al Smith started his cartooning career at Joseph Pulitzer's New York World with the feature 'From 9 to 5'. In 1932, Wheeler and Bud Fisher contacted Smith about ghosting 'Mutt and Jeff'. After Fisher's death in 1954, Smith started to sign the strip himself. He also did the "topper" for the 'Mutt and Jeff' Sunday page, called 'Cicero's Cat'.
'Cicero's Cat'.
Besides drawing the 'Mutt and Jeff' strip, Smith was active in the National Cartoonists Society for many years and helped a lot of young cartoonists starting their careers. One of them was Joe Dennett. In 1963, and again in 1965- 1966, Hy Eisman ghosted 'Mutt & Jeff'.
Al Smith retired in 1980, leaving 'Mutt and Jeff' to George Breisacher. He died on November 24, 1986, in Vermont. Cicero's Cat inspired one of Willy Vandersteen's earliest gag comics, 'Putifar de Kat', and motivated Gilbert Shelton to turn his character Fat Freddy's Cat from 'The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers' into a topper spin-off comic.
'Mutt & Jeff'.