Buster Brown
Buster Brown | |
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![]() Buster Brown | |
Publication information | |
Publisher | New York Herald |
First appearance | May 4, 1902 |
Created by | Richard F. Outcault |
In-story information | |
Team affiliations | Mary Jane, Tige |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/%22RESOLVED%22_detail%2C_from-_Friend_of_the_Comic_People_1906_%28cropped%29.jpg/286px-%22RESOLVED%22_detail%2C_from-_Friend_of_the_Comic_People_1906_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Buster Brown is a
Origins
The character of Buster Brown was loosely based on Granville Hamilton Fisher, a son of Charles and Anna Fisher of
The character of Mary Jane was also drawn from real life, as she was also Outcault's daughter of the same name. In Outcault's own words—and his daughter's—she was the only character drawn from life in the Buster Brown strip, although "Mrs. Brown" did resemble Outcault's wife.[citation needed]
Publication history
Buster Brown | |
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![]() Richard F. Outcault's Buster Brown (1917) | |
Author(s) | Richard F. Outcault |
Current status/schedule | Concluded |
Launch date | May 4, 1902 |
End date | c. 1921 |
Syndicate(s) | New York Herald (1902–1906) Hearst Corporation (1906–c. 1921) |
Genre(s) | humor |
The comic strip began in the New York Herald on May 4, 1902. Outcault left for William Randolph Hearst's employ in January 1906, and after a court battle, Outcault continued his strip, now nameless, in Hearst papers, while the Herald continued their own version of Buster Brown with other artists. The latter lasted until January 1911, and Outcault's version until May 13, 1923.[5]
The character of Buster Brown inspired many imitators, including Perry Winkle from the Winnie Winkle newspaper strip, and the Bobby Bumps animated film series.
The series was translated into Portuguese and published in the Brazilian children's magazine O Tico-Tico[6] (where Buster Brown was known as Chiquinho); its stories were loosely adapted by Brazilian writers.
Characters and story
Buster Brown
Buster Brown is a young city-dwelling boy with wealthy parents. He is disturbingly pretty (contrast him to Outcault's own
Mary Jane
Mary Jane is Buster's girlfriend. She is based on R. F. Outcault's daughter of the same name. Her parents are never mentioned, though at many of the comic headers you can find letters addressed to her from her mother. She has curly black hair and brown eyes. She wears usually a blue, frilly dress, a large bow, and
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/1905_Tige_art_from_the_book%2C_%22Tige%22_His_Story_%28IA_tigehisstory00outc%29_%28page_8_crop%29.jpg/220px-1905_Tige_art_from_the_book%2C_%22Tige%22_His_Story_%28IA_tigehisstory00outc%29_%28page_8_crop%29.jpg)
Tige
Tige is thought to be the first talking pet to appear in the comics. Unlike the characters presented under this trope, Tige's speech is acknowledged by adults, and many are shocked by this. This popular character was the subject of a book in 1905 with the title, "Tige" His Story.
Brown Shoe Company mascot
Outcault traveled to the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, selling licenses to up to 200 companies to use the Buster Brown characters to advertise their products. Buster Brown's association with shoes began with John Bush, a sales executive with the Brown Shoe Company; he persuaded his company to purchase rights to the Buster Brown name, and the brand was introduced to the public at the 1904 World's Fair.
Little people were hired by the Brown Shoe Co. to play Buster in tours around the United States. These actors, each accompanied by a dog, performed in department stores, theaters and shoe stores from 1904 until 1930. Richard Barker played Buster Brown in many of these Brown Shoe Company advertising campaigns; his story is told in a biography called Buster Brown and the Cowboy.
In the 1940s and '50s, the Brown Shoe Company made a foray into the comic book publishing industry with Buster Brown Comics, on which a retailer could rubber-stamp their address.[7] The comics featured the characters on the cover, but contained different adventure features, such as Robin Hood.
The characters were revived with an updated, more contemporary look for a brief advertising campaign in the 1980s and 1990s.[8]
In other media
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/1905_MasterGabriel_Buster_Brown.jpg/220px-1905_MasterGabriel_Buster_Brown.jpg)
Comic books
Buster Brown comics were given away as premiums in shoe stores from 1945 to 1959. Some contain art by Reed Crandall and other notable cartoonists. In the 1950s other comics based on the radio show were produced by Custom Comics and Dell Comics, and a coloring book was also produced.
Film
A series of
Theater
In 1905, a play was performed on
Radio
A Buster Brown radio series began in 1943 with Smilin' Ed McConnell on the West Coast NBC Radio Network.[12] It included such characters as Froggy the Gremlin ("Plunk your magic twanger, Froggy!")[7] and Midnight the Cat ("What do you say to the kids, Midnight?" "Nice.")[13]
Television
McConnell moved the show to television in 1950, where it ran under the titles Smilin' Ed's Gang and The Buster Brown Show for four years.[12] Andy Devine took over in 1955 after McConnell's death, but Devine's show was titled Andy's Gang.[14]
Playground games
Buster Brown makes an appearance in several children's playground games. There is a
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Buster_Brown%27s.jpg/220px-Buster_Brown%27s.jpg)
Gallery
References
- ISBN 9780486423258.
The sailor suit, the pleated Norfolk jacket suit with a belt, and the Russian suit vied in popularity with the Buster Brown suit, based on the cartoon character, who wore a doublebreasted, hip-length jacket with a low belt [...].
- ^ "Whatever happened to Buster Brown shoes?". The Straight Dope. 2009-01-27. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
- ^ "Topics in Chronicling America: Buster Brown" Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room, Library of Congress.
- ^ "Original 'Buster Brown'" Holbrook Argus (October 29, 1904).
- ISBN 9780472117567.
- ^ Waldomiro Vergueiro (October 11, 2005). "O Tico-Tico completa 100 anos". Omelete. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
- ^ a b "Buster Brown". Michelesworld.net. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Buster Browns Shoe Commerical [sic]". YouTube.
- ^ The kid of Coney Island: Fred Thompson and the rise of American Amusements by Woody Register c.2001
- ^ "Master Gabriel portraits Univ. of Washington, Sayre Collection". Content.lib.washington.edu. 1997-07-26. Archived from the original on 2012-11-04. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
- ^ Buster Brown 1905 production at the Majestic Theatre, Broadway courtesy IBDb.com database
- ^ a b "History of Brown Shoe: 1943–1987". Brown Shoe. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
- ISBN 9781605490779. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ "Smilin' Ed's Gang (TV Series 1950– ) - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
- ^ "Buster Brown". Jump Rope Rhymes. Mudcat Cafe. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
- ^ Holstein, Susanna. "Playground Games". Two-Lane Livin'. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
- ISBN 978-1-101-51695-9. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)