'Family Circus' creator Bil Keane dies at 89

[El Supremo]

Source: AP/Denver Post

PHOENIX—For more than a half century, Bil Keane's clever "Family Circus" comics entertained readers with a mix of humor and traditional family values, intentionally simplistic because the author thought the American public needed that consistency.

Keane, who started drawing the one-panel cartoon featuring Billy, Jeffy, Dolly, P.J. and their parents in February 1960, died Tuesday at age 89. His comic strip is featured in nearly 1,500 newspapers across the country.

Claudia Smith, a spokeswoman for the comic distributor King Features Syndicate, confirmed his death but said no other details were immediately available. Keane has a home in Paradise Valley, near Phoenix.

Keane said in a 1995 interview with The Associated Press that the cartoon endured because of its consistency and simplicity.

"It's reassuring, I think, to the American public to see the same family," he said.

Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_19297732

[meegbear]

1. Not a fan, but gotta give him his due

[Liberal Veteran]

4. Agreed.

[AngryAmish]

2. First Heavy D, now this

The American arts scene will never be the same.

[Ishoutandscream2]

15. Ha!

:spray:

[TlalocW]

3. Some of his earlier strips were almost on the risque side

I remember one of one of the kids pulling open the front window drapes while yelling, "Showtime!" while the mom was walking through the living room in bras, panties, and open robe, panicking because the mailman's attention was successfully grabbed at that point.

TlalocW

[uppityperson]

33. They changed to ultra religious in recent times though.

Grampa looking down from the clouds, in robe with a harp, watching whatever the kids weren't doing.

[pstokely]

34. Maybe it still is

[mahatmakanejeeves]

39. That had to have been in the Dysfunctional Family Circus.

Way back when the Interwebs first came to the Alexandria (VA) Library, that was one of my original favorite web sites. It kept getting moved around due to copyright infractions.

Dysfunctional Family Circus

The Free-Floating Dysfunctional Family Circus(TM) Archive v1.1.2

[Lithos]

5. I have to do this...

[Hissyspit]

6. Nietzche Family Circus & "If Family Circus Didn't Suck"

Nietzche Family Circus:

http://www.losanjealous.com/nfc

If Family Circus Didn't Suck:

http://www.cracked.com/blog/pg13-family-circus

[progressoid]

11. The Nietzsche Family Circus

:spray:

[alfredo]

25. That's one of my favorite mashup.

[Plucketeer]

7. I always got a chuckle out of his work

RIP, Bill.

[SoapBox]

9. ...me too.

RIP.

[FreeBillClinton]

8. Possibly even less talented than Dik Browne and Mort Walker

And that's saying a lot.

[nolabear]

18. Good God, man. Couldn't you wait a bit before sharing that wisdom?

[Daemonaquila]

21. No reason to.

Crap comic, hope it dies with him. He's dead - no feelings to hurt.

[pstokely]

35. It won't die, his son took over years ago

And they're now recycling comics from years ago

[progressoid]

10. I kind of liked his stuff.

When I was 9.

[onehandle]

12. His son, Glen Keane, has been a great animator for Disney. nt

[badhair77]

13. Seemed like a nice guy.

When my artsy son was about 9 he wrote a fan letter to BK. BK sent him a hand-drawn cartoon, personalized, and autographed as a thank you. Nice touch.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

30. he did the same for a one of my friend's students a few years ago

he was great to his fans.

[skyounkin]

14. Thank you Bill, for all the laughs you gave me over

the years.

Peace.

[Speck Tater]

16. I enjoyed all his original cartoons.

All four of them.

But you have to admit, he touched something in the American public or he wouldn't have been that successful. I suspect his biggest fans were little kids and grandparents.

[liberal N proud]

19. Once you reached 10 you kind of grew out of Family Circus

[onenote]

22. Once upon a time there were lots of comics aimed at kids under ten

And that was a good thing.

[pstokely]

36. And grew back into at age 70

nt

[randome]

17. Do a Google image search...

...on the words: dysfunctional family circus.

Some hilarious satires as good as, and sometimes funnier, than the short-lived Peanutweeter series.

[Javaman]

20. To quote the movie, "GO!"

Todd: You read your paper...and you're enjoying
your two-page comic spread. And there's The Family
fucking Circus...bottom right corner,
just waiting to suck. And that's the last thing
you read, so...it spoils everything
you read before it.

[onenote]

23. Here's a suggestion:

Just because something is on the comics page, it doesn't mean you are its intended audience or that you have to read it.

[Javaman]

26. here's another suggestion...

It's from a movie, try laughing.

[BiggJawn]

27. Yeah, like "Mallard Fillmore"...

You talk about something sucking like a Dyson...

[tammywammy]

28. That's the exact thing that came to mind for me!

I love that movie and he was right, Family Circus sucked!

[ReadTomPaine]

24. I didn't do it!

*rimshot*

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

29. It became hip to bash his strip

but I always liked Keane's work. I grew up reading compilations of his strips. Maybe it wasn't edgy or hip, but it wasn't supposed to be. Keane found an original niche and entertained people for decades.
He was an easy target for lazy comedians, much in the same way that Mr. Rogers became the subject of many a mean-spirited parody.

[randome]

31. Fine. I'll go there.

[salin]

32. RIP. Haven't read his stips since I was a young teenager,

but found joy in the strips when I was a kid decades ago.

[JackRiddler]

37. Obituary from the Comics Curmudgeon, and more...

http://joshreads.com/?p=11816

Bil Keane, creator of the Family Circus, died today after a long and by all accounts happy life. We owe him a debt of thanks for providing such a tempting target for mockery over the years — mockery that he was by all accounts incredibly good-natured about (he even collected Family Circus spoofs). His own sense of humor was reportedly a lot edgier than what the strip became best known for, as some of the early panels (like the one from 1960 above) demonstrate. RIP, Big Daddy Keane.

Meanwhile, little Jeffy (age 53) has been writing and drawing the strip for years now, so expect exactly zero changes on that front, and our mockery to continue unabated.

Of the many spoof sites...

Dysfunctional Family Circus
http://dfc.furr.org/

Jersey Shore Family Circus
http://jerseycircus.blogspot.com/

[Ash_F]

38. I expected some mixed responses when I opened this thread.

I was not disappointed. :3

rip

[unionworks]

40. this is sad news

...and I don't give a flying f@ck what any of you post boomers say. I grew up with his comics, and often they hit home and went straight for the heart. If you are too simple. And immature to see that, it is not our problem. You will learnin your own good time. CSNY "TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL" comes to mind.

[unionworks]

41. "don't you ever ask them why

...if they told you, you would cry, so just look at them, and sigh...and know they love you". ;)