Al Capp

by Denis Kitchen

  10 Greetings from Lower Slobbovia

  “I couldn’t very well …” E. J. Kahn Jr., “OOFF!!! (SOB!) EEP!! (GULP!) ZOWIE!!!—II,” New Yorker, December 6, 1947.

  “I’m Al Capp …” Norman Katkov, “Li’l Abner’s Pappy,” Saga, November 1955.

  “Everybody is worried …” ibid.

  “rigorous course …” Elliott Caplin, Remembering Al Capp (Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1994), p. 6.

  “resumed his starboard …” ibid.

  “He would narrate …” Interview with Julie Cairol.

  “the most egomaniacal …” Rick Marschall, “Al Capp and Li’l Abner in 1946: Schoolbook Lessons in Producing a Comic Strip,” Li’l Abner: Dailies, vol. 12, 1946 (Princeton, WI: Kitchen Sink Press, 1991), p. 6.

  “possibly the strip’s …” Dave Schreiner, “1946: Hallo, Switty-pie!” Li’l Abner: Dailies, ibid., p. 16.

  11 The Shmoo, the Kigmy, and All One Cartoonist Could Ever Want

  “Every month …” E. J. Kahn Jr., “OOF!! (SOB!) EEP!! (GULP!) ZOWIE!!!—I” New Yorker, November 29, 1947.

  “Capp regards himself …” ibid.

  “There was an unwritten …” Rick Marschall, “Saying Something About the Status Quo: Al Capp, Master Satirist of the Comics,” Nemo, April 1986.

  “consonant with …” n.a., “Little Abner Creator Sues for 14 Million,” New York Times, July 12, 1947.

  “The time has come …” Judith Crist, “Horror in the Nursery,” Collier’s, March 27, 1948.

  “I deplore them …” Transcript of ABC radio program, “What’s Wrong with the Comics?” published in Town Meeting: Bulletin of America’s Town Meeting of the Air 13, no. 45 (March 1948). All other citations in this passage, unless otherwise indicated, are from this source.

  True Comics: Amy Kiste Nyberg, Seal of Approval: The History of the Comics Code (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1998), pp. 6–7.

  “As drawing …” William Laas, “A Half-Century of Comic Art,” Saturday Review of Literature, March 20, 1948.

  “bad fo’ chillen …” Capp, “Li’l Abner” (Sunday comic), August 8, 1948. Reprinted under the title “Li’l Abner Fights for His Rights,” Li’l Abner (comic book), vol. 2, no. 9 [#69] (Harvey Publications, February 1949).

  “those psy-cho-logists …” ibid.

  The shmoo: Newspapers and magazines usually referred to the shmoo’s shape as being that of a bowling pin or ham. Critics, most notably Capp’s nemesis, Ham Fisher, complained that the shmoo was phallic in design, and that Capp used that design as a way to slip dirty jokes into “Li’l Abner.” Even the creature’s name was brought into question. As Asa Berger wrote in his book-length critical study of “Li’l Abner”: “The word ‘shmoo’ is quite probably a modification of the Jewish term Schmo or Schmuck. Which means either ‘fool’ (‘booby,’ ‘nitwit’) or ‘penis.’ “ Lil’Abner: A Study in American Satire (New York: Twayne, 1970), p. 115. Two panels in the November 23, 1948, strip offer credence to shmoo detractors’ claims. In these panels, Li’l Abner is hiding in a hollowed-out tree, trying to elude his Sadie Hawkins Day pursuers. He has a shmoo in the tree with him, and the shmoo, standing in front of Abner, looks like an erect penis poking out of Abner’s pants. When the shmoo sings to attract Daisy Mae’s attention, Li’l Abner refers to it as a “Benedick Arnold.” There is no possibility that all this was unintended, and Fisher would use this strip and others as part of his “evidence” that Capp was a pornographer.

  “strange moosic”: Capp, “Li’l Abner” (comic), August 20, 1948.

