Publishers Syndicate

Last updated
Publishers Syndicate
FormerlyPublishers Newspaper Syndicate
Industry Print syndication
Founded1925;99 years ago (1925)
FoundersHarold H. Anderson and Eugene P. Conley
Defunct1967;57 years ago (1967)
Fatemerged with Hall Syndicate to form Publishers-Hall Syndicate
Headquarters30 N. LaSalle Street, ,
Key people
Allen Saunders, Nicholas P. Dallis
ProductsComic strips, newspaper columns
OwnersHarold H. Anderson (1925–1963)
Field Enterprises (1963–onward)

Publishers Newspaper Syndicate (later Publishers Syndicate) was a syndication service based in Chicago that operated from 1925 to 1967, when it merged with the Hall Syndicate. Publishers syndicated such long-lived comic strips as Big Chief Wahoo/Steve Roper , Mary Worth , Kerry Drake , Rex Morgan, M.D. , Judge Parker , and Apartment 3-G .

Contents

Allen Saunders served as comics editor in the 1940s[ citation needed ] and wrote a number of Publishers Syndicate's most popular strips, including Apple Mary/ Mary Worth , Big Chief Wahoo , and Kerry Drake . His protege Nicholas P. Dallis followed in Saunders' footsteps by writing the popular strips Rex Morgan, M.D. , Judge Parker , and Apartment 3-G . [1]

In addition to comic strips, Publishers syndicated sports columnists such as Red Smith and columnists such as Roscoe Drummond. [2]

Publishers Syndicate was acquired by Field Enterprises in 1963 and merged with the Hall Syndicate in 1967, becoming the Publishers-Hall Syndicate.

History

From 1919 to circa 1925, Chicago-area businessmen Eugene P. Conley and John H. Millar ran a syndication service aimed at teen readers. Called Associated Editors, the syndicate offered among other features the columns and cartoons of Robert Quillen. Associated Editors was dissolved when Millar and Conley went their separate ways. (Millar became the owner of Home News Publishing, a chain of small-town papers.) [3]

The Publishers Syndicate was founded in 1925 by Conley. [2] and Harold H. Anderson [4] Among its first columns were those of Quillen; its first strips were Walt Scott's Dramatic Events in Bible History and John H. Striebel Poor Pa.

Many of Publishers' most popular and long-running strips were launched in the 1930s, including Dan Dunn: Secret Operative 48 , Apple Mary (which later became Mary Worth ), and Big Chief Wahoo .

Successful Publishers strips launched in the 1940s included Kerry Drake , Dotty Dripple , and Rex Morgan, M.D. ; while popular strips originating in the 1950s included Judge Parker , Tales from the Great Book, Friar Justin "Fred" McCarthy's Brother Juniper, and Stan Lee and Dan DeCarlo's Willie Lumpkin . Notable strips launched in the 1960s were Apartment 3-G and The Wizard of Id .

In 1963 Chicago-based Field Enterprises and New York Herald Tribune publisher John Hay Whitney acquired Publishers Syndicate, [5] merging syndication operations with Field's Chicago Sun-Times Syndicate, the New York Herald Tribune Syndicate, and the syndicate of the Chicago Daily News [6] (a newspaper that had been acquired by Field Enterprises in 1959). When the New York Herald Tribune folded in 1966, Publishers inherited their strips, including Johnny Hart's B.C. , Mell Lazarus' Miss Peach , and Harry Haenigsen's Penny .

In 1967, Field Enterprises acquired Robert M. Hall's New York-based Hall Syndicate, merging it with Publishers to form the Publishers-Hall Syndicate.

Publishers Syndicate strips and panels

Related Research Articles

<i>Mary Worth</i> American comic strip

Mary Worth is an American newspaper comic strip that has had an eight-decade run from 1938. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, this soap opera-style strip influenced several that followed. It was created by writer Allen Saunders and artist Dale Connor, initially appeared under the pseudonym "Dale Allen". Ken Ernst succeeded Connor as artist in 1942.

