Crockett Johnson

Crockett Johnson
Born	David Johnson Leisk October 20, 1906(1906-10-20) New York City, United States
Died	July 11, 1975(1975-07-11) (aged 68)
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Cartoonist
Notable works	Barnaby, Harold and the Purple Crayon

Crockett Johnson was the pen name of cartoonist and children's book illustrator David Johnson Leisk (October 20, 1906–July 11, 1975). He is perhaps best known for the comic strip Barnaby (1942–1952, 1960–1962) and the Harold series of books begun with Harold and the Purple Crayon.

Biography

Born in New York City, Johnson grew up in Elmhurst, Queens, studying art at Cooper Union in 1924, and at New York University in 1925.^[1] He explained his choice of pseudonym as such: "Crockett is my childhood nickname. My real name is David Johnson Leisk. Leisk was too hard to pronounce -- so -- I am now Crockett Johnson!"^[1] He died of lung cancer.^[1]

Children's books

Johnson also collaborated on four children's books with his wife, Ruth Krauss. The books were: The Carrot Seed, How to Make an Earthquake, Is This You?, and The Happy Egg.

The books Harold and the Purple Crayon, Harold's Fairy Tale, and A Picture for Harold's Room have been adapted for animation by Gene Deitch.

Works

• Barnaby (1943)
• Barnaby and Mr. O'Malley (1944)
• Ruth Krauss, The Carrot Seed (1945), illus. by Johnson
• Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955)
• Is This You? (1955), co-written with Ruth Krauss
• Barkis: Some precise and some speculative interpretations of the meaning of a dog's bark at certain times and in certain (illustrated) circumstances (1956)
• Harold's Fairy Tale (Further Adventures of with the Purple Crayon) (1956)
• Harold's Trip to the Sky (1957)
• Terrible, Terrifying Toby (1957)
• Time for Spring (1957)
• Bernadine Cook, The Little Fish That Got Away (1957)
• Harold at the North Pole (1958)
• The Blue Ribbon Puppies (1958)
• Ellen's Lion: Twelve Stories (1959)
• The Frowning Prince (1959)
• Harold's Circus (1959)
• Will Spring Be Early? or Will Spring Be Late? (1959)
• A Picture for Harold's Room (1960)
• Harold's ABC (1963)
• The Lion's Own Story: Eight New Stories about Ellen's Lion (1963)
• We Wonder What Will Walter Be? When He Grows Up (1964)
• Castles in the Sand (1965), illus. by Betty Fraser
• The Emperor's Gifts (1965)
• Barnaby #1: Wanted, A Fairy Godfather (1985)
• Barnaby #2: Mr. O'Malley and the Haunted House (1985)
• Barnaby #3: Jackeen J. O'Malley for Congress (1986)
• Barnaby #4: Mr. O'Malley Goes for the Gold (1986)
• Barnaby #5: Mr. O'Malley, Wizard of Wall Street (1986)
• Barnaby #6: J.J. O'Malley Goes Hollywood (1986)
• Magic Beach (2005), with an appreciation by Maurice Sendak and an Afterword by Philip Nel

The Barnaby #1 to #6 books, published in paperback by Ballantine Books under the Del Rey imprint in 1985, were compilations of the first few years of the comic strip. Additional books were supposed to appear, but publication was suspended upon the death of Judy Lynn Del Rey.

A 1946 play, "Barnaby and Mr. O'Malley", was based on the comic strip. It played in several East Coast cities, attracting attention mainly for a scene in which O'Malley flew over the audience throwing out leaflets urging support for his Congressional race. Johnson said the child cast as Barnaby looked more like the cartoon Barnaby than any real child he ever expected to see, Producer—Barney Josephson; Script--Jerome Chodorov; O'Malley--J. M. Kerrigan; Barnaby--Thomas Wm. Hamilton; Jane—Iris Mann; McSnoyd--Royal Dano

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Crockett Johnson Homepage: Biography of Crockett Johnson

External links

• lambiek.net entry on Johnson
• Philip Nel, Crockett Johnson homepage
• Harold, Barnaby, and Dave: A Biography of Crockett Johnson by Philip Nel

Persondata
Name	Johnson, Crockett
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 20, 1906
Place of birth	New York City, United States
Date of death	July 11, 1975
Place of death