Reg Smythe facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Reg Smythe |
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Reg Smythe
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| Born | Reginald Smyth 10 July 1917 Hartlepool, County Durham, England |
| Died | 13 June 1998 (aged 80) Hartlepool, County Durham, England |
| Nationality | English |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist, Writer, Artist |
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Notable works
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Andy Capp (1957–98) |
Reginald Smyth (born July 10, 1917 – died June 13, 1998) was a famous British cartoonist. He is best known for creating the very popular and long-running Andy Capp comic strip.
Contents
Reg Smythe's Early Life and Army Service
Reginald Smyth was born in Hartlepool, England. His father worked in a shipyard. Reg was the oldest of five children. His family did not have much money when he was growing up.
He went to Galley's Field School. At 14, he left school to work as a butcher's errand boy. In 1936, he joined the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, which is a British army group. He was sent to Egypt.
Reg Smythe's Service in World War II
Reg Smyth served in the Second World War. He was part of the North African Campaign. He worked in a team that helped destroy tanks.
He was promoted to sergeant. Later, he was medically discharged from the army in 1945. During his time in the army, he started drawing more. He designed posters for plays and sold cartoons to magazines in Cairo.
Reg Smythe's First Steps as a Cartoonist
After leaving the army, Reg Smyth worked as a telephone clerk in London. In 1949, he married Vera Toyne. They did not have any children.
He kept drawing posters in his free time. People told him he should become a professional cartoonist. He sent 30 cartoons to an agent. The agent sold two of them to Everybody's magazine. He earned more from these two cartoons than his weekly pay at his job!
Becoming a Professional Cartoonist
Reg Smyth soon started drawing 60 cartoons a week. He used "Reg Smythe" as his professional name. Another cartoonist, Leslie Harding (also known as "Styx"), became his helper and guide.
Reg drew for many different publications. These included Fishtrader's Gazette and Draper's Record. He also drew sketches of local council meetings for newspapers.
In 1950, he became a full-time freelance artist. He created cartoon features like "Smythe's Speedway World" and "Skid Sprocket." He also drew cartoons for big newspapers like the London Evening Standard and the Daily Mirror.
Creating the Andy Capp Comic Strip
In 1954, the Daily Mirror newspaper gave Reg Smyth a regular daily cartoon called "Laughter at Work." Then, in 1957, the editor asked him to create a new cartoon character. This character was for the newspaper's Manchester edition.
How Andy Capp Was Created
Reg Smyth thought up Andy Capp during a long drive. Andy Capp was a character who wore a flat cap. He was a bit lazy and selfish, like a typical working-class man from northern England. Andy's wife was named Flo, and she was very patient with him.
Some people thought Andy Capp was based on Reg Smyth's father. Reg never confirmed this. Andy's famous cap was inspired by a man Reg saw at a football match. The man took off his cap when it rained so it wouldn't be wet when he went home.
Andy Capp's Worldwide Success
Andy Capp was first made for the northern edition of the Daily Mirror. But it quickly became popular across the whole country. The first collection of Andy Capp cartoons came out in 1958.
The comic strip became famous all over the world. It appeared in at least 700 newspapers in 34 countries. In the USA, it was called "Andy Capp - Our English Cousin." The comic strip had different names in other countries, like "Tuffa Viktor" in Sweden and "Willi Wacker" in Germany.
Andy Capp on Stage and TV
In 1982, a musical play about Andy Capp was made. It starred Tom Courtenay and had music by Alan Price. It was first shown in Manchester and London. It was also very successful in Finland.
A TV show based on Andy Capp was shown on ITV in 1988. It starred James Bolam. However, the show did not get good ratings, so a second series was canceled.
Reg Smythe's Later Life and Legacy
Reg Smyth moved back to his hometown of Hartlepool in 1976. He lived a quiet life there. His first wife, Vera, passed away in 1997. In 1998, he married Jean Marie Glynn Barry.
Reg Smyth passed away later that same year. He had drawn enough Andy Capp cartoons to last for more than a year after his death. His contract with the Daily Mirror said he should train someone to take over. But he had not done so. After his last cartoons were published, writer Roger Kettle and artist Roger Mahoney continued the Andy Capp strip.
Awards and Special Recognition
Reg Smythe received many awards for his work. He won Best British Cartoon Strip every year from 1961 to 1965. He also won major awards in Italy in 1969, 1973, and 1978. In the USA, he received the National Cartoonists Society's Best Strip award in 1974.
In 2007, a bronze statue of Andy Capp was put up in Hartlepool. It is near the Harbour of Refuge pub in Reg Smythe's hometown. The statue is five feet eight inches tall. It cost £20,000 and was designed by Jane Robbins.
