Bernt's job as an office boy at the New York Journal , which he took on after dropping out of high school in Brooklyn,[2] put him in contact with leading cartoonists, as he recalled,
When I was 16, I worked as office boy for Tad, Herriman, Hershfield, Tom McNamara, also Hoban, McCay, Gross, T. E. Powers, C. D. Batchelor, Sterrett and Segar. Not much money but a million dollars worth of experience! Stayed with the New York Journal for five years, sweeping floors, running errands, drawing strips, sport cartoons and what have you. Then one year with World Telegram. From there to the Daily News in 1922 where Smitty and Herby work for me![3][dead link]
Fishing for ideas
Ed Black wrote about the method E. C. Segar and Berndt used to generate cartoon ideas:
Segar did another strip in the 1920s, but not on his own volition. One of his friends at the New York Journal was Walter Berndt who would in 1922 create the daily and Sunday Smitty strip for the Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate (under the aegis of the legendary Capt. Joseph Patterson), a feature destined to run for years. Both liked fishing. Berndt was doing a two-column strip called Then the Fun Began, inherited from Milt Gross. Both Segar and Berndt would finish their work by noon then steal away to an old pier on the Jersey side and spend the afternoon fishing and thinking up ideas. "We'd finish the day with a bunch of fish and about 15 or 20 ideas each," Berndt once said.[4]
Then the Fun Began was appearing as early as March 3, 1919. When Berndt left that strip on October 13, 1921, it was taken over by Fred Faber, who continued it until 1928.
Origins of Smitty
Berndt's first strip, That's Different, drawn for the Bell Syndicate, lasted less than a year. In 1922, he created Smitty, which he continued until 1973, working with his assistant Charles Mueller. Yet it did not begin without a struggle, as cartoonist Mike Lynch described in a 2005 lecture:
After a stint drawing sports cartoons under T.A. "Tad" Dorgan (If you look at Walter Berndt's signature, you can see he draws his "T" just like Tad did), he took over the And the Fun Begins panel from Milt Gross. By 1920 Berndt had left the Journal to start his own strip. The strip lasted a year. Then he worked at the New York World. But, within weeks, he was fired for insubordination. (I tried to find out more about this, but this is all I know.) Berndt was out of work and broke. So, with zany cartoonist timing, he got married! And then he began making the rounds with a new strip titled Billy the Office Boy. It was 1922. The World Series was on. Big news, and so no one could get near the editors. Berndt couldn't get in to see anyone. Segar said there wasn't a World Series in Chicago and suggested he send the proposal to Captain Patterson. So Berndt mailed the strip to the Chicago Tribune. Patterson, opening a phone book for reference, renamed it Smitty and bought it at Berndt's high asking price. The strip became a mainstay, with the adventures of Smitty and Herby continuing for over 50 years.[5]
He also produced the comic strip Herby, a topper strip of Smitty, from 1938 through 1960.
In 1937, Berndt moved to Port Jefferson, Long Island, where he lived until his death at age 79. He died on Monday, August 15, 1979, at Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson,
The Berndt Toast Gang, named in honor of Walter Berndt,[7] is a group of Long Island cartoonists who meet on the last Thursday of each month, as explained by cartoonist Lee Ames:
When the Long Island group, Creig Flessel, Bill Lignante, Frank Springer, Al Micale and I got together to work for Hanna Barbera in the 1960s, we decided to have a Finnegan's Bar lunch every last Thursday of the month. During that period, Creig brought Walter Berndt to join us. We fell in love with the cigar-smoking old-timer (look who's talking!), as he did with us. After a couple of years he passed away and left us grieving. Thereafter, whenever we convened on Thursdays, we'd raise a toast to Walter's memory. On one such, my big mouth opened and uttered, "Fellas, it's time for the Berndt toast!" I wasn't trying to be cute at the time, but I'm not displeased that it stuck and we became the Berndt Toast Gang, one of the largest branches of the National Cartoonists Society.[8][not specific enough to verify]
Strickler, Dave. Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index. Cambria, California: Comics Access, 1995. ISBN0-9700077-0-1
External links
Lambiek Comiclopedia
Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Art Database
January 21, 2023
walter, berndt, november, 1899, august, 1979, cartoonist, known, comic, strip, smitty, which, drew, years, born, 1899, november, 1899brooklyn, york, diedaugust, 1979, 1979, aged, port, jefferson, yorkarea, cartoonistnotable, workssmittyherbyawardsreuben, award. Walter Berndt November 22 1899 1 August 15 1979 was a cartoonist known for his comic strip Smitty which he drew for 50 years Walter BerndtWalter BerndtBorn 1899 11 22 November 22 1899Brooklyn New York U S DiedAugust 15 1979 1979 08 15 aged 79 Port Jefferson New YorkArea s CartoonistNotable worksSmittyHerbyAwardsReuben Award 1969 Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Fishing for ideas 1 2 Origins of Smitty 2 Awards 3 Legacy The Berndt Toast Gang 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksBiography EditBernt s job as an office boy at the New York Journal which he took on