Joseph Vincent Connolly

Joseph Vincent Connolly
Biographical information
Born:	February 7, 1895
Died:	April 18, 1945
Nationality:	American
Occupation:	Editorial people
Website:	n/a

Life and career

Personal life

Joseph Vincent Connolly was born on February 7, 1895, in New Haven, Connecticut. He was the second child of Joseph Connolly (1857-) and Ellen Teresa Reynolds (1861-1923). He had an older sister, Sabina H (1889-1969) and a younger brother Roger A (1901-1953).

In October 1938, Connolly narrowly escaped death when the plane he was flying from New Orleans caught fire. Despite this, he continued his active involvement in various organizations, including serving as the founder and president of the Banshees, a prominent New York luncheon club. Additionally, he engaged in Catholic charity work in New York.

After attending a motion picture performance in New Rochell with his wife, he was stricken with a heart atack and died at New Rochelle Hospital. He was survived by his wife, the former Marguerite E Stanford (1896-), his son Joseph Vincent Connolly Jr (1920-1996), his daughter Mary Jacqueline "Mary Joe" Connolly (1924-1992), his brother Roger A Connolly and his sister Dr. Sabina H. Connolly Hoyt.

During World War II, the United States embarked on the construction of a class of cargo ships known as Liberty ships. Shortly after her husband's passing, Marguerite Connolly took on the sponsorship of an aircraft cargo carrier being built by J. A. Jones Construction Co. in Panama City, Florida.

The SS Joseph V. Connolly was launched on July 9, 1945, with Mrs. Connolly christening the ship. Present at the ceremony were her two children, Mary Jacqueline and Ensign Joseph Jr. Mary Jacqueline served as co-sponsors. The ship's wardroom and crew's quarters were adorned with original color drawings by thirty renowned comic strip artists. Contributions from Walt Disney included "Donald Duck" and "Mickey Mouse," while King Features Syndicate characters such as "Blondie and Dagwood," "Flash Gordon," "Jiggs and Maggie," "Little Iodine," "Mandrake the Magician," "The Phantom," "Popeye," "Snuffy Smith," "Prince Valiant," among others, were also featured.

Unfortunately, on January 12, 1948, the ship experienced a fire in the engine room and was subsequently abandoned approximately 900 miles east of New York.

Early career

An obituary sums up his early career as:
At the age of 12, Joseph Vincent Connolly embarked on a journey from Goatsville, a suburb of New Haven, to the city center to take on a newspaper delivery route for the morning paper. Along his route from Goatsville to the city, he diligently delivered papers in the morning, then worked as a fly-boy in the press room of the morning Journal-Courier. On his way back home, he continued his work by delivering evening papers and simultaneously lighting the city's gas lamps. In the morning, he dutifully extinguished them. These various tasks earned him a modest sum of $4.50.

After six months, he sought new opportunities. His cousin, Vernon J. Connolly, was studying shorthand and invited Joseph to read to him for $1 a week. Through this, Joseph began dictating editorials to his cousin, sparking his interest in writing. By the time Vernon became proficient in shorthand, Joseph had also mastered typing and shorthand at an impressive rate of 180 words per minute. At 16, he became the secretary to Alexander Troup, the publisher of the New Haven Union. During his spare time, he submitted stories, eventually becoming a police reporter. His fascination with the job led him to work for the evening paper as well. Inspired by "Castles in the Air" and the dancing duo Irene and Vernon Castle, he briefly pursued a career as a dancing instructor.

After participating in a political campaign in New Haven, Connolly realized politics was not his passion and ventured to New York. He presented his clippings to several newspapers in one day, including the old World, the Sun, and the Tribune, and was hired by all three. Although initially offered a job at the World, a misunderstanding about salary led to his dismissal. He ultimately secured a position at the Tribune. Notably, he later covered the trial of William Chapin, the editor who had fired him from the World, for his wife's murder.

When World War I broke out, Connolly served on the staff of the New York Sun before joining the Army as a lieutenant in a machine gun company. Following the war, he briefly returned to the Sun before accepting a position as the advertising manager for King Features Syndicate. Connolly was actively involved in Pelham's community affairs, contributing to St. Catherine's Roman Catholic Church and serving on the Pelham Board of Education. He was known for bringing King Features talent to participate in charitable programs.

Upon his appointment as general manager of Hearst newspaper properties, Connolly was hailed by Lowell Thomas as "the hero of the greatest success story of the age." His responsibilities included overseeing approximately 50 syndicates and 20 newspapers with a daily circulation of over 4,000,000. He was well-connected with celebrities worldwide, many of whom he recruited as writers for his syndicates.

Career at King Features Syndicate

An other obituary sums up his career at KFS as:
In 1920, he was recruited by William Randolph Hearst to handle promotional tasks for King Features Syndicate. By 1923, he had risen to the position of assistant manager for all syndicates under Hearst's purview. He later became general manager and was named president of I.N.S. (International News Service) in 1934 and of I.N.P. (International News Photos) in 1936. A major operation in 1940 forced him to relinquish his post as general manager of all Hearst newspaper properties but he still continued as general adviser to the Hearst management.

Newspaper comics

An anecdote by Lee Falk - 1

Lee Falk recounted his first meeting with Connolly in an interview in September 1955 issue of "Theater Arts" :

 Falk learned that a man named J. V. Connolly was the boss of King Features, so he wrote to him. "I got a form letter back telling me to stop in if I was in New York," Falk recalled. "So I took a month off from the agency and went East. I had a play, a short story and the comic strip. The minute I got into my hotel room in the morning, even before I'd shaved, I called Connolly's office. I told them he was expecting me. They said Connolly was leaving for Washington in fifteen minutes, but if I came over right away he could see me. I ran all the way." 
 Falk found Connolly pacing up and down an enormous office, swinging a cane and dictating. Falk hurriedly spread out his strips and launched into a prepared sales talk. Connolly poked through the strips with his cane. 
 "We'll take this," he said abruptly.
 Falk was startled but sufficiently alert to ask what the money arrangement would be. "Never mind, we'll take care of that," said Connolly. And he dashed off to Washington.
 Falk stayed on in New York, trying to sell his play and his short story with no success. He called up Connolly's office regularly but no one at the syndicate knew anything about his strip. When his month was up, he returned despondently to St. Louis, still carrying his play and his short story and convinced that nothing would come of his comic strip "sale." At his home, waiting for him, he found a contract for a daily and Sunday comic strip. 

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