Jerry Siegel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jerry Siegel |
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Siegel during his service in the US Army in Hawaii, c. 1944
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| Born | Jerome Siegel October 17, 1914 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | January 28, 1996 (aged 81) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Writer |
| Pseudonym(s) | Joe Carter, Jerry Ess |
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Notable works
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Superman, Action Comics #1 |
| Awards | Inkpot Award, 1975 Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame, 1992 Jack Kirby Hall of Fame, 1993 The Bill Finger Award For Excellence in Comic Book Writing, 2005 |
| Spouse(s) |
Bella Siegel
(m. 1939; div. 1948)Joanne Siegel
(m. 1948; |
| Children | 2 |
Jerome Siegel (October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996), was the American co-creator, along with Joe Shuster, of Superman, the first of the great comic book superheroes and one of the most recognizable of the 20th century.
He was inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1993.
Contents
Biography
Early life
Jerry Siegel was born on October 17, 1914, in Cleveland, Ohio, to a Jewish family. His parents were both Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York in 1900, having fled antisemitism in their native Lithuania. His father was born Mikhel Iankel Segalovich and his mother was born Sora Meita Khaikels, but they changed their names to Michael and Sarah Siegel after moving to the US. Jerry was the last of six children (Isabel, Leo, Minerva, Roslyn, and Harry). His father was a tailor and owned a clothing store. On June 2, 1932, Jerry's father was assaulted in his store by a shoplifter and suffered a fatal heart attack. Jerry's mother died of a heart attack on August 17, 1941.
Siegel's family moved to the Jewish neighborhood of Glenville in 1928. He attended Glenville High School in Cleveland, Ohio. At about age 16, while at Glenville, he befriended Joe Shuster. Siegel described his friendship with the similarly shy and bespectacled Shuster: "When Joe and I first met, it was like the right chemicals coming together." They shared a love of science fiction, adventure fiction, and movies.
Siegel graduated from high school in June 1934.
Early work for DC Comics (1935–1943)
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Unable to afford college, he worked various delivery jobs, all the while courting publishers. In the summer of 1935, still living in Cleveland, he and Shuster began selling comic-book stories to National Allied Publications, the primary precursor of DC Comics, in New York.
Siegel and Shuster had been developing the Superman story and character since 1933, hoping to sell it as a syndicated newspaper comic-strip. But after years of fruitless soliciting to the syndicates, Siegel and Shuster agreed to publish Superman in a comic book. In March 1938, they sold all rights to Superman to the comic-book publisher Detective Comics, Inc., another forerunner of DC, for $130 ($2,703 when adjusted for inflation).
Siegel and Shuster later regretted their decision to sell Superman after he became an astonishing success. DC Comics now owned the character and reaped the royalties. Nevertheless, DC Comics retained Siegel and Shuster as the principal writer and artist for the Superman comics, and they were well-paid because they were popular with the readers. For instance, in 1942 they together earned $63,776.46 (equivalent to $1,100,000 in 2022). Siegel bought a house in University Heights and a car.
Siegel was conscripted into the United States Army on June 28, 1943. His service number was 35067731. He was trained at Fort George G. Meade, where he was trained as an "Airplane Engine Mechanic, a Film Editor, Motion Picture Cutter, Public Relations Man or Playwright (Motion Picture Writer) or Reporter". He was posted in Honolulu, where he was assigned a writing job at the military newspaper Stars and Stripes. He focused mainly on comedy columns. Siegel was discharged on January 21, 1946, at the rank of Technician 4th Grade.
Postwar career (1946–1959)
During his military service in Hawaii, Siegel learned from his friend Shuster that DC Comics had published a story featuring a child version of Superman called "Superboy", which was based on a story that Siegel had submitted to DC Comics, but which DC Comics hadn't bought. Because DC Comics never bought the copyright to Superboy from Siegel, Siegel sued DC Comics for the rights. A second claim they had was that DC had cheated them out of royalties from the Superman radio show and the merchandise. Siegel and Shuster simultaneously sued for the rights to Superman as well. At the conclusion of the trial, Siegel and Shuster agreed to relinquish the copyrights of both Superman and Superboy in exchange for a settlement of just over $94,000 (equivalent to $1,100,000 in 2022). Siegel's 1948 divorce papers suggest he was left with $29,000 after paying his court fees but prior to settling his divorce.
