Spotlight on Lee Falk - The Creating Years

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LF-1983-wd.jpg
Lee Falk at the drawing board
photo by Will Dickey[1]
Subject: Lee Falk


First

Much of what is written about Lee Falk contains anecdotes, especially about the period he created Mandrake the Magician and The Phantom. This article is an attempt to look into the years before Lee Falk moved to New York, using what is available of additional material from other source than Lee Falk himself.

Facts

  • Leon Harrison Gross was born April 28, 1911.
  • After his mother's marriage in 1913 he was known as Leon Harrison Epstein.
  • He attended Soldan High School September 2 1924, at age 13.
  • He attended the Univesity of Illinois autumn 1928, at age 17.
  • He became 19 years on April 28 1930 and 20 years on April 28 1931.
  • He graduated the Univesity of Illinois spring 1932, at age 21.
  • He copyrighted Mandrake the Magician on April 7 1934, at age 22.
  • He changed his name to Leon Harrison Epstein Falk (Lee Falk) in 1934.
  • The first Phantom strip appeared on February 17 1936, when Lee Falk was 24 years old.

Excerpts of interviews

1939 Phil Davis

In the first known inteview[2] with Phil Davis he said that Lee Fak came with his idea for an adventure strip, suggesting a partnership. Phil Davis worked out the physical appearance of characters in a story which he figured could be serialized indefinitely, and made up some samples. Then the part of Falk's stake was to finance his own trip to New York City to try to sell it. Phil Davis said he sublets part of his pen work to a pen and ink draftsman, and another part time worker did the lettering, adding: "I used to do it all myself"

1946 Lee Falk

In the "Feature Book" #46 there is an article presenting Lee Falk. In this, Clark Kinnaird start by making a point out of that one of the few things Lee Falk could not do is that he could not draw[3]. Lee Falk said that after graduating from the university he did work as a refrigerator salesman and as copywriter. One of the assignment given to him by the agency was to write baloons for a series of comic strip advertisements being drawn by Carl Schultze (known for Foxy Grandpa).

1948 Phil Davis

To Bert Dale Phil Davis said[4] he was doing art work for an advertising agency in St. Louis in 1934, and one of his buddies there was a copywriter named Lee Falk. One day Falk started to talk about comic strips, and an idea about a comic strip with a magician as the principal character. Lee Falk convinced Phil there was a big market waiting. He was willing to write the continuity, and would make a trip to New York to sell the new strip. If Phil would draw the usual two-week series to be submitted. Phil was willing to try his hand and the first Mandrake went down on paper. Falk went to New York, made one call on King Features Syndicate, and Mandrake was sold. Phil Davis recalls: "I nearly killed myself in Mandrake's first year-working 14 hours every day, and 5 hours on Sunday besides! There's a lot of difference between taking a week to do one drawing for an advertisement - and doing 24 complete drawings for six comic strips!

1949 Lee Falk

In KFS' official biography, "Famous Artists and Writers", from 1949[5] it is written a bit more about the time before the creation of Mandrake: After Lee Falk's graduation from the University of Illinois, he spent three or four years writing copy and direct radio shows for an advertising company in St. Louis. The idea for Mandrake came to him in 1934. He hunted up Phil Davis and whipped out the first strips. Then, in the spring of 1936, Lee got the idea for the Phantom.

1949 Phil Davis

In "Famous Artists and Writers"[6] Phil Davis was asked about if he used himself as a model for Mandrake, Davis just grinned and said nothing.

To Ogden J Rochelle Phil Davis told[7] that: "The strip was hatched when Lee Falk, a St. Louis advertising agency executive, asked Davis to draw a dozen panels on a speculative basis. Davis agreed and in 1934 Falk took the idea to New York and sold it."

1955 Lee Falk

To Byron Bentley Lee Falk said[8] that he was working for an advertising agency in St. Louis. The owners of the agency were two brothers, sons of a retired distiller. For the new station KMOX he assiduously wrote, directed and produced three or four scripts a day. When he dreamed up Mandrake he got Phil Davis, a commercial artist in a neighboring office, to draw a few samples. Falk took a month off from the agency and went East, and when he returned he found a contract for a daily and Sunday comic strip. A year later came the idea and the contract for the Phantom.

