Hank Ketcham
Hank Ketcham | |
---|---|
Carmel, California, U.S.[1] | |
Area(s) | Artist, writer |
Notable works | Dennis the Menace |
Spouse(s) | Alice Louise Mahar (died 1959)Jo Anne Stevens
(m. 1959; div. 1968)Rolande Praepost (m. 1969) |
Children | 3 |
Henry King Ketcham (March 14, 1920 – June 1, 2001) was an American
Early life
Born in
Career
Ketcham started in the business as an assistant animator for
After World War II, Ketcham settled in
"The Charming Spanish residence and guest cottage overlooked sweeping lawns and gardens leading down to the swimming pool and cabana, and in the distance were the typical California soft golden hills dotted with live oak trees."
— Autobiography of Hank Ketcham[6]
By 1955, Ketcham moved from his Carmel cottage to upper Carmel Valley, where he purchased the former 61.2 acres (24.8 ha) Fred Wolferman ranch, only 40 minutes from the Monterey Peninsula.[7] The Spanish adobe home on the Carmel Valley property was designed by architect Hugh W. Comstock with bitudobe brick. On the edge of the orchard was a Victorian ranch house for the foreman and his family, designed by architect Wilson Mizner.[8]
In 1958, Dennis Play Products, Inc., was created by Ketcham to distribute toys, which included the Dennis the Menace Doll, Ruff Dog, and Banshee Ball. Between 1959 and 1964 Dennis the Menace was broadcast on CBS television, based on the Ketcham comic strip. The show was a great success.[9]
In 1970 King Features Syndicate revived Ketcham's wartime strip Half Hitch as a newspaper comic. The strip was published under Ketcham's name, although it was drawn and written by others. The new version of Half Hitch ran until 1975.
Family
Ketcham's first wife, Alice Louise Mahar Ketcham, died Monday, June 22, 1959, of a drug overdose.[1] The real-life Dennis was 12 when his mother died. Hank and Alice were separated at the time of her death. Three weeks later, Ketcham married Jo Anne Stevens, who he met on a blind date. The family moved to Geneva, Switzerland, where they lived from 1960 to 1977, where Ketcham continued to produce Dennis the Menace. Dennis had difficulty with his schooling, though, so was sent to boarding school in Connecticut, while Mr. Ketcham and his second wife remained in Switzerland. This marriage ended in divorce in 1968.[9]
In 1977, Ketcham moved back to the United States and settled in Monterey, California, with his third wife, the former Rolande Praepost, whom he had married in 1969, and with whom he had two children, Scott and Dania. Dennis Ketcham served in Vietnam, suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and had little contact with his father. Ketcham and his son were estranged for much of Dennis's adult life.[1][10]
Later life and retirement
When his Dennis the Menace cartoon added a
In 1990, Ketcham published a memoir titled The Merchant of Dennis the Menace chronicling his career. He retired from drawing the daily panel in 1994, when his former assistants, Marcus Hamilton and Ron Ferdinand, took over. At the time of Ketcham's death, Dennis the Menace was distributed to more than 1,000 newspapers in 48 countries and 19 languages, by King Features Syndicate.[1]
Ketcham spent his last years in retirement at his home in Carmel, California, painting in oil and watercolor. Many of his paintings can be seen in a hospital in nearby Monterey. He died in Carmel[1] on June 1, 2001, at the age of 81. He was survived by his oldest son, Dennis,[11] his third wife, Rolande, and their two children, Dania and Scott.
In 2005,
Legacy
The
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Van Gelder, Lawrence (2001-06-02). "Hank Ketcham, Father of Dennis the Menace, Dies at 81". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
- ^ "Creator of 'Dennis The Menace' dies at 81". Berkeley Daily Planet. 2001-06-02. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
- ^ "Markstein, Don. Half Hitch". Toonopedia.com. 1970-02-16. Retrieved 2014-01-13.
- ^ Hank Ketcham and Animation
- ^ a b Neal Hotelling (25 Nov 2022). "What to do when you discover your muse is a real menace" (PDF). Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. p. 27. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
- ^ ISBN 9781560977148. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
- ^ "Pine Nedles". Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. 16 Jun 1955. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
- ^ Neal Hotelling (9 Dec 2022). "Dennis the Menace's S.V. Comstock and how it grew" (PDF). Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. p. 23. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
- ^ a b Neal Hotelling (6 Jan 2023). "The life of a perennial youngster and perpetual menace goes on" (PDF). Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. p. 19. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
- ^ "Words about Pictures". Hembeck.com. 2003-12-21. Retrieved 2014-01-13.
- grunge.com, December 4, 2020
- ^ Fisher, Vern (2009-04-03). "Looking Back at Monterey County: Dennis the Menace Train, Jan. 26, 1956". Looking Back at Monterey County. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
- ^ Neal Hotelling (13 Jan 2023). "His work animated famous tales" (PDF). Carmel Pine Cone. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. p. 19. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
Further reading
- Ketcham, Hank. The Merchant of Dennis. New York: Abbeville Press, 1990.