  “th’ greatest menace …” Capp, “Li’l Abner” (comic), August 30, 1948.

  “Why did I call …” Capp, “I Don’t Like Shmoos,” Cosmopolitan, June 1949.

  “Wif these around …” Capp, “Li’l Abner” (comic), September 2, 1948.

  “everything including …” n.a., “Taming of the Shmoo,” Newsweek, September 5, 1949.

  “Capp-italist Revolution”: n.a., “Capp-italist Revolution,” Life, December 20, 1948.

  “My first sensation …” n.a., “The Miracle of Dogpatch,” Time, December 27, 1948.

  Nancy O: The solution to the Nancy O mystery involved another Al Capp contest. Nancy O, as Capp depicted her in his strip, had the figure of a typical Capp knockout, but she possessed a face identical to Mammy Yokum’s. Li’l Abner, of course, fell madly in love with her, but she wanted a change—a makeover that a plastic surgeon said he could provide. He would change her into a woman with the sweetest face in the world, a sort of Lena the Hyena in reverse. In the March 24, 1951, “Li’l Abner” strip, Capp announced a contest. Readers were encouraged to submit photographs of their sweetest girl. The contest would end on April 21, and the winner would be announced on May 14. Capp would apply the sweetest girl’s face to Nancy O, and the contest winner would appear on Milton Berle’s popular television show. Entries flooded in. The winner, Kitty Pankey, a University of Florida student, was pictured in the May 14 strip and, after receiving a plug in the next day’s “Li’l Abner,” she appeared on Berle’s show the following evening. For Capp, what began as an inside joke between him and his assistants wound up gaining the strip countless dollars in free publicity. For Li’l Abner, the transformation was devastating: as soon as he saw the new Nancy O, he dropped his pursuit of her. He’d fallen in love with her because she was a ringer for his mother, and the new look put her in the same category as—gasp!—Daisy Mae.

  “mah Sure-Fire …” Capp, “Li’l Abner” (comic strip), October 1, 1949.

  “And there yo’ has …” ibid.

  “a handy-sized …” Capp, “Li’l Abner” (comic strip), October 3, 1949.

  “Since the Kigmy …” Capp, in typed notes on “Li’l Abner” stationery. The notes were published in Dave Schreiner’s “The Evolution of the Kigmy,” introductory essay in Li’l Abner: Dailies, vol. 15, 1949 (Princeton, WI: Kitchen Sink Press, 1992), p. 10. All other citations in this passage are from this source.

  Affair with Carol Saroyan: See John Leggett, A Daring Young Man: A Biography of William Saroyan (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002), pp. 231–43.

  “an open and notorious …” Letter, William Saroyan to Carol Saroyan, January 28, 1950.

  “With the immeasurable …” ibid.

  “to help her …” Letter, William Saroyan to Capp, January 28, 1950.

  Toby Press: Named after one of Elliott Caplin’s daughters, Toby Press was, according to Don Caplin, an enterprise involving the entire family. The press paid newsstands an allowance for prominent display of Toby Press titles, and Otto Caplin was hired to go from newsstand to newsstand and make certain that the titles were given the correct attention.

  “nothing but a menace …” Jane McMaster, “ ‘Li’l Abner’ Sideline Is Shmoopendous,” Editor & Publisher, July 16, 1949.

  “a flurry of letters …” n.a., “Many Protest to Syndicate on Shmoo Tieup,” Editor & Publisher, September 3, 1949.

  “We think this is …” n.a., “Capp Answers Criticism of Exploitation,” Editor & Publisher, August 27, 1949.

  “If through the use …” ibid.