<i>Judge Parker</i> American comic strip

Judge Parker is an American soap opera-style comic strip created by Nicholas P. Dallis that first appeared on November 24, 1952. The strip's look and content were influenced by the work of Allen Saunders and Ken Ernst on Mary Worth.

<i>Rex Morgan, M.D.</i> American comic strip

Rex Morgan, M.D. is an American soap opera comic strip, created May 10, 1948 by psychiatrist Dr. Nicholas P. Dallis under the pseudonym Dal Curtis.

<i>Steve Roper and Mike Nomad</i> American comic strip (1936–2004)

Steve Roper and Mike Nomad were an American adventure comic strip that ran under various titles from November 23, 1936 to December 26, 2004. Originally Big Chief Wahoo, the focus and title character of the strip changed over time to Chief Wahoo (1940-1945), Chief Wahoo and Steve Roper (1945-1946), Steve Roper and Wahoo (1946-1948), Steve Roper (1948-1969) and finally Steve Roper and Mike Nomad (1969-2004).

<i>Apartment 3-G</i> 1961–2015 American soap opera comic strip

Apartment 3-G is an American newspaper soap opera comic strip about a trio of career women who share an apartment in Manhattan. Created by Nicholas P. Dallis with art by Alex Kotzky, the strip began May 8, 1961, initially distributed by the Publishers Syndicate, which later merged with King Features Syndicate in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas P. Dallis</span> American physician

Nicholas Peter Dallis, was an American psychiatrist turned comic strip writer, creator of the soap opera-style strips Rex Morgan, M.D., Judge Parker and Apartment 3-G. Separating his comics career from his medical practice, he wrote under pseudonyms, Dal Curtis for Rex Morgan, M.D. and Paul Nichols for Judge Parker.

<i>Kerry Drake</i> American comic strip

Kerry Drake is the title of a comic strip created for Publishers Syndicate by Alfred Andriola as artist and Allen Saunders as uncredited writer. It debuted on Monday, October 4, 1943, replacing Norman Marsh's Dan Dunn, and was syndicated continuously through June 26, 1983.

Alex Kotzky was a cartoonist best known for his three decades of work on the comic strip Apartment 3-G, originally distributed by Publishers Syndicate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Publishers-Hall Syndicate</span>

Publishers-Hall Syndicate was a newspaper syndicate founded by Robert M. Hall in 1944. Hall served as the company's president and general manager. Over the course of its operations, the company was known as, sequentially, the Hall Syndicate (1944–1946), the New York Post Syndicate (1946–1949), the Post-Hall Syndicate (1949–1955), the Hall Syndicate (1955–1967), and Publishers-Hall Syndicate (1967–1975). The syndicate was acquired by Field Enterprises in 1967, and merged into Field Newspaper Syndicate in 1975. Some of the more notable strips syndicated by the company include Pogo, Dennis the Menace, Funky Winkerbean, Mark Trail, The Strange World of Mr. Mum, and Momma, as well as the cartoons of Jules Feiffer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John H. Striebel</span> American cartoonist

John H. Striebel was an American illustrator and comic strip artist who was best known for the newspaper strip Dixie Dugan, which was scripted by J. P. McEvoy. The two met when they were college freshmen at the University of Notre Dame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fran Matera</span> American cartoonist

Francis A. "Fran" Matera was an American comic strip artist best known for his King Features Syndicate adventure strip Steve Roper and Mike Nomad from 1984 to 2004. In addition to his extensive experience in newspaper strips, Matera also spent many years in the comic book industry, particularly for Charlton Comics. His influences include Hal Foster, Alex Raymond, Milton Caniff, Al Capp, and Bud Fisher.

