Hank Ketcham
| Hank Ketcham | |
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Hank Ketcham
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| Born | Henry King Ketcham March 14, 1920 Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | June 1, 2001 (aged 81) Carmel, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Artist, writer |
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Notable works
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Dennis the Menace |
Henry King Ketcham (March 14, 1920 – June 1, 2001), better known as Hank Ketcham, was an American cartoonist who created the Dennis the Menace comic strip, writing and drawing it from 1951 to 1994, when he retired from drawing the daily cartoon and took up painting full-time in his home studio. In 1953, he received the Reuben Award for the strip, which continues today in the hands of other artists.
Born in Seattle, Washington, Ketcham was the son of Weaver Vinson Ketcham and Virginia King. His great-grandfather was James Weaver, who ran for President twice on third party tickets in the late 19th century. When he was six years old, his father had a guest over for dinner who was an illustrator. After dinner, he showed the youngster his "magic pencil" and drew some illustrations. Ketcham was immediately hooked, and soon his father set up a small desk in the closet of his bedroom at which he could draw. After graduating from Queen Anne High School in 1937, he attended the University of Washington but dropped out after his first year and hitchhiked to Los Angeles, hoping to work for Walt Disney.
Ketcham started in the business as an animator for Walter Lantz and eventually Walt Disney, where he worked on Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi and several Donald Duck shorts. During World War II, Ketcham was a photographic specialist with the US Navy Reserve. He also created the character Mr. Hook for the Navy during World War II and four cartoons were made (one by Walter Lantz Productions in color and three by Warner Bros. Cartoons in black and white). Also while in the Navy he began a camp newspaper strip, Half Hitch, which ran in The Saturday Evening Post beginning in 1943.
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