1966 Lee Falk

Lee Falk told[9] Alain Resnais that he worked at an advertisement agency writing radio scripts and Phil Davis worked at the same place. One day Lee Falk talked to Phil Davis about the idea to write comics script, and they prepared 14 strips, two weeks of publication. After that Lee Falk went to New York to offer them to an agent. And Falk added: "For the face I was Phil Davis' model. Phil have given Mandrake my face.".

1972 Lee Falk

To Guido Gerosa Lee Falk said[10] he did everything on the two first weeks of Mandrake, he wrote the dialouge and drew it all himself. Then he met Phil Davis, who entuiastisk said Falk had to show them to some publisher. Then Lee Falk went to New York. Lee Falk wanted to finish the University[footnotes 1] and found that he could not handle all the work himself. So he asked Phil Davis whetever he wanted to take over the drawing, and the first thing Davis did was to give Mandrake Falk's face.

1975 Lee Falk

In 1975[11] Lee Falk said he was 19[footnotes 2], and had still a couple of years to go at the University of Illinois, when he wrote and drew up a couple of weeks of the strip. Then he came east with his father during a vacation and offered them to KFS. For the Phantom he sketched up some Phantom drawings and Ray Moore took it from there.

1978 Lee Falk

During a visit to Norway in 1978[12] Lee Falk told while he still was at the College (?) he wrote and draw himself. After a while he got Phil Davis to take over the drawing on Mandrake. And then Falk asked Phil Davis' assistant, Ray Moore, to take over the drawing on the Phantom.

To Max Millard Lee Falk said[13] that he in the beginning did both the drawing and the writing himself. He added: "Then for a long time I used to make rough sketches and give them to my artists, he recall. Now I just give a description of each panel."

1984 Lee Falk

To Ulf Granberg Lee Falk said[14] he created Mandrake when he was 19 and still at High School (?). He found the look of Mandrake in the mirror and drew the first strip himself for the school paper. He sold the Mandrake strip to KFS, but quicly realized his shortcomming as an artist, and contacted Phil Davis.

1985 Lee Falk

To Anthony Tollin Lee Falk told[15] almost the same story as to Ulf Granberg, but added: "I asked Phil if he could work with me for a while untill I graduated." Lee Falk also said he sketched out the costyme and character design for the Phantom, and then Ray Moore draw the new strip.

1986 Lee Falk

To Ulf Granberg Lee Falk said[16]: "Yes, I drew the Mandrake strip myself the first couple months".

1988 Lee Falk

To Hal Schuster Lee Falk told[17] that he created Mandrake in 1934. He was 19 and still attending the University of Illinois. He drew the first couple weeks of Mandrake (the two first weeks he first sold to KFS) and went on and did some more, but since he still was at the University he needed some help and got Phil Davis to help him. Lee Falk said that at first he did the layout and Phil Davis the inking.

When the Phantom followed Ray Moore did the layout when Lee Falk was at school, and Lee Falk did only the layouts he could after he got home from school.

Lee Falk also said he did the first weeks of the Phantom, but '"it was too much"...

1996 Lee Falk

In 1996 Ulf Granberg published[18] an interview with Lee Falk where Falk told that in the initial period he wrote the script and made sketches on both Mandrake and the Phantom. In the end of 1935 Falk could present a scenario and sketches based on a character in grey suit and black mask. To develope the figure he said he had to stop making sketches on Mandrake, and that Phil Davis hardly needed them either. Ray Moore was Davis' assistant on inking the Mandrake strip and was willing try his hands on the new strip. In the beginning Falk said, he did the script and sketched the Phantom strip while Ray Moore did the inking. Lee Falk said that Phil's pencil was so carfully worked out they could be used as originals, and if Ray missed just a tenth of a millimeter when inking over the pencils Phil was ready to have his assistant's head on a plate.

2010 Fred Fredericks

Fred Fredericks[19] told an anecdote about how he teached Lee Falk to make fast and easy sketches of Mandrake and The Phantom: "He was always asking me to teach him to make a simple sketch for fans who would ask for one... Something fast, easy! I suggested a top hat (Mandrake) and a mask (Phantom) side by side. He liked the idea, I don't know if he ever used it..."

What really happened

1924 - 1928 Soldan High School

In 1924 Leon H Epstein was 13 years old and attended the Soldan High School. According to[20] the Soldan High School's yearbook from 1928 he was a member of the Writer's Club and active in the student newspaper "Scriptpage". It is unknown if any issues of Scriptpage from theese years still exists. A poem by Leon H Epstein is printed in the yearbook of 1928, but there is nothing indicating that he made sketches or drawings.