  Capp and the Daily Mirror: By all indications, Capp had a legitimate complaint about the fees the New York Daily Mirror was paying for “Li’l Abner” and the placement the strip was receiving in its Sunday paper. In an undated letter to his editor at the Daily Mirror, Capp accused the paper of giving him the “run-around”: “I think that there is little doubt that for the last couple of years, ‘Abner’ has been your top comic, that it has long since rated the front page of the Mirror, and I want to know why this hasn’t happened,” he wrote. As for the fee the paper was paying, it was practice for the smaller papers to pay less, but in the case of a large-circulation paper like the Mirror, the price was ludicrously low. “[‘Li’l Abner’] has rated the highest prices ever paid for any comics,” Capp reminded his editor. “The Mirror pays less than one-fourth than is paid in Philadelphia, less than one-third than is
paid in Boston, etc. The Mirror gets ‘Abner’ cheaper than any large city in America.”

  “These matters …” Letter, Capp to Jerome “Bence” Capp, undated, ca. summer 1949. “Li’l Abner” replaced “Joe Palooka” on the front page of the Sunday Daily Mirror comics in August 1949.

  “This is not …” Letter, Capp to Jerome “Bence” Capp, undated, ca. early 1949.

  “In the Sunday …” Letter, Capp to Jerome “Bence” Capp, undated, ca. spring 1949.

  12 Demise of the Monster

  “grave charges”: Capp, AUTO 2, p. 60.

  “I knew …” ibid.

  “He grew richer …” Capp, “I Remember Monster,” Atlantic Monthly, April 1950.

  “Do you believe …” Amy Kiste Nybert, Seal of Approval: The History of the Comics Code (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1998), p. 54.

  “Practitioners of …” David Hajdu, The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008), p. 173.

  “The doctor …” Alvin Toffler, “The Playboy Interview: Al Capp,” Playboy, December 1965.

  “The fact that …” Capp, “ ‘It’s Hideously True’: Creator of Li’l Abner Tells Why His Hero Is (Sob!) Wed,” Life, March 31, 1952. All other citations in this passage are from this source.

  “Li’l Abner” and television: Television producers had tried to find a way to produce a live-action series based on the comic strip, but it had never happened. One of the great “what-if’s” occurred in 1949, when a “Li’l Abner” television program was being developed. Actor Warde Donovan was favored for the Li’l Abner part, and, in what might have changed her career, Marilyn Monroe was picked for the role of Daisy Mae. Monroe dropped out when her agent couldn’t come to terms with the producers. The program never escaped the development stage.

  “a novelty …” Tom Andrae, “Fearless Fosdick: A ‘Lost’ Television Classic,” Li’l Abner: Dailies, vol. 19, 1953 (Northampton, MA: Kitchen Sink Press, 1994), unpaginated.

  “it was going …” John Steinbeck, introduction to The World of Li’l Abner (New York: Ballantine Books, 1952). All other citations in this passage, unless otherwise indicated, are from this source.

  “No one on earth …” Letter, Capp to Jerome “Bence” Capp, undated, ca. late November 1952.

  “There must be …” Letter, Capp to Madeline Gardner and Elliott Caplin, undated, ca. early February 1953.

  “Every prediction …” Letter, Capp to Elliott Caplin, undated, ca. early February 1953.

  “You are and have been …”: Letter, Jerome “Bence” Capp to Capp, February 26, 1953.

  “charity”: Letter, Capp to Jerome “Bence” Capp, undated, ca. early March 1953.

  “The last six years …” ibid.

  “suffer the mortification …” Letter, Jerome “Bence” Capp to Capp, March 5, 1953.

  “Are you so swept …” ibid.

  “It is tragic …” Letter, Capp to Jerome “Bence” Capp, undated, ca. May 1953.

  “I certainly wish …” Letter, Al Foster to Jerome “Bence” Capp, May 11, 1953.

  “The pay was wonderful …” Frank Frazetta, Icon: A Retrospective by the Grand Master of Fantastic Art (Grass Valley, CA: Underwood Books, 1998).

  “This claim …” Richard Marschall, “Al Capp: The Last Interview with Comics’ Master Satirist,” Comics Journal 54 (March 1980).

