About

Known credits:
58
Birthday:
1880-08-22
Place of birth:
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Website:
N/A

George Herriman

Overview

George Joseph Herriman III (August 22, 1880 – April 25, 1944) was an American cartoonist best known for the comic strip Krazy Kat (1913–1944). More influential than popular, Krazy Kat had an appreciative audience among those in the arts. Gilbert Seldes' article "The Krazy Kat Who Walks by Himself" was the earliest example of a critic from the high arts giving serious attention to a comic strip. The Comics Journal placed the strip first on its list of the greatest comics of the 20th century. Herriman's work has been a primary influence on cartoonists such as Elzie C. Segar, Will Eisner, Charles M. Schulz, Robert Crumb, Art Spiegelman, Bill Watterson, and Chris Ware.

Herriman was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to mixed-race Creole parents, and grew up in Los Angeles. After he graduated from high school in 1897, he worked in the newspaper industry as an illustrator and engraver. He moved on to cartooning and comic strips—a medium then in its infancy—and drew a variety of strips until he introduced his most famous character, Krazy Kat, in his strip The Dingbat Family in 1910. A Krazy Kat daily strip began in 1913, and from 1916 the strip also appeared on Sundays. It was noted for its poetic, dialect-heavy dialogue; its fantastic, shifting backgrounds; and its bold, experimental page layouts.

In the strip's main motif and dynamic, Ignatz Mouse pelted Krazy with bricks, which the naïve, androgynous Kat interpreted as symbols of love. As the strip progressed, a love triangle developed between Krazy, Ignatz, and Offisa Pupp. Pupp made it his mission to prevent Ignatz from throwing bricks at Krazy, or to jail him for having done so, but his efforts were perpetually impeded because Krazy wished to be struck by Ignatz's bricks.

Herriman lived most of his life in Los Angeles, but made frequent trips to the Navajo deserts in the Southwestern United States. He was drawn to the landscapes of Monument Valley and the Enchanted Mesa, and made Coconino County the location of his Krazy Kat strips. His artwork made much use of Navajo and Mexican themes and motifs against shifting desert backgrounds. He was a prolific cartoonist who produced a large number of strips and illustrated Don Marquis's books of poetry about Archy and Mehitabel, an alley cat and a cockroach. Newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst was a proponent of Herriman and gave him a lifetime contract with King Features Syndicate, which guaranteed Herriman a comfortable living and an outlet for his work despite its lack of popularity.

Description above from the Wikipedia article George Herriman, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known for

Acting
1928 How to Handle Women Actor Himself N/A
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Directing
1916 Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse at the Circus Directing Director 58
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1916 A Duet Directing Director 58
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Writing
1940 The Mouse Exterminator Writing Characters N/A
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1939 Golf Chumps Writing Characters N/A
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1938 Hot Dogs On Ice Writing Characters N/A
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1938 Gym Jams Writing Characters N/A
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1938 Krazy's Travel Squawks Writing Characters N/A
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1938 Krazy Magic Writing Characters N/A
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1938 Little Buckaroo Writing Characters N/A
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1938 Sad Little Guinea Pigs Writing Characters N/A
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1937 The Masque Raid Writing Characters N/A
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1937 Krazy's Race of Time Writing Characters N/A
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1937 The Lyin' Hunter Writing Characters N/A
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1936 The Merry Cafe Writing Writer N/A
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1936 Krazy's Newsreel Writing Characters N/A
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1936 Highway Snobbery Writing Characters N/A
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1935 The King's Jester Writing Characters N/A
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1934 Goofy Gondolas Writing Characters N/A
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1934 The Trapeze Artist Writing Characters N/A
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1934 Masquerade Party Writing Characters N/A
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1934 Busy Bus Writing Characters N/A
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1934 Cinder Alley Writing Characters N/A
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1934 Tom Thumb Writing Characters N/A
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1933 The Curio Shop Writing Characters N/A
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1933 Stage Krazy Writing Characters N/A
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1933 Krazy Spooks Writing Comic Book 58
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1933 House Cleaning Writing Characters N/A
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1933 Bunnies And Bonnets Writing Characters N/A
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1933 Wooden Shoes Writing Characters N/A
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1933 Wedding Bells Writing Characters N/A
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1932 Snow Time Writing Characters N/A
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1932 Light House Keeping Writing Writer N/A
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1932 Paper Hanger Writing Characters N/A
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1932 Hic-Cups The Champ Writing Characters N/A
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1932 Ritzy Hotel Writing Characters N/A
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1932 Soldier Old Man Writing Characters N/A
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1931 Rodeo Dough Writing Comic Book N/A
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1930 An Old Flame Writing Writer N/A
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1930 Desert Sunk Writing Writer N/A
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1930 Spookeasy Writing Writer N/A
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1925 The New Champ Writing Story N/A
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1925 Searching for Santa! Writing Story 58
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1920 The Great Cheese Robbery Writing Writer 59
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1916 A Grid-Iron Hero Writing Writer N/A
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1916 Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse at the Circus Writing Characters 58
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1916 A Duet Writing Writer 58
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1916 Krazy Kat Goes A-Wooing Writing Characters 59
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Crew
1935 Kannibal Kapers Crew Creator N/A
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1933 Antique Antics Crew Creator N/A
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1933 The Medicine Show Crew Creator N/A
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1931 The Restless Sax Crew Creator 59
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1931 Svengarlic Crew Creator N/A
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1931 Soda Poppa Crew Creator N/A
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1930 Jazz Rhythm Crew Creator N/A
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1930 Slow Beau Crew Creator N/A
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1929 Farm Relief Crew Creator N/A
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1916 Krazy Kat, Bugologist Crew Graphic Novel Illustrator 58
Average