Bil Keane : biography
05 October 1922 – November 8, 2011
William Aloysius Keane (October 5, 1922 – November 8, 2011), better known as Bil Keane, was an American cartoonist most notable for his work on the long-running newspaper comic The Family Circus. It began in 1960 and continues in syndication, drawn by his son Jeff Keane.
Friends
- Keane had a close friendship with humorist, newspaper columnist and fellow Catholic Erma Bombeck. Keane provided illustrations for Bombeck’s book Just Wait Until You Have Children of Your Own! (1972), and considered himself instrumental in convincing Bombeck and her family to move to Arizona near his home.http://www.americancatholic.org/messenger/nov2001/feature1.asp In 1996, he was a pall bearer at Bombeck’s funeral.http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=894&dat=19960430&id=qxoOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iH0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4413,3938211
- Stephan Pastis, creator of Pearls Before Swine, acknowledged he was good friends with Keane and Keane’s son, Jeff.Stephan Pastis, , Official Pearls Before Swine Blog, stephanpastis.wordpress.com, 28, July 2009 Pastis has notably parodied The Family Circus in his own strip a number of times, and Keane wrote a satirical "attack" on these jokes as a foreword for Pastis’ Pearls collection Macho Macho Animals.Stephan Pastis, Pearls Sells Out: A Pearls Before Swine Treasury, Andrews McMeel Publishing (18 Aug 2009), p.13
- Keane switched with Scott Adams of Dilbert in the 1997 comic strip switcheroo. Adams said, "Bil was a misunderstood creative genius who knew how to write for his target audience. He was also a great guy. I was a big fan."
- Keane also counted fellow cartoonists Charles M. Schulz (Peanuts) and Mell Lazarus (Miss Peach) as close friends.
- In 1994 the characters from The Family Circus made a "guest appearance" in Bill Griffith’s Zippy the Pinhead comic strip. Griffith sad, "I remembered Bil’s affection for Zippy, so I decided to bite the bullet and call him to ask if, instead of me parodying his strip, he’d agree to jam with me…" The characters were drawn into the strip by Keane, but the dialog was written by Griffith. Then, on March 7, 1995, Zippy made an appearance in a Family Circus panel, drawn in by Bill Griffith. Griffith said Family Circus was "the last remaining folk art strip." Griffith said, "It’s supposed to be the epitome of squareness, but it turns the corner into a hip zone."
Awards
Keane is a four-time recipient of the National Cartoonists Society’s Award for Best Syndicated Panel, winning in 1967, 1971, 1973 and 1974.
In 1982, Keane was named the Society's Cartoonist of the Year and received its top honor, the Reuben Award. He also received the Elzie Segar Award in 1982 for his unique contribution to the cartooning profession. Keane was honored with the Silver T-Square Award from the National Cartoonist Society in 2002 for "outstanding dedication" to the Society and the cartooning profession. In 1998, he became the tenth recipient of the Arizona Heritage Award, joining—among others—Barry Goldwater, Sandra Day O'Connor, Mo Udall and Erma Bombeck.
Books
Family Circus collections
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