  “Instead of getting …” Denis Kitchen, “Fame and Anonymity,” introductory essay published in Al Capp’s Li’l Abner: The Frazetta Years: vol. 1, 1954–1955 (Milwaukie, OR: Dark Horse, 2003), p. 13.

  “a leading critic …” Capp, “Li’l Abner” (comic), November 11, 1955.

  “I became an expert …” E. J. Kahn Jr. “OOFF!! (SOB!) EEP!! (GULP!) ZOWIE!!!—II,” New Yorker, December 6, 1947.

  “These are forgeries …” n.a., “Capp v. Fisher,” Time, February 14, 1955.

  “To be quite blunt …” Letter, Walt Kelly to Capp, December 16, 1954.

  “We cannot entertain …” ibid.

  “Be careful …” Letter, Morris L. Ernst to Capp, December 15, 1954.

  “father confessor”: Interview with Morris Weiss.

  “He was very unhappy …” ibid.

  “I think …” Affidavit: William H. Mauldin, December 9, 1954.

  “the questioned notations …” Deposition: Charles A. Appel Jr., December 20, 1954.

  “He came to our …” Interview with Blanche Weiss.

  “I did sincerely …” Interview with Morris Weiss.

  “I don’t want …” ibid.

  “My sight has gone …” n.a., “Cartoonist Ham Fisher Found Dead,” New York Daily News, December 28, 1955.

  “I stood …” Interview with Morris Weiss.

  “ “He has ennobled …” Jay Maeder, “Spitting on Pictures: Funny Papers, 1955,” New York Daily News, September 18, 1998.

  “With the FCC business …” Letter, Capp to Milton Caniff, undated, ca. September 1956.

  13 Bright Lights

  “They asked me …” Mark Evanier, “Li’l Abner on Broadway,” Li’l Abner: Dailies, vol. 22, 1956 (Northampton, MA: Kitchen Sink Press, 1995), p. 6. This article provided much of the background for this section.

  “Not only did he …” Edie Adams and Robert Windeler, Sing a Pretty Song: The “Offbeat” Life of Edie Adams (New York: William Morrow, 1990), pp. 191–92.

  “One day in November …” Alberto Becattini, “The Good Girl Art of Bob Lubbers,” Comic Book Marketplace, April 2002.

  People to People meeting: Dwight D. Eisenhower to Capp, June 1, 1956.

  “We cartoonists …” James Vance, “The Feuds That Were and Never Were,” in Li’l Abner: Dailies, vol. 23, 1957 (Northampton, MA: Kitchen Sink Press, 1996), p. 12.

  “Make him suffer …” Capp, “Li’l Abner” (comic strip), September 1, 1957.

  “Mary Worth is …” Phyllis Lauritz, “Friends A-Feudin’ in So-Called Funnies; More Takeoffs Lurking in Fertile Minds,” Oregonian, August 29, 1957.

  “unpardonable slander …” n.a., “Rap for Capp,” Time, September 9, 1957.

  “Al Capp is surrounded …” Lauritz, “Friends A-Feudin’.”

  “thinly disguised attack …” n.a., “Rap for Capp.”

  “the most dangerous …” Al Capp, “Li’l Abner” (comic strip), September 22, 1957.

  “insisted that his name …” Mark Evanier, “Li’l Abner in Hollywood,” in Li’l Abner: Dailies, vol. 25, 1959 (Northampton, MA: Kitchen Sink Press, 1997), p. 10. Much of the background for this section was obtained from this source.

