Addison Morton Walker (September 3, 1923 – January 27, 2018) was an American comic strip writer, best known for creating the newspaper comic strips Beetle Bailey in 1950 and Hi and Lois in 1954. He signed Addison to some of his strips.

Early life

Walker was born in El Dorado, Kansas, as the third of four children in the family. His siblings were Peggy W. Harman (1915–2012), Robin Ellis Walker (1918–2013) and Marilou W. White (1927–2021). After a couple of years, his family moved to Amarillo, Texas, and later to Kansas City, Missouri, in late 1927, where his father, Robin Adair Walker (d. 1950), was an architect, while his mother, Carolyn Richards Walker (d. 1970), He was of Scottish, Irish, and English descent. One of his ancestors was a doctor aboard the Mayflower.

During his elementary school years, he drew for a student newspaper.

Graduating from Northeast High School, he attended one year at Kansas City Junior College in 1942–43 before going to the University of Missouri. Walker's physical presence in Columbia is noted by The Shack, which was a rambling burger joint behind Jesse Hall on Conley Avenue. Images resembling the interior of the shack appeared in Beetle Bailey cartoons and is mentioned by name in the September 14, 1950 Beetle Bailey strip. Walker visited the Shack on return trips to Columbia with the last being to the original structure in 1978. The Shack was destroyed in a fire in 1988 and Walker returned in 2010 for dedication of a replica of the building in the student center with the dining area now formally called "Mort's". A life-sized bronze statue of Beetle Bailey stands in front of the alumni center which is near The Shack's original location.

Military service

In 1943, Walker was drafted into the United States Army and served in Italy, where he was an intelligence and investigating officer and was also in charge of an Allied camp for 10,000 German POWs. He was discharged as a first lieutenant in 1947. When he decided he could make more money doing a multi-panel comic strip, Spider morphed into Beetle Bailey, eventually distributed by King Features Syndicate to 1,800 newspapers in more than 50 countries for a combined readership of 200 million daily.

In 1954, Walker and Dik Browne teamed to launch Hi and Lois, a spin-off of Beetle Bailey (Lois was Beetle's sister). Mrs. Fitz's Flats, The Evermores (with Johnny Sajem), Sam's Strip, and Sam and Silo (the last two with Jerry Dumas).

During his life he drew special drawings for individuals, in particular for those who were ill.

Books

In addition to books about comics and children's books, Walker collected his strips into 92 "Beetle Bailey" paperbacks and 35 "Hi and Lois" paperbacks, plus writing his autobiography, Mort Walker's Scrapbook: Celebrating a Life of Love and Laughter. a vocabulary called Symbolia,

Exhibitions

In September 2000, the University of Missouri staged a Beetle Bailey 50th-anniversary exhibition in the grand concourse of the Elmer Ellis Library, displaying original daily and Sunday strips, published reprints and poster-size lithographs of selected strips.

Awards

In 1974, Walker founded the National Cartoon Museum, and in 1989 was inducted into its Museum of Cartoon Art Hall of Fame. In 1978, Walker received the American Legion's Fourth Estate Award, and in 2000, he was given the Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service by the United States Army. He was awarded the Inkpot Award in 1979.

Walker received the Sparky Award for lifetime achievement from the Cartoon Art Museum at the 2010 New York Comic Con.

Personal life

Walker was married in 1949 to his first wife, Jean Suffill, whom he had met during his time at the University of Missouri. They had seven children: Greg, Brian, Polly, Morgan, Marjorie, Neal, and Roger.

Walker died from complications of pneumonia on January 27, 2018, at his home in Stamford, Connecticut. He was 94 years old. He was interred at Willowbrook Cemetery in Westport, Connecticut.

Notes

Citations

General references

  • 'Beetle Bailey' cartoonist Mort Walker dies at 94 from Toons Mag
  • National Cartoonists Society: Mort Walker
  • Mort Walker Papers 1950–1968 at Syracuse University (primary source material)
  • Mort Walker Collection at University of Missouri (primary source material)