Sidney Smith (The Gumps)

Robert Sidney Smith (February 13, 1877-October 20, 1935), known as Sidney Smith, was the creator of the influential comic strip, "The Gumps", based on an idea by Captain Joseph M. Patterson, editor and publisher of the "Chicago Tribune".

He was born in Bloomington, Illinois. The son of a dentist, Smith never finished high school and began drawing cartoons for his hometown newspaper when he was 18. He also delivered chalk talks and worked in newspaper art departments in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

In 1908, he signed on as a sports cartoonist at the "Chicago Examiner" where he created a talking goat in a feature, "Buck Nix", which involved continuity: "What will tomorrow bring?" He continued the goat character in "Old Doc Yak" when he moved to the "Chicago Tribune".

The last "Old Doc Yak" ended with the well-dressed Yak and his family leaving their house, wondering who might next move into it. The last panel showed only the empty house. The next day's newspapers, in the space formerly occupied by "Old Doc Yak", displayed the initial episodes of "The Gumps", showing them moving into the same house.

"The Gumps" had a 42-year run in newspapers from February 12, 1917 until October 17, 1959. The strip, its merchandising (toys, games, a popular song, toys, games, playing cards, food products) and media adaptations made Smith a wealthy man. In addition to his townhouse, he had a large estate near Chicago and a convert|2200|acre|km2|sing=on farm. He believed in physical fitness, keeping in shape with amateur boxing and long-distance running. On his way home from signing a $150,000-a-year contract in 1935, he crashed his new Rolls-Royce and died in a head-on collision at the age of 58.

Influence

"The Gumps" inspired "Amos 'n' Andy" and thus had a huge influence on the introduction of radio serial continuity and radio-television situation comedies, as detailed by broadcast historian Elizabeth McLeod in the "Andy Gump to Andy Brown" section of her popular culture essay, Amos 'n' Andy -- In Person and her book, "The Original Amos 'n' Andy: Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, and the 1928-43 Radio Serial" (McFarland, 2005). Mainly due to the research of McLeod, Sidney Smith is now regarded as a seminal figure in 20th-century popular culture.