“my favorite creature”: Capp, AUTO 2, p. 6.
“Her hair turned white …” William Furlong, “Recap on Al Capp,” Saturday Evening Post, Winter 1971.
“anxious and scolding …” Capp, AUTO 1, p. 4. Al Capp’s description of his mother matched those of others in the family. Otto Caplin, along with Al’s two brothers, Bence and Elliott, shared similar feelings about a woman who seemed so unhappy with her life. As they learned later, she had a warm, generous side that she rarely displayed. After he had become wealthy and internationally known, Al, along with his siblings, sent money to Tillie to give her some comfort as she grew older. In “Mother and Her Secret,” a brief memoir published in the March 1964 issue of Reader’s Digest, Capp wrote about how Tillie never improved the quality of her life after her children started sending her monthly checks. She lived in the same apartment, wore the same clothes, didn’t hire someone to help her with the housework, and never took vacations. The siblings reasoned that she was putting the money away and would have had a substantial amount saved when she died. They were mistaken. When they went through her papers, they were stunned to discover that she had cashed every one of the checks and used the money to arrange, through a refugee foundation, to have four European war orphans brought to the United States. She sponsored them in every way: “She’d set them up in a home near hers, and for 20 years she’d educated them, seen them through sickness and teen-age problems, and, in two cases, into marriage.” She never mentioned any of it to her children, probably, Al reasoned, because she didn’t want their disapproval of “her going through the whole mess all over again.”
“He always triumphed …” Furlong, “Recap on Al Capp.”
“constantly marrying ‘Follies’ girls”: Capp, AUTO 2, p. 9.
“block-gang-warfare jungle”: Capp, “Memories of Miss Mandelbaum,” Atlantic Monthly, May 1951, reprinted in My Well-Balanced Life on a Wooden Leg, p. 18.
“The experiment went on …” E. J. Kahn Jr., “OOFF!! (SOB!) EEP!! (GULP!) ZOWIE!!!—II,” New Yorker, December 6, 1947.
“I was just a kid …” Ibid.
“Momma hastily packed …” Elliott Caplin, Al Capp Remembered (Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1994), p. 31.
“a gifted artist …” Furlong, “Recap on Al Capp.”
“He was a dreamer …” Caplin, Al Capp Remembered, p. 34.
“solid”: Capp, AUTO 1, p. 21.
“But how do I …” ibid., p 24.
3 The Hills
“she was quite old …” Capp, AUTO 1, p. 27.
“I don’t know …” Capp, AUTO 2, p. 16.
“If it [was] simple …” Capp, AUTO 1, p. 27. In an interview with the authors, Todd Capp, Al Capp’s nephew, recalled Gus Levy being a topic of conversation long after his trip with Alfred Caplin. As Todd Capp remembered, Gus was a friend of both Al and Bence Caplin, and might have even concocted a scheme in partnership with Otto Caplin: “A charming scoundrel, Gus was famous within the family for his schemes and scams. One, which Otto [Caplin] may have helped with, involved taking orders for fur coats from Yale students. Gus would describe, perhaps show pictures of, high-quality overcoats and even have the students meticulously measured to ensure proper fit. He took their deposits, gave them receipts, and of course the coats never materialized. The oft-repeated tale was a source of great mirth at family gatherings, especially those in New Haven.” In interviews over many years in which his trip through Appalachia was discussed, Al Capp maintained that it was his other lifelong friend, Don Munson, who accompanied him, undoubtedly because he wanted to distance himself from Levy, a lifetime scammer, and because he didn’t tell some of the stories about Levy that he would finally relate in his unpublished autobiography.
“What the hell”: Capp, AUTO 2, p. 18.
“This must be worth …” ibid., p. 19.
“These people had …” Al Capp, “Unforgettable Li’l Abner,” Reader’s Digest, June 1978.
“It was a hot day …” n.a., “The Men Who Make You Laugh,” undated promotional article issued by the United Feature Syndicate.
“Whatcha doing?” Virginia Irwin, “Al Capp and His Fertile Imagination,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 14, 1949.
“Hello, Mom”: Capp, AUTO 2, p. 21.
“It was just as well …” ibid.
“No one was able …” O. P. Caplin, Dogpatch Road, p. 126. For all his skepticism, Otto Caplin enjoyed hearing Alfred’s stories, if for no other reason than their sheer entertainment value. “He had a flair for injecting a measure of excitement in his stories,” he said. “He enjoyed his own narratives and laughed boisterously.”