  “Fearless Fosdick” animated television program: Apparently producer/director Ralph Bakshi worked on that never-produced animation development early in his career, and he came away with deep respect for Al Capp. In April 2008, at the ASIFA Animation Archive in Hollywood, Bakshi had this to say about the influence of the “Li’l Abner” creator and his influence on comics: “Capp is one of the great unsung heroes of comics. I’ve never heard anyone mention this, but Capp is 100% responsible for inspiring Harvey Kurtzman to create Mad magazine. Just look at ‘Fearless Fosdick’—a brilliant parody of ‘Dick Tracy’ with all those bullet holes and stuff. Then look at Mad’s ‘Teddy and the Pirates,’ ‘Superduperman!’ or even ‘Little Annie Fanny.’ Forget about it—slam dunk! Not taking anything away from Kurtzman, who was brilliant himself, but Capp was the source for that whole sense of satire in comics. Kurtzman carried that forward and passed it down to a whole new crop of cartoonists, myself included. Capp was a genius. You wanna argue about it? I’ll fight ya, and I’ll win!”

  “Maybe you’re …” Letter, Capp to Jerome “Bence” Capp, undated.

  “would call the apartment …” Interview with Todd Capp.

  “When the editors …” n.a., “What Changes Will the Sixties Bring?” Esquire, January 1960.

  “life, death …” Bob Abel, “The Philosopher from Dogpatch,” Pageant, May 1964.

  “Under today’s c
orruption …” Alvin Toffler, “The Playboy Interview: Al Capp,” Playboy, December 1965. All other citations in this passage are from this source.

  14 In the Halls of the Enemy

  “something to fill …” Al Capp, “Li’l Abner” (comic strip), January 3, 1967.

  “You’ll take her …” ibid.

  “The whole thing …” n.a., “ ‘Joanie’ Draws a Protest,” St. Petersburg Times, January 11, 1967.

  “I’ve never seen …” n.a., “Strip Tease,” Newsweek, January 23, 1967.

  “She should remember …” n.a., “Which One Is the Phoanie?” Time, January 20, 1967.

  “told me he wouldn’t …” Interview with Colin “Kim” Capp.

  “Joan Baez refuses …” Bob Abel, “Al Capp vs. Just About Everybody!” Cavalier, July 1967.

  “the greatest war-time …” Andy Sugar, “On the Campus Firing Line with Al Capp,” Saga, December 1969.

  “in the same Olympic league …” n.a., “Al Capp Talks to Larry Rivers,” Interview, June 1975.

  “Nobody is going …” Abel, “Al Capp vs. Just About Everybody!”

  “It suddenly occurred …” Frank Leeming Jr., “Dogpatch in Arkansas,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 1, 1968.

  “Of all the by-products …” Leroy Donald, “With Turn of Shovel, Dogpatch Is More than Paper and Ink,” Arkansas Gazette, October 4, 1967.

  “You have forty-eight hours …” Interview with Colin “Kim” Capp.

  “It is every kid’s …” n.a., “ ‘Terribly Excited’ Al Capp on Hand as Dogpatch Becomes a Real Place,” Arkansas Gazette, May 19, 1968.

  “I find ‘Peanuts’ …” Alvin Toffler, “The Playboy Interview: Al Capp,” Playboy, December 1965.

  “I told him …” n.a., “Al Capp Yields to ‘Mr. Peanuts,’ ” Milwaukee Journal, October 18, 1968.

  “I wouldn’t do …” ibid.

  “It is the duty …” n.a., “Is Nothing Sacred?” Big Ten, October 1967. In an interview with the authors, Tony Gardner, son of Capp’s sister, Madeline, offered the following story to illustrate the complexity of his uncle’s political stance in the 1960s: “I was in high school when the ‘Mao’ jacket came into style. My parents took me clothes shopping—at Saks, I think—and there was a rack of Mao jackets. I wanted one desperately but my parents refused, pointing out that it was not appropriate for school and, besides, it was just a fad and after a month I’d stick it in the closet and never wear it again. I was crushed. The next day, when I got home from school, there was a letter waiting for me from Al. It read, roughly, ‘Tony, I was appalled by your mother’s story of her refusal to buy you a Mao jacket. When I was your age, I, too, wanted to dress like an enemy of my people. As I recall, I wanted an Adolph Eichmann jacket.’ A check was enclosed. I bought the jacket, loved it for a month, and stuck it in my closet, never to be worn again.”