Billy DeBeck

William Morgan "Billy" DeBeck ( born April 15, 1890 in Chicago, Illinois, † November 11, 1942 in New York City, New York) was an American cartoonist and author. He is best known as the creator of the comic strip Barney Google, which has been published since 1919.

Life

Billy DeBeck studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and then worked for various newspapers and magazines. In 1914 he was able to publish his first comics in the Chicago Herald. After the takeover of the Chicago Herald by the Hearst Corporation DeBeck joined the Examiner, where he was responsible among other things for the sports page. On June 17, 1919, the first strip Barney Google appeared, the first Sunday of page followed on 21 March 1920. A growth in popularity experienced the series, as DeBeck the title hero's racehorse "Spark Plug" to the side presented, what a flood of merchandising products with the result. After DeBecks death in November 1942 his assistant Fred Lasswell took over the Strip.