A comic strip syndicate functions as an agent for cartoonists and comic strip creators, placing the cartoons and strips in as many newspapers as possible on behalf of the artist. A syndicate can annually receive thousands of submissions, from which only two or three might be selected for representation. In some cases, the work will be owned by the syndicate as opposed to the creator. The Guinness World Record for the world's most syndicated strip belongs to Jim Davis' Garfield, which at that point (2002) appeared in 2,570 newspapers, with 263 million readers worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allen Saunders</span> American cartoonist (1899-1986)

Allen Saunders was an American writer, journalist and cartoonist who wrote the comic strips Steve Roper and Mike Nomad, Mary Worth and Kerry Drake.

Elmer Woggon, who signed his art Wog, was the creator of an early newspaper comic strip that eventually developed into the long-running Steve Roper and Mike Nomad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mel Casson</span> American cartoonist (1920–2008)

Mel Casson was an American cartoonist with a 50-year career. He is primarily remembered for his work on the daily comic strips Sparky, Angel, Mixed Singles/Boomer and Redeye, plus numerous magazine cartoons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Ernst</span> American cartoonist

Kenneth Frederic Ernst was a US comic book and comic strip artist. He is most notable for his work on the popular and long-running comic strip Mary Worth from 1942 to 1985. With his realistic style, uncommon in those early years, Ernst paved the way for soap opera strips that followed.

Dateline: Danger! is an American syndicated newspaper comic strip published from November 11, 1968 to March 17, 1974, created and produced by writer John Saunders and artist Al McWilliams. The series, about two intelligence agents working undercover as reporters, co-starred the character Danny Raven, the first African-American lead character of a mainstream comic strip.

The Field Newspaper Syndicate was a syndication service based in Chicago that operated independently from 1941 to 1984, for a good time under the name the Chicago Sun-Times Syndicate. The service was founded by Marshall Field III and was part of Field Enterprises. The syndicate was most well known for Steve Canyon, but also launched such popular, long-running strips as The Berrys, From 9 To 5, Rivets, and Rick O'Shay. Other features included the editorial cartoons of Bill Mauldin and Jacob Burck, and the "Ask Ann Landers" advice column.

The New York Herald Tribune Syndicate was the syndication service of the New York Herald Tribune. Syndicating comic strips and newspaper columns, it operated from c. 1914 to 1966. The syndicate's most notable strips were Mr. and Mrs., Our Bill, Penny, Miss Peach, and B.C. Syndicated columns included Walter Lippmann's Today and Tomorrow, Weare Holbrook's Soundings, George Fielding Eliot's military affairs column, and John Crosby's radio and television column. Irita Bradford Van Doren was book review editor for a time.

References

  1. Mendez, A. E. 2006. "Remembering the Girls Next Door: Alex Kotzky and Apartment 3-G," Part 2, The Look of Love:The Rise and Fall of the Photo-Realistic Newspaper Strip, 1946-1970.
  2. 1 2 Heise, Kenan. "News Syndicate Chief Harold Anderson," Chicago Tribune (January 26, 1988).
  3. Watson, Elmo Scott. "The Era of Consolidation, 1890-1920" (Chapter VII), in A History Of Newspaper Syndicates In The United States, 1865-1935 (Western Newspaper Union, 1936), archived at Stripper's Guide
  4. "Who's Who Among Leading U.S. Syndicate Executives," Editor & Publisher (September 7, 1946). Archived at "News of Yore 1946: Syndicate Executives Profiled," Stripper's Guide (July 21, 2010).
  5. Stetson, Damon. "Herald Tribune Is Closing Its News Service: But Meyer Says Columns That Appeared in Paper Will Be in Merged Publication," New York Times (June 24, 1966).
  6. Toni Mendez Collection: Publishers Syndicate / Publishers Newspaper Syndicate
  7. Gantz entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999. Accessed Nov. 3, 2018.
  8. Apeldoorn, Ger (November 11, 2013). "Late Mail". The Fabuleous Fifties.