“Cartooning is something …” Gail Matthews, “Interview with Al Capp,” Yankee, April 1965.
“So it’s your ambition …” O. P. Caplin, Dogpatch Road, p. 144.
4 Uncle Bob’s Generosity
“I want to dance …” O. P. Caplin, Dogpatch Road.
“The Academy …” Capp, AUTO 2, pp. 26–27.
“the most awful …” Capp, AUTO 1, p. 42.
“She was so beautiful …” ibid., p. 43. In all likelihood, Capp exaggerated his account of meeting Catherine Cameron, although Catherine supported much of his story in her written account of the meeting. Oddly enough, while Capp said that he was attracted by her open act of kindness in the episode of lending him her smock when he tore his pants, he did not mention another incident that apparently occurred before that. “One day, a fire broke out somewhere in the building that housed the school,” Catherine recalled. “Everyone had to leave the classroom, down a fire escape. Since Al had a wooden leg, he was a bit slower than the others, so I stayed with him while we escaped.” As for the hole in his pants, Catherine recalled a slightly different story than the one Capp presented about his ripping his trousers on the street. “We met in art school [and] had our first date over a cup of coffee during recess,” she remembered. “At the time I was much impressed with the beautiful raccoon coat he was wearing, only to find out later that it was borrowed from his roommate to hide a terrific rip in the seat of his only pair of pants.”
“I resolved …” ibid.
“My mother …” ibid.
5 Breaking into the Business
“a long way …” Wilson Hicks, “Discoverer Remembers a Promising Pair,” Life, December 7, 1959.
“sort of ruptured …” Richard Marschall, “Al Capp: The Last Interview with Comics’ Master Satirist,” Comics Journal 54 (March 1980).
“You said …” Capp, AUTO 1, pp. 45–46.
“Don’t …” ibid., p. 47–48. All citations in this passage are from this source. As improbable as Capp’s account of his and Caniff’s “hotel watching” might be—especially the idea that he would have stepped out onto a ledge—Wilson Hicks, in his 1959 memoir about his hiring of Capp and Caniff, confirmed that the artists seated near the windows got a case of “bulging right eyes” from staring out the corner of their eye at the window at the hotel.
“[Caniff] knew many …” Al Capp, “I Don’t Like Shmoos,” Cosmopolitan, June 1949.
“Al used to write …” Milton Caniff and Jules Feiffer, “Strip-time: The Comics Observed,” The Festival of Cartoon Art, catalogue (Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Libraries, 1986), p. 22.
Capp’s leaving AP: There is some inconsistency and disagreement, even in Capp’s own accounts, about how he left the Associated Press. Typically, Capp told or modified his story to suit his audience. In his autobiography, Capp wrote that he left voluntarily, after submitting a letter of resignation. However, in the September 19, 1949, issue of Newsweek, Capp identified Russ Councilman (then photo editor of the magazine, but AP’s art director in 1932) as the man who “fired” him. Capp even drew a humorous panel depicting Councilman literally kicking him out. Milton Caniff, in 1983, said that Capp “just walked out.” Wilson Hicks, Capp’s boss, wrote that Capp quit.
“a fairy tale week”: Capp, AUTO 2, p. 39.
“Never have I worked �
�” Hicks, “Discoverer Remembers a Promising Pair.”
“The Camerons …” Capp, AUTO 2, p. 43.
“You damned idiot!” Capp, AUTO 1, pp. 50–51.
6 Hatfield and McCoy
“seemed to [have been] drawn …” Capp, AUTO 2, p. 41.
“We thought …” Catherine Capp Halberstadt, introduction to Li’l Abner: Dailies, vol. 1, 1934–1935 (Princeton, WI: Kitchen Sink Press, 1988), p. 6.
“culture in the United States …” M. Thomas Inge, Introduction to Li’l Abner: Dailies, vol. 26, 1960 (Northampton, MA: Kitchen Sink Press, 1997), p. 6.
“One of the characters …” Capp, AUTO 1, p. 53.
“The story …” Capp, AUTO 2, p. 58.
“If you can get …” ibid.
“Great strip …” Richard Marschall, “Al Capp: The Last Interview with Comics’ Master Satirist,” Comics Journal 54 (March 1980).
“it was my …” ibid.
