Gus Edson

Gus Edson ( born September 20, 1901 in Cincinnati, Ohio; † September 26, 1966 in Stamford, Connecticut) was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and author.

Life and work

At the age of 17 years, Edson left school and went to the United States Army that started it in 1918 in Australia. After a short study at New York's Pratt Institute and the Art Students League of New York Edson worked from 1925 to 1928 as a sports cartoonist for the New York Evening Graphic. After that he worked among others as a freelancer and as an occasional ghost signatory before he 1931-1935 again as a sports cartoonist, this time for the New York Daily News, worked. During this period he created with Streaky, he drew from 1933 to 1935, his first comic strip. After the accidental death of Sidney Smith in 1935, Joseph Medill Patterson, the publisher Edson chose as his successor to the daily strip The Gumps continue. With temporary support of the later actor Martin Landau and Ray Bailey Edson drew the comic until its completion in 1959. After a stay in Italy Edson created in collaboration with the artist Irwin Hasen the of an orphan acting comic strip Dondi, which in year 1961 was also filmed and for its adaptation Edson wrote the screenplay. Edson died in 1966 of heart failure; Dondi was continued until the 1980s.