Al Capp
| Al Capp | |
|---|---|
Self-portrait
|
|
| Born |
Alfred Gerald Caplin September 28, 1909 New Haven, Connecticut |
| Died | November 5, 1979 (aged 70) South Hampton, New Hampshire |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Cartoonist, satirist, radio and TV commentator |
| Spouse(s) | Catherine Wingate (Cameron) Capp (1932–1979; his death) |
| Children | Julie Ann Cairol, Catherine Jan Peirce, Colin Cameron Capp (adopted) |
Alfred Gerald Caplin (September 28, 1909 – November 5, 1979), better known as Al Capp, was an American cartoonist and humorist best known for the satirical comic strip Li'l Abner, which he created in 1934 and continued writing and (with help from assistants) drawing until 1977. He also wrote the comic strips Abbie an' Slats (in the years 1937–45) and Long Sam (1954). He won the National Cartoonists Society's Reuben Award in 1947 for Cartoonist of the Year, and their 1979 Elzie Segar Award (posthumously) for his "unique and outstanding contribution to the profession of cartooning." Comic strips dealt with northern urban experiences until the year Capp introduced "Li'l Abner," the first strip based in the South. Although Capp was from Connecticut, he spent 43 years teaching the world about Dogpatch, reaching an estimated 60 million readers in over 900 American newspapers and 100 foreign papers in 28 countries. M. Thomas Inge says Capp made a large personal fortune on the strip and "had a profound influence on the way the world viewed the American South."
Born in New Haven, Connecticut, of East European Jewish heritage, Capp was the eldest child of Otto Philip and Matilda (Davidson) Caplin. Capp's parents were both natives of Latvia whose families had migrated to New Haven in the 1880s. "My mother and father had been brought to this country from Russia when they were infants," wrote Capp in 1978. "Their fathers had found that the great promise of America was true—it was no crime to be a Jew." The Caplins were dirt poor, and Capp later recalled stories of his mother going out in the night to sift through ash barrels for reusable bits of coal.
In August 1919, at the age of nine, Capp was run down by a trolley car and had to have his left leg amputated, well above the knee. According to his father Otto's unpublished autobiography, young Capp was not prepared for the amputation beforehand; having been in a coma for days, he suddenly awoke to discover that his leg was removed. He was eventually given a prosthetic leg, but only learned to use it by adopting a slow way of walking which became increasingly painful as he grew older. The childhood tragedy of losing a leg likely helped shape Capp’s cynical worldview, which, funny as it was, was certainly darker and more sardonic than that of the average newspaper cartoonist. "I was indignant as hell about that leg," he would reveal in a November 1950 interview in Time magazine.
...
Wikipedia