“I don’t think …” Capp, AUTO 2, p. 52. More than forty-five years after he worked for Fisher, Al Capp’s emotions still ran high when he discussed the details of his employment and Fisher’s character. He was becoming so enraged when typing the manuscript that he would punch holes in the paper when he was typing lower-case o’s. Entire pages dealing with Fisher are perforated, whereas all of the other pages are clean.
“Mr. Fisher …” ibid., p. 53.
“He stole money …” ibid., p. 54.
7 Li’l Abner
“all hell broke loose”: Capp, AUTO 1, p. 56
“Suspense was what …” Capp, “ ‘It’s Hideously True’: The Creator of Li’l Abner Tells Why His Hero Is (Sob!) Wed,” Life, March 31, 1952.
“I simply couldn’t …” ibid.
“No artist who can write …” Catalina Kitty Meyer, “Interview with Al Capp,” Al Capp: Paintings, catalogue from exhibit at New York Cultural Center, April–May 1975, p. 11.
“I don’t think …” Alvin Toffler, “The Playboy Interview: Al Capp,” Playboy, December 1965.
“At times …” Edward D. Brown, “ ‘Li’l Abner’ Artist Learned How at Boston Art Museum School,” Boston Globe, March 3, 1935.
“We work …” Toffler, “Playboy Interview.”
“He emphasized …” n.a., “Raeburn Van Buren,” Cartoonist Profiles, December 1980.
“When the idea …” Letter, Capp to Raeburn Van Buren, undated, ca. late 1936.
“We took them …” n.a., “Raeburn Van Buren.”
“strange mountain custom …” Capp, “Li’l Abner” (comic strip), November 13, 1937.
“I would always …” Capp, The Best of Li’l Abner (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1978), p. 7.
“We would always …” ibid.
“I was so ashamed …” Mary Cremmen, “Take a Lesson from Al Capp,” Pageant, March 1950.
“Let’s keep the strip …” Letter, William Lamb to Capp, December 14, 1938.
“Make it burlesque …” Letter, William Lamb to Capp, April 12, 1939.
“They said I implied …” n.a., “Fifteen Minutes with Al Capp,” Pageant, September 1951.
“Who ever would …” E. J. Kahn Jr., “OOFF!! (SOB!) EEP!! (GULP!) ZOWIE!!!—II, New Yorker, December 6, 1947.
8 Nina
“While, if it ever …” Letter, George A. Carlin to Capp, August 9, 1939.
Nina Luce: Rita Castillo, Nina’s daughter, supplied much of the background information about her mother. “First of all, her name was not Nina Gaye Luce,” she told the authors. “When she was born it just said ‘Baby Girl’ on her birth certificate. Her mother named her Nina, pronounced ‘Nine-ah.’ When my mom got older, she became fluent in Spanish as a teenager in Texas and decided to change the pronunciation to ‘Neenya’ and added the tilde over the second n. She corrected anyone who said ‘Nine-ah,’ including her mother. She added a middle name ‘Rae’ to her signature sometime in the ’thirties … Al Capp is the only person that I know that ever called her Gaye. Often she would use a stage name, ‘Leila Foster.’ Her ancestor was Stephen Foster, so maybe that was in reference to him.” Capp’s pet name for her, “Gaye,” was a derivative of Gay Carrol, her stage name when she was singing for Freddie Packard’s band in San Diego.
“There are lots …” Letter, Capp to Nina Luce, undated, postmarked July 27, 1940. Capp rarely dated his letters. There is a large volume of letters written by Capp to Luce, and to assemble a chronology, the authors had to match postmarks on envelopes with separated letters and set up an order with some educated guesswork based on the letters’ content, matching stationery, typewriter clues, and handwriting.
“a swell …” Letter, Capp to Nina Luce, undated, ca. mid-July 1940.
“my sister …” Letter, Capp to Nina Luce, undated, ca. mid-July 1940.
“talked and talked …” Letter, Capp to Nina Luce, undated, ca. mid-July 1940.
“brutish and selfish …” ibid.
“NO BACKSLIDING!! …” Letter, Capp to Nina Luce, undated, ca. mid-July 1940.
“I feel like …” Letter, Capp to Nina Luce, undated, ca. late July 1940.
“It was a sweet …” Letter, Capp to Nina Luce, undated, postmarked July 24, 1940.
“I’ve never wanted …” Letter, Capp to Nina Luce, July 28, 1940.
“My heart has not …” Letter, Nina Luce to Capp, undated, probably July 23, 1940.
“Why did you …” Letter, Capp to Nina Luce, undated, postmarked July 26, 1940.
