Reg'lar Fellers

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Reg'lar Fellers
Big Little Books, Whitman Publishing, Eastern Color Printing, Dell Comics, DC Comics, Standard Comics
Genre(s)Humor, Children
Gene Byrnes' page with Reg'lar Fellers and Daisybelle (December 11. 1938)

Reg'lar Fellers is a long-running newspaper

NBC Red Network, and two animated cartoons. Created by Gene Byrnes (1889–1974), the comic strip offered a humorous look at a gang of suburban children (who nevertheless spoke like New York street kids). Syndicated from 1917 to January 18, 1949,[3]
Byrnes' strip was collected into several books. Branding also extended to such items as baseball bats and breakfast cereal.

Publication history

While working as a sports cartoonist with the

Sunday strip to Reg'lar Fellers. At its peak, the strip was syndicated in 800 newspapers. It was imitated by other strips, notably Ad Carter
's Just Kids.

Reg'lar Fellers had several topper strips on the Sunday page: Draw It Y'self (May 1, 1932 - Sept 2, 1934), Daisybelle (Sept 9, 1934 - 1940/41), Dizzie Lizzie (1940/41 - 1942) and Zoolie (Feb 6, 1944 - Jan 1949).[4]

Characters and story

The characters include leader Jimmy Dugan, sidekick Puddinhead Duffy, Puddinhead's little brother Pinhead, Bullseye the dog and the gang's girl member, Angie Riley.

Collected editions and comic books

Big Little Books, from different publishers, were published during the 1930s. Reg'lar Fellers Story Paint Book was published by Whitman Publishing in 1932. One curious hardcover book published during World War II brought together colorful Reg'lar Fellers episodes of kids playing soldiers in backyards with black-and-white World War II
combat photographs.

Reg'lar Fellers of America was an athletic organization founded by Clair F. Bee, the Director of Health Education at Long Island University. Reg'lar Fellers of America was planned to develop summer recreation for 12- to 15-year-olds through competitive sports, and Eastern Color Printing's Reg'lar Fellers Heroic Comics promoted the organization to the nation's youth beginning in 1940. Reg'lar Fellers remained in the title logo for the first 15 issues, which also displayed a seal with an eagle and a shield along with the words "Reg'lar Fellers of America". "The Official Publication of Reg'lar Fellers" was the cover blurb until issue 15; the title was shortened to Heroic Comics with issue 16.

In other comic books, Reg'lar Fellers was reprinted in Dell Comics' Popular Comics beginning in #9 (November, 1936), which also featured reprints of Dick Tracy, Tailspin Tommy, Winnie Winkle and other strips. Reg'lar Fellers next appeared in the first issue (April, 1939) of DC Comics's All-American Comics. Standard Comics published two issues of Reg'lar Fellers in its own 1946–47 title.

In other media

Films

In addition to book reprints and comic books, the strip was adapted to both animation and live-action films.

Ub Iwerks produced the animated adaptation, Happy Days, released on September 30, 1936, as the last ComiColor Cartoon short.

Boy Meets Dog, an unreleased 1938 commercial for Ipana toothpaste. It eventually got released on the home-movie market (with the Ipana toothpaste billboard scene removed) by Castle Films
.

Arthur Dreifuss' live-action feature Reg'lar Fellers (1941) stars Billy Lee as Pinhead Duffy and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer as Bump Hudson.

Radio

The Reg'lar Fellers comedy radio series, sponsored by Jello, aired Sunday nights on NBC from June 8 to August 31, 1941, as a summer replacement for The Jack Benny Program.[5] Dickie Van Patten and Dickie Monahan starred as Jimmy and Dinky Dugan. Others in the cast included Joyce Van Patten, Patsy O'Shea and Skippy Homeier.

Gene Byrnes Reg'lar Fellers (April 30, 1938)

References

Notes

  1. ^ Tack Knight entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999. Accessed Nov. 1, 2018.
  2. ^ George Carlson entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999. Accessed Nov. 1, 2018.
  3. ISBN 9780472117567
    .
  4. ISBN 9780472117567
    .
  5. Newspapers.com. Open access icon

Sources consulted

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reg%27lar_Fellers&oldid=1180758828"