Roy McCardell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Roy McCardell |
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| Born | Roy Larcom McCardell June 30, 1870 Hagerstown, Maryland, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Writer, Editor |
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Notable works
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Sunday World Sunday comic supplement, Jarr Family. A Fool There Was |
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Notable collaborations
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Richard F. Outcault |
Roy Larcom McCardell (born June 30, 1870) was a talented American writer. He worked as a journalist, wrote funny stories, and created scripts for movies. He was active until after 1940.
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Roy McCardell's Early Life
Roy McCardell was born in 1870 in Hagerstown, Maryland. His father was an editor for a local newspaper called the Hagerstown Mail. When Roy was young, his family moved to Cumberland, Maryland. His father became the editor of the Evening Times there.
Roy went to school in Cumberland until he was twelve years old. After that, he started writing for his father's newspaper. Soon, he became a regular writer for Puck. This was a very popular magazine known for its funny and satirical stories in America.
Roy McCardell's Career Highlights
When Roy McCardell was 17, he moved to Birmingham, Alabama. He worked there as a reporter for the Age-Herald newspaper. Many of his articles were so good that other magazines, like Frank Leslie's Weekly, reprinted them. A famous New York City newspaper editor, Arthur Brisbane, noticed Roy's writing. He offered Roy a job at The Evening Sun newspaper in New York.
Besides reporting, Roy also wrote long stories that appeared in parts, called serialized novels, for the newspaper. Later, he worked for the New York World and then became a full-time writer for Puck magazine. Roy also edited several newspapers and magazines, including the New York Morning Telegraph. He wrote a very popular daily comic strip called Jarr Family. This comic appeared in hundreds of newspapers across the country.
Creating the First Sunday Comics
In 1896, Roy McCardell learned that the New York World newspaper got a new color printing machine. He had a great idea: use it to create a special comic section for the Sunday paper. The editor, Morrill Goddard, liked the idea. However, all the best comic artists were already working for other newspapers.
Roy suggested a young artist named Richard F. Outcault. Editor Goddard, Outcault, and McCardell worked together. On November 6, 1896, the Sunday World published the very first Sunday comic supplement in color. It featured a famous character called The Yellow Kid. Because of this new comic, the Sunday paper's sales jumped from about 140,000 to 800,000 copies in just six months!
Writing for Movies
In 1897, Roy McCardell started writing stories for movies. He eventually wrote over a thousand movie scripts! He is known as the first person hired by a movie company just to create stories. This happened in 1900 with the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company.
His most famous movie script was for A Fool There Was (1915). This movie helped make the "vampire" character popular in films. Many of Roy's scripts and other writings won awards from magazines like Puck and Collier's Weekly. One of his movie serials, The Diamond from the Sky (1915), won a huge $10,000 prize. This film was shown in about 8,000 theaters in the US and also overseas. Sadly, no copies of this film exist today.
Roy McCardell also wrote book reviews, songs, poems, and short plays. He even appeared as himself in an animated movie called Gertie the Dinosaur (1914). He spent most of his time writing movie scripts and keeping up with his popular Jarr Family comic. Roy lived most of his adult life in New Rochelle, New York. He had two daughters, Frances and Dorothy. His daughter Frances was a very skilled car driver by age 14.
Roy McCardell's Filmography
Here are some of the more than 1,000 movie scripts Roy McCardell wrote:
- 1914: The Awful Adventures of an Aviator
- 1915: A Fool There Was
- 1915: The Diamond from the Sky, a 30-episode series (now lost)
- 1916: Walk This Way
- 1920: The Evil Eye, a 15-episode series (now lost)
