Marge (cartoonist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Marge (cartoonist) |
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Marge working on a sketch of her most famous character, Little Lulu
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| Born | Marjorie Lyman Henderson December 11, 1904 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | May 30, 1993 (aged 88) Elyria, Ohio |
| Nationality | American |
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Notable works
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Little Lulu |
Marjorie Henderson Buell (born December 11, 1904 – died May 30, 1993) was an American cartoonist. She was known by her special artist name, Marge. She is most famous for creating the beloved character Little Lulu.
Contents
Early Life and Drawing Fun
Marjorie Lyman Henderson was born in 1904 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She grew up on a farm with her two sisters. From a young age, Marjorie and her sisters loved to draw. They would create comics for birthday cards and family events.
Marjorie started selling her drawings to friends when she was only 8 years old! She went to Villa Maria Academy High School and graduated in 1921.
Marjorie's Amazing Career
Starting as a Cartoonist
When Marjorie was just 16, she sold her very first cartoon to a newspaper called the Public Ledger. Her drawings soon appeared in many popular magazines. These included Collier's, Judge, and Life. She also drew pictures for Country Gentleman and Ladies' Home Journal.
By the late 1920s, she began using the name "Marge" for her work. She even had her own comic strip called The Boy Friend. This strip, which ran from 1925 to 1926, featured a female main character. Another one of her strips, Dashing Dot, also had a girl as the lead. Marge was friends with Ruth Plumly Thompson, who wrote Oz books. Marge even drew pictures for Thompson's fantasy novel King Kojo in 1933.
Creating Little Lulu
In 1934, a famous magazine called The Saturday Evening Post asked Marge to create a new comic strip. They wanted something to replace another popular strip called Henry. Marge decided to create a little girl character instead of a boy. She thought a girl could do more funny and mischievous things without seeming rude.
The first Little Lulu cartoon appeared in the Post on February 23, 1935. In this first drawing, Lulu is a flower girl at a wedding. She playfully throws banana peels down the aisle! The single-panel comic ran in the Post until 1944. After that, it became a regular comic strip.
Marge was very smart because she kept the rights to her character, Little Lulu. This was unusual for artists at that time. She worked hard to make Little Lulu famous throughout the 1940s.
Lulu's Big Success
Marge stopped drawing the daily Little Lulu strip herself in 1947. Other artists continued her work. In 1950, Little Lulu became a daily comic strip that appeared in many newspapers until 1969. Even after she stopped drawing the main strip, Marge still drew Lulu for special Kleenex tissue advertisements because they were very popular.
In 1943, Paramount Pictures wanted to make animated cartoons about Little Lulu. Marge traveled to New York to meet with the movie studio. There, she met William C. Erskine, who became her business helper.
Little Lulu became very popular and appeared on many different products. She was even the first mascot for Kleenex tissues! From 1952 to 1965, a huge animated billboard of Little Lulu was displayed in Times Square in New York City.
Little Lulu comic books were loved all over the world. They were translated into many languages, including Arabic, Dutch, Finnish, French, Japanese, and Spanish. Marge always kept creative control over her character, even when other artists drew the comics. John Stanley took over drawing and writing the Little Lulu comic book series.
In 1971, Marge decided to retire. She sold the rights to Little Lulu to a company called Western Publishing.
Marjorie's Family Life
On January 30, 1935, Marjorie married Clarence Addison Buell. He worked for the Bell Telephone Company. They made a deal about their careers: Clarence would turn down job promotions that meant moving, and Marjorie would manage her work so she could be there for their children.
Marjorie and Clarence had two sons. Larry was born in 1939, and Fred was born in 1942.
Marjorie was a private person. She rarely gave interviews or allowed her photos to be published. She also preferred to stay out of politics.
After selling the Little Lulu rights in 1971, the Buells retired to Ohio. Marjorie passed away on May 30, 1993, from lymphoma. Her son Larry became a professor at Harvard University, and her son Fred became a professor at Queens College.
Marjorie's Legacy
Marjorie Henderson Buell left a wonderful legacy. In July 2006, her family gave the "Marge Papers" to the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University. These papers include fan mail, comic books, scrapbooks, and a full collection of the newspaper cartoons.
Her original artwork is still very valuable today. In 2005, the original drawing for the first Little Lulu panel sold for $9,200 at an auction! Other original Little Lulu drawings often sell for thousands of dollars.
See also
- Taylhardat, Karim. La Pequeña Lulu/The Little Lulu & M. Henderson, Madrid, Spain: Ediciones Sinsentido, 2007.
Images for kids
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In Spanish: Marjorie Henderson Buell para niños
