Morrie Turner

Morrie Turner

Morrie Turner in 2005
Born Morris Nolton Turner
(1923-12-11)December 11, 1923
Oakland, California
Died January 25, 2014(2014-01-25) (aged 90)
Sacramento, California
Nationality American
Area(s) Cartoonist
Notable works
 Wee Pals
Awards full list

Morris Nolton "Morrie" Turner[1] (December 11, 1923 – January 25, 2014) was an American cartoonist, creator of the strip Wee Pals, the first American syndicated strip with an integrated cast of characters.

Biography

Turner was raised in Oakland, California, the youngest child of a Pullman porter father and a homemaker and nurse mother.[1][2]

Turner got his first training in cartooning via the Art Instruction, Inc. home study correspondence course. During World War II, where he served as a mechanic with Tuskegee Airmen,[1] his illustrations appeared in the newspaper Stars and Stripes. After the war, while working for the Oakland Police Department, he created the comic strip Baker's Helper.[3]

When Turner began questioning why there were no minorities in cartoons, his mentor, Charles M. Schulz of Peanuts fame, suggested he create one.[4] Morris' first attempt, Dinky Fellas, featured an all-black cast, but found publication in only one newspaper, the Chicago Defender.[5] Turner integrated the strip, renaming it Wee Pals, and in 1965 it became the first American syndicated comic strip to have a cast of diverse ethnicity.[1] Although the strip was only originally carried by five newspapers, after Martin Luther King's assassination in 1968, it was picked up by more than 100 papers.[6]

In 1970 Turner became a co-chairman of the White House Conference on Children and Youth.[2]

Turner appeared as a guest on the May 14, 1973, episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, where he showed the host pictures he had drawn of several of his neighbors. Turner also presented a clip from his Kid Power animated series, which was airing Saturday mornings on ABC at the time. As well, during the 1972-73, Wee Pals on the Go was aired by ABC's owned-and-operated station in San Francisco, KGO-TV. This Sunday morning show featured child actors who portrayed the main characters of Turner's comic strip: Nipper, Randy, Sybil, Connie and Oliver. With and through the kids, Turner explored venues, activities and objects such as a candy factory and a train locomotive.

As the comic strip continued, Turner added characters of more and more ethnicities, as well as a child with a physical disability.

During the Vietnam War, Turner and five other members of the National Cartoonist Society traveled to Vietnam, where they spent a month drawing more than 3,000 caricatures of service people.[6]

Turner contributed his talents to concerts by the Bay Area Little Symphony of Oakland, California. He drew pictures to the music and of children in the audience. On May 25, 2009, Turner visited Westlake Middle School in Oakland to give a lesson to the OASES Comic Book Preachers Class of drawing. Turner collaborated with the class's students to create the book Wee the Kids from Oakland.

Turner died on January 25, 2014, at age 90.[7]

Personal life

Turner married Letha Mae Harvey on April 6, 1946; they collaborated on "Soul Corner,"[3] the weekly supplement to Wee Pals. Morrie and Letha had one son, Morrie Jr;[8] Letha died in 1994. Late in life, Turner's companion was Karol Trachtenburg of Sacramento.[6]

Turner was an active member of the Center for Spiritual Awareness, a Science of Mind church in West Sacramento, California.

Tributes

The Family Circus character of Morrie, a playmate of Billy and the only recurring black character in the strip, is based on Turner. Family Circus creator Bil Keane created the character in 1967 as a tribute to his close friend.[9]

Awards

In 2003, the National Cartoonists Society recognized Turner for his work on Wee Pals and others with the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award.[10]

Throughout his career, Turner was showered with awards and community distinctions. For example, he received the Brotherhood Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews and the Inter-Group Relations Award from the Anti-Defamation League of Bnai Brith. In 1971, he received the Alameda County (California) Education Association Layman's Annual Award.[11]

In 2000, the Cartoon Art Museum presented Turner with the Sparky Award, named in honor of Charles Schulz.[6]

Turner was honored a number of times at the San Diego Comic-Con: in 1981, he was given an Inkpot Award; and in 2012 he was given the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award.

Bibliography

Wee Pals collections

Willis and his Friends

Other books

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Cavna, Michael (January 31, 2014). "RIP, Morrie Turner: Cartoonists say farewell to a friend, a hero, a 'Wee Pals' pioneer". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Bernstein, Adam (January 28, 2014). "Morrie Turner dies at 90; pioneering 'Wee Pals' cartoonist". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 1, 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  3. 1 2 Turner entry, Lambiek's Comiclopedia. Accessed Jan. 27, 2014.
  4. ↑ Ross, Martha. "Morrie Turner: Pioneering 'Wee Pals' cartoonist, dies at 90," Contra Costa Times (Jan. 27, 2014).
  5. ↑ Jesse Hamlin (2009-09-13). "Wee Pals retrospective at S.F. library". San Francisco Chronicle.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "About Morrie Turner". Creators.com. Archived from the original on April 27, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  7. ↑ Kelly, George. "Remembering 'Wee Pals' creator Morrie Turner: Social media reaction," San Jose Mercury News (Jan. 27, 2014).
  8. ↑ Ink-Slinger Profiles: Morrie Turner
  9. ↑ Chang, Jeff (2009). "Morrie Turner and the Kids". The Believer (November/December). Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  10. ↑ RIP, MORRIE TURNER: Cartoonists say farewell to a friend, a hero, a ‘Wee Pals’ pioneer, by Michael Cavna, at the Washington Post; published January 31, 2014; retrieved March 16, 2014
  11. ↑ Turner entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Accessed Jan. 27, 2013.
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