Zeke Zekley

Emil Samuel Zekley (February 11, 1915 – April 28, 2005), better known as Zeke Zekley, was an American cartoonist who worked on several comic strips, notably George McManus' Bringing Up Father.

Born in Chicago, Zekley grew up in Detroit. His first work as a cartoonist was at age 18 for the Detroit Mirror, which ceased publication in August 1932. He then freelanced, and a ginger ale client kept his cartoons in newspapers, buses and streetcars and on billboards. He moved to California in 1935 and began work with Disney, but after two weeks he was unemployed when the studio closed down for the summer.

Zekley was broke and in dire straits in 1935 when Charles McManus, the brother of George McManus, saw him drawing on a restaurant tablecloth, liked what he saw and decided to introduce Zekley to his brother, kicking off a series of events described by TV writer-producer Mark Evanier:

In the 1930s, Zekley was initially paid $50 a week, doing lettering and inking, but he soon began collaborating with McManus on both the penciled art and the writing. During World War II, he was in the Army and drew cartoons for the military. Since he was stationed near McManus, he continued to work on Bringing Up Father throughout the WWII years. During his two decades with McManus, Zekley thought highly of the cartoonist, calling him "my closest pal, mentor, confidant, even surrogate father." After McManus' death in 1954, King Features replaced McManus and Zekley with Vernon Greene.

Zekley worked on other comic strips—Dud Dudley, Paps Younger, Peachy Keen and Popsie—but none of them were particularly successful. He also contributed to the comic book First Love, published by Harvey Comics.

Zekley created what he called "murals without morals", and in 1940 he was commissioned to paint a mural for Clark Gable's ranch house.

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