Sogturtle
06-02-2001, 07:42 AM
At age 81 Hank Ketcham left this world yesterday, via the unpleasant means of prostate cancer (ouch!!!). He was of course the creator of the world-famed Dennis the Menace comic strip, and thusly the step-father of the live-action TV show and animated show (via DIC, yuckkkk) and a life action movie. His real life eldest son Dennis was the model for the comic strip character, and Hank himself was the model for "Dad".
Besides the pathetic DIC animated series, Ketcham had two (or three) much more worthy associations with animation. The earliest was when he left home in the late 1930's and obtained a job with the Walter Lantz Studio working on the latter Oswald the Rabbit cartoons... He then took up residence at the other "Walt's" studio and reportedly worked on features there till Pearl Harbor was attacked. Ketcham enlisted in the navy and with his cartooning skills was soon doing his bit there. One thing that has gone unreported in his obituaries was that (as memory serves me) he found himself contributing to the Walter Lantz War films (at least one Hook among them) and allegedly to the Warner's Hook cartoons as well. After the WAR he hit the big time with the creation of Dennis (thank God for inspiration from kids), and never returned to the animator's desk.
His last notable association with animation was the use of Dennis the Menace in one of the very, very last projects made by DePatie-Freleng... An early 1980's Mother's Day TV special that is now forgotten by nearly all. Farewell Hank... Dennis lives on... and on... and on...
Besides the pathetic DIC animated series, Ketcham had two (or three) much more worthy associations with animation. The earliest was when he left home in the late 1930's and obtained a job with the Walter Lantz Studio working on the latter Oswald the Rabbit cartoons... He then took up residence at the other "Walt's" studio and reportedly worked on features there till Pearl Harbor was attacked. Ketcham enlisted in the navy and with his cartooning skills was soon doing his bit there. One thing that has gone unreported in his obituaries was that (as memory serves me) he found himself contributing to the Walter Lantz War films (at least one Hook among them) and allegedly to the Warner's Hook cartoons as well. After the WAR he hit the big time with the creation of Dennis (thank God for inspiration from kids), and never returned to the animator's desk.
His last notable association with animation was the use of Dennis the Menace in one of the very, very last projects made by DePatie-Freleng... An early 1980's Mother's Day TV special that is now forgotten by nearly all. Farewell Hank... Dennis lives on... and on... and on...