after dropping out of high school in Brooklyn 2 put him in contact with leading cartoonists as he recalled When I was 16 I worked as office boy for Tad Herriman Hershfield Tom McNamara also Hoban McCay Gross T E Powers C D Batchelor Sterrett and Segar Not much money but a million dollars worth of experience Stayed with the New York Journal for five years sweeping floors running errands drawing strips sport cartoons and what have you Then one year with World Telegram From there to the Daily News in 1922 where Smitty and Herby work for me 3 dead link Fishing for ideas Edit Ed Black wrote about the method E C Segar and Berndt used to generate cartoon ideas Segar did another strip in the 1920s but not on his own volition One of his friends at the New York Journal was Walter Berndt who would in 1922 create the daily and Sunday Smitty strip for the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate under the aegis of the legendary Capt Joseph Patterson a feature destined to run for years Both liked fishing Berndt was doing a two column strip called Then the Fun Began inherited from Milt Gross Both Segar and Berndt would finish their work by noon then steal away to an old pier on the Jersey side and spend the afternoon fishing and thinking up ideas We d finish the day with a bunch of fish and about 15 or 20 ideas each Berndt once said 4 Then the Fun Began was appearing as early as March 3 1919 When Berndt left that strip on October 13 1921 it was taken over by Fred Faber who continued it until 1928 Origins of Smitty Edit Berndt s first strip That s Different drawn for the Bell Syndicate lasted less than a year In 1922 he created Smitty which he continued until 1973 working with his assistant Charles Mueller Yet it did not begin without a struggle as cartoonist Mike Lynch described in a 2005 lecture After a stint drawing sports cartoons under T A Tad Dorgan If you look at Walter Berndt s signature you can see he draws his T just like Tad did he took over the And the Fun Begins panel from Milt Gross By 1920 Berndt had left the Journal to start his own strip The strip lasted a year Then he worked at the New York World But within weeks he was fired for insubordination I tried to find out more about this but this is all I know Berndt was out of work and broke So with zany cartoonist timing he got married And then he began making the rounds with a new strip titled Billy the Office Boy It was 1922 The World Series was on Big news and so no one could get near the editors Berndt couldn t get in to see anyone Segar said there wasn t a World Series in Chicago and suggested he send the proposal to Captain Patterson So Berndt mailed the strip to the Chicago Tribune Patterson opening a phone book for reference renamed it Smitty and bought it at Berndt s high asking price The strip became a mainstay with the adventures of Smitty and Herby continuing for over 50 years 5 He also produced the comic strip Herby a topper strip of Smitty from 1938 through 1960 In 1937 Berndt moved to Port Jefferson Long Island where he lived until his death at age 79 He died on Monday August 15 1979 at Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson Walter Berndt s Smitty May 5 1933 Awards EditBerndt won the Reuben Award for 1969 for Smitty 6 Legacy The Berndt Toast Gang Edit The Berndt Toast Gang named in honor of Walter Berndt 7 is a group of Long Island cartoonists who meet on the last Thursday of each month as explained by cartoonist Lee Ames When the Long Island group Creig Flessel Bill Lignante Frank Springer Al Micale and I got together to work for Hanna Barbera in the 1960s we decided to have a Finnegan s Bar lunch every last Thursday of the month During that period Creig brought Walter Berndt to join us We fell in love with the cigar smoking old timer look who s talking as he did with us After a couple of years he passed away and left us grieving Thereafter whenever we convened on Thursdays we d raise a toast to Walter s memory On one such my big mouth opened and uttered Fellas it s time for the Berndt toast I wasn t trying to be cute at the time but I m not displeased that it stuck and we became the Berndt Toast Gang one of the largest branches of the National Cartoonists Society 8 not specific enough to verify References Edit United States Social Security Death Index index FamilySearch https familysearch org pal MM9 1 1 JKL7 22R accessed 12 Mar 2013 Walter Berndt August 1979 Walter Berndt Drew Comic Strip Smitty Which Ran 50 Years The New York Times 1979 08 15 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2019 10 02 NCS Awards Walter Berndt Black Ed The Little Man and the One eyed Sailor Gylph Archived from the original on 2011 05 16 Retrieved 2008 10 29 Lynch Mike March 13 2006 The History of the Berndt Toast Gang Berndt Toast Gang Archived from the original on June 22 2006 Scroll down for story Walter Berndt National Cartoonists Society Retrieved 24 November 2022 Pen Strokes and Gag Lines a Stimulus Package for All The New York Times Retrieved October 4 2012 Ames Lee J quoted in Lynch Further reading EditStrickler Dave Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists 1924 1995 The Complete Index Cambria California Comics Access 1995 ISBN 0 9700077 0 1External links EditLambiek Comiclopedia Billy Ireland Cartoon Library amp Museum Art Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Walter Berndt amp oldid 1123772047, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
