Jim Davis (cartoonist)
| Jim Davis | |
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 Jim Davis in 2010 |
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| Born | James Robert Davis July 28, 1945 Marion, Indiana, United States |
| Occupation | Cartoonist |
| Known for | Garfield comic strip (1978-present) |
| Parents | James William Davis (father) Anna Catherine Davis (mother) |
James Robert "Jim" Davis (born July 28, 1945) is an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the comic strip Garfield. He has also worked on other strips: Tumbleweeds, Gnorm Gnat, U.S. Acres (aka Orson's Farm) and a strip about Mr. Potato Head.
Davis has written (or in some cases co-written) all of the Emmy Award-winning or nominated Garfield TV specials and was one of the producers behind the Garfield & Friends TV show which aired on CBS from 1988 to 1995. Davis is the writer and executive producer of a trilogy of C.G.-direct-to-video feature films about Garfield, as well as one of the executive producers and the creator for the new CGI-animated TV series The Garfield Show. He continues to work on the strip.
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Personal life [edit]
Born in Marion, Indiana,[1] Davis grew up on a small farm in Fairmount, Indiana, with his father James William Davis, mother Anna Catherine (Carter) Davis, brother Dave and 25 cats. Davis's childhood on a farm parallels the life of Garfield's owner, Jon Arbuckle, who was also raised on a farm with his parents and a brother, Doc Boy. Jon is a cartoonist, who also celebrates his birthday on July 28. Davis attended Ball State University. While attending Ball State, he became a member of the Theta Xi fraternity.
Ironically, considering his fame as a cartoonist who draws a cat, Davis's first wife, Carolyn (Altekruse), was allergic to cats,[2] but they owned a dog named Molly.[3] They have a son, James Alexander Davis.[2][4] On July 16, 2000, Davis married his current wife, Jill. They have three children: James, Ashley and Christopher.[3]
Davis resides in Albany, Indiana, where he and his staff produce Garfield under his Paws, Inc. company, launched in 1981. Paws, Inc. employs nearly 50 "artists" and licensing administrators, who work with agents around the world managing Garfield's vast licensing, syndication and "entertainment" empire.
Davis is a former President of the Fairmount, Indiana, FFA chapter.[5]
Career [edit]
Prior to creating Garfield, Davis worked for a local advertising agency, and in 1969, he began assisting Tom Ryan's comic strip, Tumbleweeds. He then created a comic strip, Gnorm Gnat, that ran for five years in The Pendleton Times, an Indiana newspaper. When Davis attempted to sell it to a national comic strip syndicate, an editor told him, "Your art is good, your gags are great, but bugs—nobody can relate to bugs!"
On June 19, 1978, Garfield started syndication in 41 newspapers. The strip quickly became the fastest selling comic strip in the world.[citation needed] Today it is syndicated in 2,580 newspapers and is read by approximately 263 million readers each day.[6]
In the 1980s, Davis created the barnyard slapstick comic strip U.S. Acres. Outside the U.S., the strip was known as Orson's Farm. Davis, along with Brett Koth, also made a 2000-03 strip based on the Mr. Potato Head toy.
Davis founded the Professor Garfield Foundation to support children’s literacy.[citation needed]
Awards [edit]
| Year | Award | Presenting Organization& Sciences |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Elzie Segar Award for Contributions to Cartooning | National Cartoonist Society |
| 1985-86 | Emmy Award, Outstanding Animated Program, Garfield's Halloween Adventure TV special, CBS | Academy of Television Arts & Sciences |
| 1986 | Best Strip | National Cartoonist Society |
| 1988-89 | Emmy Award, Outstanding Animated Program, Garfield's Babes and Bullets, TV special, CBS | Academy of Television Arts & Sciences |
| 1988 | Sagamore of the Wabash | State of Indiana |
| 1989 | Reuben Award for Overall Excellence in Cartooning | National Cartoonist Society |
| 1989 | Indiana Arbor Day Spokesman Award (Presented to Jim Davis and Garfield) | Indiana Division of Natural Resources and Forestry |
| 1990 | Good Steward Award, (Presented to Jim Davis and Garfield) | National Arbor Day Foundation |
| 1991 | Indiana Journalism Award (Presented to Jim Davis and Garfield) | Ball State University Department of Journalism |
| 1992 | Distinguished Hoosier | State of Indiana |
| 1995 | Project Award | National Arbor Day Foundation |
| 1997 | LVA Leadership Award (Presented to Paws) | Literacy Volunteers of Americahttp://www.bloglines.com/index.html |
References [edit]
- ^ De Weyer, Geert (2008). 100 stripklassiekers die niet in je boekenkast mogen ontbreken (in Dutch). Amsterdam / Antwerp: Atlas. p. 244. ISBN 978-90-450-0996-4.
- ^ a b "Those Catty Cartoonists," Time magazine, Dec. 07, 1981; available online at Time magazine website.
- ^ a b Jim Davis at Everything2.com
- ^ NNDB profile. Retrieved March 15, 2008.
- ^ "National FFA Organization Prominent Members", National F.F.A. Organization (PDF)
- ^ "Garfield Named World's Most Syndicated Comic Strip.". Business Wire. January 22, 2002. Retrieved July 26, 2008.
http://www.bloglines.com/index.html http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5744154/Angry_Birds_Wikipedia
Sources [edit]
- Kim Campbell, Director of Public Relations, Paws, Inc.
- Bruce McCabe, "The Man Who Put Garfield on Top", The Boston Globe, March 8, 1987.
External links [edit]
- Jim Davis at the Internet Movie Database
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