Hal Forrest (Philadelphia, July 22, 1895 - 1959) was an American comic strip artist best known for his work on Tailspin Tommy . [1]
When he was 16, he drew a comic strip, Percy the Boy Scout, for the Philadelphia Telegraph, and a year later he became the youngest scoutmaster in the country, heading the 13th troop established in America. From 1911 to 1915, while attending the Art Institute of Chicago, he was a member of the Chicago Tribune staff and of Troop A, First Illinois Cavalry. In 1915–17, Forrest was a member of Headquarters Troop, Third New Jersey Infantry, and during that period, he collaborated with Lee Pape, author of Little Benn's Notebook, on a color Sunday page of comics for The Philadelphia Record .
On the day war was declared, he enlisted and was assigned to the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps in San Antonio, Texas, where he became Sergeant-Major of 144th Pursuit Squadron, Kelly Field. He created Liberty Loan posters and war cartoons for the Bureau of Public Information. At Kelly Field, he drew cartoons for the camp newspaper, the Kelly Field Eagle, and also was art editor of The Set-up, a camp newspaper in Waco, Texas. While he was with the 479th Pursuit Squadron, U.S. Air Corps Reserve, at Clover Field in Santa Monica, Forrest drew Artie the Ace, the first aviation comic strip, which led him to develop, in 1928, the popular Tailspin Tommy, syndicated in more than 200 newspapers as both a Sunday and daily strip. [1]
Milton Arthur Paul Caniff was an American cartoonist known for the Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon comic strips.
Tailspin Tommy was an aviation-adventure comic strip about a youthful pilot, "Tailspin" Tommy Tomkins. Originally illustrated by Hal Forrest and initially distributed by John Neville Wheeler's Bell Syndicate and then by United Feature Syndicate, the strip had a 14-year run from May 21, 1928 to March 15, 1942.
The Aviation Section, Signal Corps, was the aerial warfare service of the United States from 1914 to 1918, and a direct statutory ancestor of the United States Air Force. It absorbed and replaced the Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps, and conducted the activities of Army aviation until its statutory responsibilities were suspended by President Woodrow Wilson in 1918. The Aviation Section organized the first squadrons of the aviation arm and conducted the first military operations by United States aviation on foreign soil.
Reg'lar Fellers is a long-running newspaper comic strip adapted into a feature film, a radio series on the NBC Red Network, and two animated cartoons. Created by Gene Byrnes (1889–1974), the comic strip offered a humorous look at a gang of suburban children. Syndicated from 1917 to January 18, 1949, Byrnes' strip was collected into several books. Branding also extended to such items as baseball bats and breakfast cereal.
Horace Meek Hickam was a pioneer airpower advocate and an officer in the United States Army Air Corps. Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, is named in his honor.
Tailspin Tommy is a 12-episode 1934 Universal film serial based on the Tailspin Tommy comic strip by Hal Forrest. Directed by Lew Landers and produced by Milton Gatzert, the serial was the 97th serial of the 137 released by that studio. The plot of Tailspin Tommy concerns a conflict over a government airmail contract.
Tailspin Tommy in the Great Air Mystery is a 12-episode 1935 Universal movie serial based on the Tailspin Tommy comic strip by Hal Forrest and starring Clark Williams, Jean Rogers and Noah Beery, Jr. The picture was the 96th of the 137 serials released by the studio.
Dodd Army Airfield was an airfield located within the current boundaries of Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. Dodd Field includes the area bounded on the north by Rittiman Road, on the west by Harry Wurzbach Memorial Highway, on the south by Winans Road and on the east by the Fort Sam Houston Reservation boundary.
William Reynold Brown was an American realist artist who painted many Hollywood film posters. He was also briefly active as a comics artist.
Frank E. Leonard, better known as Lank Leonard, was an American cartoonist artist who created the long-running comic strip Mickey Finn, which he drew for more than three decades.
The 48th Flying Training Squadron is part of the 14th Flying Training Wing based at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi. It operates T-1 Jayhawk aircraft conducting flight training. The squadron is one of the oldest in the Air Force, being formed during World War I as the 48th Aero Squadron on 4 August 1917.
Danger Flight is a 1939 American film directed by Howard Bretherton and starring John Trent as Tailspin Tommy Tompkins, Marjorie Reynolds, Milburn Stone and Jason Robards Sr. The film featured young aviation enthusiasts in a model club.
Sky Patrol is a 1939 American film directed by Howard Bretherton and starring John Trent, along with Marjorie Reynolds, Milburn Stone and Jason Robards Sr. The film also featured actor and comedian Jackie Coogan, who began his film career as a child actor in silent films.
The 87th Troop Carrier Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 87th Troop Carrier Wing at Atterbury Air Force Base, Indiana where it was inactivated on 1 February 1953.
With the purchase of its first airplane, built and successfully flown by Orville and Wilbur Wright, in 1909 the United States Army began the training of flight personnel. This article describes the training provided in those early years, though World War I, and the immediate years after the war until the establishment of the United States Army Air Corps Flight Training Center in San Antonio, Texas during 1926.
The 10th School Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 24th School Wing, and was demobilized on 15 July 1931 at Duncan Field, Texas.
Mystery Plane is a 1939 American action film directed by George Waggner and written by Paul Schofield and George Waggner. The film is based on the comic strip Tailspin Tommy by Hal Forrest and Glenn Chaffin. The film stars John Trent, Marjorie Reynolds, Milburn Stone, Jason Robards Sr., George Lynn and Lucien Littlefield. Mystery Plane, the first of four "Tailspin Tommy" films made by Monogram Pictures, was released on March 8, 1939.
Stunt Pilot is a 1939 American adventure film directed by George Waggner and written by Scott Darling and George Waggner. The film is based on the comic strip Tailspin Tommy by Hal Forrest and Glenn Chaffin. Stunt Pilot stars John Trent, Marjorie Reynolds, Milburn Stone, Jason Robards Sr., Pat O'Malley and George Meeker. Following the success of Mystery Plane (1939), Stunt Pilot, the second in the "Tailspin Tommy" series, was released on July 2, 1939, by Monogram Pictures.
John Trent was an aviator-turned-actor-turned-aviator, best known as an actor for the "Tailspin Tommy" adventure film series in the 1930s. From 1931 to 1941, under the stage name John Trent, Browne appeared in 16 Hollywood films. While flying was a natural for him, acting was not, and he eventually turned his back on his Hollywood career, resuming his career in aviation, as a test pilot.