George Herriman
Writing
Biography
George Joseph Herriman III (August 22, 1880 – April 25, 1944) was an American cartoonist best known for the comic strip Krazy Kat (1913–1944). More influential than popular, Krazy Kat had an appreciative audience among those in the arts. Gilbert Seldes' article "The Krazy Kat Who Walks by Himself" was the earliest example of a critic from the high arts giving serious attention to a comic strip. The Comics Journal placed the strip first on its list of the greatest comics of the 20th century. Herriman's work has been a primary influence on cartoonists such as Elzie C. Segar, Will Eisner, Charles M. Schulz, Robert Crumb, Art Spiegelman, Bill Watterson, and Chris Ware. Herriman was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to mixed-race Creole parents, and grew up in Los Angeles. After he graduated from high school in 1897, he worked in the newspaper industry as an illustrator and engraver. He moved on to cartooning and comic strips—a medium then in its infancy—and drew a variety of strips until he introduced his most famous character, Krazy Kat, in his strip The Dingbat Family in 1910. A Krazy Kat daily strip began in 1913, and from 1916 the strip also appeared on Sundays. It was noted for its poetic, dialect-heavy dialogue; its fantastic, shifting backgrounds; and its bold, experimental page layouts. In the strip's main motif and dynamic, Ignatz Mouse pelted Krazy with bricks, which the naïve, androgynous Kat interpreted as symbols of love. As the strip progressed, a love triangle developed between Krazy, Ignatz, and Offisa Pupp. Pupp made it his mission to prevent Ignatz from throwing bricks at Krazy, or to jail him for having done so, but his efforts were perpetually impeded because Krazy wished to be struck by Ignatz's bricks. Herriman lived most of his life in Los Angeles, but made frequent trips to the Navajo deserts in the Southwestern United States. He was drawn to the landscapes of Monument Valley and the Enchanted Mesa, and made Coconino County the location of his Krazy Kat strips. His artwork made much use of Navajo and Mexican themes and motifs against shifting desert backgrounds. He was a prolific cartoonist who produced a large number of strips and illustrated Don Marquis's books of poetry about Archy and Mehitabel, an alley cat and a cockroach. Newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst was a proponent of Herriman and gave him a lifetime contract with King Features Syndicate, which guaranteed Herriman a comfortable living and an outlet for his work despite its lack of popularity. Description above from the Wikipedia article George Herriman, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
A hilarious throwback collection of kooky escapades from this rare 1960s cartoon about lovable cats, mischievous mice and big mouthed pups.
Krazy Kat
When Leonard Higgins, a cartoonist, meets Prince Hendryx, ruler of the small nation of Vulgaria, he offers to help save the country by advertising the nonexistent crop, the peanut.
How to Handle Women
Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse go to the circus and have some fun at the expense of a spectator.
Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse at the Circus
Ignatz Mouse is hired to sell a prefabricated house to the local brick foundry owner Kelly by a corrupt realtor. But Krazy Kat's simple home (made from two umbrellas) bothers Kelly. The trio becomes embroiled in a battle of wits as to whose house is better.
Keeping Up with Krazy
Krazy Kat is babysitting. The obnoxious whippersnapper can not be consoled and expresses his wish for Santa Claus. Krazy Kat decides to go to the North Pole to find him.
Searching for Santa!
Krazy Kat tries to serenade Ignatz Mouse.
Krazy Kat Goes A-Wooing
Krazy is driving a bus full of passengers, and then a pig driver starts causing him a lot of problems.
Highway Snobbery
A scientist doses three guinea pigs with three different tonics, which cause cartoon drunkenness in the subjects.
Sad Little Guinea Pigs
Krazy Kat and Ignatz set out for the wilds on Krazy's bike; Krazy's promises to teach Ignatz about bugology. After crashing the bike into a tree, they come upon a bee (Krazy says it's sleeping, Ignatz says it's dead) and an elephant. Krazy works his magic on one of them, Ignatz on the other.
Krazy Kat, Bugologist
Krazy Kat lives in a ramshackle house. He wakes up and takes an outdoor shower. Then he steals a wheel from a baby buggy and makes a soapbox racer with a lawnmower attached. He proceeds to damage some lawns. Krazy meets up with his girlfriend, who lives in a huge mansion.
Cinder Alley
Krazy Kat runs a gymnasium where out-of-shape folks go through the slimming and fit routines of the era, usually involving machinery or high-pressure steam.
Gym Jams
Krazy Kat encounters many wild events as a bellboy in a large hotel.
Ritzy Hotel
While George Herriman is credited as Kat's creator here, Krazy in this short bears little resemblance to the original comic strip character. In fact, instead of pining for Ignaz Mouse, this Kat is hunting American Indians, what we call Native Americans today, as he gets almost burned at the stake by them (it should be noted that the fire, like in many animated shorts made during this time, has a personality of his own here!).
Ratskin
Kitty is seduced into leaving the ice cream shop with a sneaky fox until she discovers his true intentions. Krazy Kat is called to the rescue.
Soda Poppa
Columbia Krazy Kat cartoon released June 14, 1933.
Antique Antics
Krazy is sent on a mission to explore planet Mars.
Krazy's Race of Time
Krazy Kat and his girlfriend admire a vase in a Chinese curio shop window. The scene changes to reveal the story behind the vase.
The Curio Shop
Krazy Kat gets falsely arrested for cheese burglaries.
The Great Cheese Robbery
Svengarlic is a short animated film distributed by Columbia Pictures, and one of the many cartoons featuring the comic strip character Krazy Kat.
Svengarlic
A comic interactions of "hot-dog" ice skaters on a frozen lake or river, and an Italian pushcart vendor who sells hot dogs to the ice skaters. A smart-aleck, larcenous skater tries to swipe a hot dog in a skate-by of the pushcart, resulting in a spinning amalgam of skaters and a long string of links. Other antics ensue on and under the ice.