“presarved turnips”: Capp, “Li’l Abner” (comic), December 25, 1939.
“a grim city”: Letter, Capp to Nina Luce, undated, postmarked August 5, 1940.
“You’ll be chucking …” ibid.
“It was all about …” Letter, Capp to Nina Luce, undated, postmarked December 10, 1940.
“I came to you …” Letter, Nina Luce to Capp, undated, ca. late December 1940.
9 Merry-Go-Round
“merrygoround”: Letter, Capp to Nina Luce, undated, ca. mid-January 1941.
“I am trapped …” Letter, Capp to Nina Luce, undated, postmarked February 28, 1941.
“I’m desperately unhappy …” Letter, Capp to Nina Luce, undated, ca. early March 1941.
“My kids …” ibid.
“Inside of me …” Letter, Capp to Nina Luce, undated, postmarked March 14, 1941.
“The more I feed …” Letter, Capp to Nina Luce, undated, postmarked October 24, 1941.
“Your silence …” Letter, Capp to Nina Luce, undated, postmarked May 13, 1941.
“I’ve been working …” Letter, Capp to Catherine Capp, undated, postmarked July 24, 1941.
“You should have …” Letter, Capp to Catherine Capp, undated, ca. August 1941.
“I won’t intrude …” Letter, Capp to Nina Luce, undated, postmarked December 30, 1941.
Capp and World War II: As a Jew, Capp had especially strong feelings about Hitler’s rise in Europe and about the importance of the Allies’ winning the war at all costs. For all his patriotism, he feared a possible German victory in Europe and the effect it would have on Jews worldwide. In an October 7, 1942, letter to Nina Luce, he described a dream that detailed his fears for the worst and its effects on him personally: “When England has been beaten to its knees and when the United States is forced to turn out its Roosevelts, its Hulls, and knuckle under to our Lindberghs and Wheelers, when our way of life is gone, and the Fascist way of life is forced upon us, and when hatred and intolerance run amok, I, as a Jew, may be a millstone to my kids. It may be that my kids can be happier without me, safer without me.”
“Dear Friends …” Capp, “Li’l Abner” (comic), July 4, 1942.
“a blow to …” Letter, Capp to Nina Luce, undated, ca. mid-March 1941.
Fearless Fosdick: Al Capp may have had more than Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy in mind when he created bumbling detective Fearless Fosdick. Artists and comics historians Peter Poplaski and Frank Stack believe Capp’s previously uncredited influence was Holt of the Secret Service, a fifteen-chapt
er serial film released by Columbia Pictures in 1941. Fearless Fosdick first appeared in “Li’l Abner” in November 1941. Secret Service agent Jack Holt plays it straight in the serial, but with his similar hat, mustache and square jaw he looks very much like a human version of Capp’s detective.
“His relations with …” Capp, preface to Fearless Fosdick: His Life and Deaths (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1956), unpaginated.
“stoopid iggorant hill-billies”: Capp, “Li’l Abner” (comic), August 30, 1942.
“whar nothin’ kin …” Capp, “Li’l Abner” (comic), September 20, 1942.
“without doubt …” Capp, “The Terrifying Adventures of Fearless Fosdick,” Pageant, May 1952.
“Fosdick’s duty …” Capp, preface to Fearless Fosdick.
“I’m getting …” n.a., “Strip Tease,” Newsweek, July 17, 1944.
“Because I am kidding …” n.a., “Superwoman’s Dive,” Newsweek, July 12, 1943.
“Gone wif the Wind”: n.a., “Apology for Margaret,” Time, January 11, 1943. In interviews about the parody, Capp took a lighthearted approach to the controversy, but in private he was terrified about the prospects of litigation, so much so that he altered a November 25, 1942, daily strip that introduced a washed-up movie star named Lorna Doon. A careful examination of the strip reveals awkward spacing in the lettering in the fourth panel—lettering inconsistent with the usual impeccably balanced lettering. The reason for this is simple: “Lorna Doon” was a replacement name. The original name for the unpleasant actress had been “Scarlett O’Horror,” but after the flap over “Gone wif the Wind,” Capp thought better of using the name and pasted a new, shorter name over “Scarlett O’Horror” in the dialogue bubble, creating the awkward spacing.
“Sometime in late May …” Dave Schreiner, “Stage Settings: The Beginnings of a Roll …,” The Spirit 20 (June 1986). All quotations in this passage are from this source.
Al Capp Page 30