Frank O'Neal
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Frank O'Neal (May 9, 1921 – October 10, 1986)[1][2] was an American cartoonist best known for his comic strip Short Ribs, which he wrote and drew from 1958 to 1973.
Early life and career
[edit]Born in Springfield, Missouri, O'Neal was kept on the move by his traveling father, and the youth grew up in Arkansas, California, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Tennessee and Washington, D.C.[3] He studied for three years at the Jefferson Machamer School of Art in Santa Monica, California and sold his first cartoon professionally in 1950, to the Saturday Evening Post.[4] After six years of freelance cartooning, he spent a year and a half drawing storyboards.[3] His feature "How to Bring Up Parents" ran in Redbook for three years.[citation needed]
Later career
[edit]The syndicate Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) released his comic strip Short Ribs as a daily on November 17, 1958, and additionally as a Sunday comic on June 14, 1959.[5] The gag-a-day comic had no regular characters, but frequently featured such recurring settings as a medieval king's court and the American Old West.[5] In 1973, O'Neal turned over the strip to his assistant, Frank Hill, while O'Neal focused on advertising-industry work,[5] including an 18-month stint as advertising manager for the Carmel Pine Cone, a weekly newspaper in Carmel, California, beginning in 1974.[citation needed] The final Short Ribs strip ran Sunday, May 2, 1982.[5]
Awards
[edit]He won the 1964 National Cartoonists Society's Division Award for Newspaper Strips: Humor for Short Ribs.[6]
Personal life
[edit]O'Neal and his wife Bettie had two children, John and Mollie.[3] He was living in or near Pacific Grove, California, at the time of his death at age 64.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "Frank O'Neal, Creator of Short Ribs, dies". The Comics Journal. No. 116. July 1987. p. 24.
- ^ Frank O'Neal at the Lambiek Comiclopedia. Retrieved on June 3, 2017. Archived from the original on May 6, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Frank O'Neal". National Cartoonists Society. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
- ^ a b "'Short Ribs' Cartoonist O'Neal Dies". Associated Press News. October 11, 1986. Archived from the original on June 3, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Short Ribs at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on June 3, 2017.
- ^ "NCS Awards > Division Awards > Newspaper Strips: Humor". National Cartoonists Society. Archived from the original on January 27, 2010. Retrieved June 3, 2017. Requires hitting "See Winners" link in order to view.
External links
[edit]- "Frank O'Neal Cartoons: An inventory of his cartoons at Syracuse University". Syracuse University. Retrieved June 3, 2017.