After the war, Siegel moved to New York. Between 1937 and 1947 (i.e., during the span of their contract), Siegel and Shuster had together earned more than $400,000 (roughly equivalent to $7,200,000 in 2022) while working at DC Comics.
After leaving DC Comics in late 1947, Siegel and Shuster created the comedic superhero Funnyman, which proved unsuccessful. This was their last collaboration. Siegel then took freelance writing jobs. Some of them include the newspaper strip Tallulah, Lars of Mars, and G.I. Joe. The publisher Ziff-Davis hired him as a comic-book editor in 1951, but its comics division closed after less than a year in business. Siegel never found steady work, and fell upon hard times. By 1959, he and his family were living in a one-bedroom apartment in Great Neck, Long Island, and struggling to pay their bills.
Return to DC (1959–1965)
Siegel returned to DC Comics in 1959 at the prompting of his second wife. Although he did write some Superman stories, he no longer had any creative control, but instead answered to the direction of his editor. During this time, he wrote extensively about the team the Legion of Super-Heroes, adding many enduring characters to its cast. Siegel's contributions during this time are difficult to determine because DC Comics did not generally give creator bylines. His last work for DC was a short story included in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #89 (December 1965). DC Comics ceased giving him work in 1966, when the company learned Siegel and Shuster were planning a second lawsuit to reclaim the copyright to Superman. He lost that lawsuit.
Siegel again fell into hard financial times after this second dismissal, as he was unable to find regular writing work. In 1975, upon hearing that Warner Bros. was producing a Superman film, Siegel alerted the press to his condition. In response, Warner Bros, agreed to give Siegel and Shuster a lifetime stipend of $20,000 a year (later increased to $30,000) in exchange for not contesting ownership of the copyright to Superman.
DC Comics characters
During his first tenure at DC Comics (1935-1943), Siegel created the following characters:
- Henri Duval, a French swashbuckler.
- Doctor Occult, paranormal investigator.
- Radio Squad, police serial.
- Spy, serial starring the globe-trotting investigator Bart Regan and his female sidekick Sally Norris.
- Superman, a costumed vigilante with superhuman strength
- Superboy, a child version of Superman
- The Spectre, a ghostly avenger
During his second tenure at DC Comics (1959-1966), Siegel created the following characters:
- Bouncing Boy, a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes
- Brainiac 5, a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes
- Cosmic King, a adversary of the Legion of Super-Heroes
- Duplicate Damsel, a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes
- Invisible Kid, a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes
- Matter-Eater Lad, a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes
- Lightning Lord, a adversary of the Legion of Super-Heroes
- Phantom Girl, a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes
- Chameleon Boy, a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes
- Saturn Queen, an adversary of the Legion of Super-Heroes
Amalgamated Press
After leaving DC Comics, Siegel wrote The Spider for the British comic Lion, published by Amalgamated Press. His episodes were published from January 1966 to February 1969.
Personal life
Siegel remained somewhat active in science fiction fandom after starting work for DC. He attended Chicon, the 1940 2nd World Science Fiction Convention, and appeared in the convention's masquerade as Clark Kent.
Siegel married Bella Lifshitz on June 10, 1939. She was a Jewish woman from his neighborhood of Glenville. With Bella, he had a son named Michael (January 27, 1944 – January 17, 2006). The couple divorced in 1948.
In November 1948, Siegel married Joanne Carter. She and Siegel first met in January 1935, when she worked with his colleague Joe Shuster as the model for Lois Lane. They reacquainted at a costume ball in New York on April 1, 1948. On March 1, 1951, Joanne gave birth to their daughter, Laura. The couple settled on Long Island, before moving to California in 1968. Siegel and Joanne remained married until his death in 1996.
Death
Siegel died on January 28, 1996, of a heart attack. He had been suffering from cardiac disease for years, and had had a bypass operation. He is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California.
Awards and honors
- Inkpot Award, 1975
- Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame, 1992
- Jack Kirby Hall of Fame, 1993
- The Bill Finger Award For Excellence in Comic Book Writing, 2005 (posthumous)
- Kimberly Avenue in Cleveland was renamed "Jerry Siegel Lane" in 2009
Images for kids
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First strip of Super Sam, featuring an unauthorized appearance of Superman.
See also
In Spanish: Jerry Siegel para niños
