Sunday, June 13, 2010

Geepers!* Today Is Little Orphan Annie's Last Day!


Little Orphan Annie has been in the comic strips for 86 years. Today is her last day.

Little Orphan Annie was created by Harold Gray (1894-1968). His assistant took over the drawing board after Gray's death and the strip went uninterrupted until now.

The strip had a style of its own. The cast of character had no eye pupils for no apparent reason. The had a benefactor, sort of, or maybe live saver, would be a better description, named Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks who was incredibly wealthy. His last name suggests how he made his millions. Daddy Warbucks had a faithful assistant, sort of like Tonto, as Far Eastern name Punjab. He took care of the dirty work. Anyway, Daddy Warbucks and Punjab always showed up in the nick of time.

Little Orphan Annie's name inspired many other types of productions, such as Annie Fanny in PLAYBOY magazine and the musical ANNIE.

*Did you know the song "GEEPERS CREEPERS, WHERE DID GET THOSE PEEPERS?" were written by Georgia-born Johnny Mercer? If the song was meant for Little Orphan Annie it would go like this" GEEPERS, CREEPERS, WHERE ARE YOUR PEEPERS?"

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