1928 - 1932 University of Illinois

At the Univesity of Illinois Leon H Epstein was involved in two student newspapers. He started as one of the night assistants for "The Daily Illini" in 1928 (October 6), and for a short time in 1930 (September 10 to October 11) he was one of the junior news editors. In "The Hillel Post" issue of February 26 1931 there is an article about the resignment of Leon H Epstein, writing that he had served as their editor-in-chif for a year and a half.

Browsing through "The Daily Illini" for the years 1928-1932 serveral articles in the period March 1929 to April 1930 are signed Leon H Epstein, but none of the articles are illustrated. No drawings or something looking like Mandrake the Magician or similar cartoons/comics are to be found in this period.

1932 - 1933 Copywriter for an advertising agency

After his graduation spring 1932 he started working as an icemaker[21] and refrigerator[3] salesman. It does not seem that he succeed as a salesman and early October 1932 there is an ad[22] in the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch": Students desiring tutoring in French, Latin, Greek or English lit. call Leon Harrison Epstein. CA 3658.

It looks like Leon H. Epstein start working as a copywriter for an advertising agency early 1933. Lee Falk said[3] one of the assignment given to him by the agency was to write baloons for a series of comic strip advertisements being drawn by Carl Schultze (known for Foxy Grandpa). There was an ad campaign[23] in Missouri early 1932 with the text "Foxy Grandpa Says-" below a picture of Foxy Grandpa. But this time Lee Falk was 20 and still at the University and before he had started his work as an copywriter, and besides these ads were not comic strip with ballons.

Although, in St. Louis about 1933-1934 there were advertising comic stips in some newspapers, but none were made by Carl E Schultze. Schultze said[24] in 1935 that an adverticing company had an option on the character (Foxy Grandpa), but he did not mentioned if there actually had been made any advertising comic stips based on Foxy Grandpa.

  • ad 1932

  • ad 1932

  • ad 1933

  • ad 1934

Lee Falk never mentioned[8] the name of the advertising agency he worked in, only that it was owned by two brothers, sons of a retired distiller.

Looking closer at the radio scripts he copyrighted spring 1933 to spring 1934 a second name is mentioned: Louis E. Westheimer. Louis had a brother, Samuel, and their father was Benjamin Westheimer, retired from the liquor industy. [footnotes 3]

In 1932 both Samuel Westheimer and Louise Kanazeriff were in the cast[25] of the Little Theatre's 1932 summer outdoor production, "The Little Clay Cart". While Louis E. Westheimer acted[26] and was activ in the "Crypt Club", an organization of; actors, playworkers and board of directors of the "Little Theatre" of St. Louis.

The first mention[27] of Louis E. Westheimer's role as agency is May 1933, when they signed Berland Shoe Co for WGN's "Heart to Heart Club", a 15 - minute program Monday nights for 52 weeks from May 8.

The "Heart to Heart Club" series started[28] at KMOX (St. Louis) January 19, 1933. In February[29] the series introduced Miss Ethel King, formerly a Federal mails censor. The last[30] episode of "Heart to Heart Club" on KMOX was heard on December 31, 1933.

In an article from 1941 the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten mentioned[21] that Lee Falk in two years was[footnotes 4] Ethel King, talking of love and life.

Lee Falk said[8] in 1955 that he for KMOX wrote, directed and produced three or four scripts a day. The "Heart to Heart Club" was 15-minute once a week with several of the "love and life problems" presented in dramatic form. So it is more likely that Lee Falk scripted three or four scripts one day a week, and that Louis E. Westheimer most likely was involved in the producing and directing. Also knowing that Lee Falk started directing and producing plays for his summer theatres mid 40s.

In Chicago[footnotes 5] WGN started[31] airing the "Heart to Heart Club" series and invited listeners to send in their own problems, which then would be dramatized over the air or answered personally by Miss King. The "Heart to Heart Club" was build[32] around the many problems of love and life. Several of the problems was presented in dramatic form and the expert on affairs of the heart, Miss Ethel King, answered the problems. In addition to Pierre Andre, who announced the program and presented the questions to Miss King, a cast of Chicago artists were signed to present the dramatic episodes of the program. The WGN concert orchestra was also heard on the program. The last episode was heard in Chicago in the fall/winter season 1933-34.




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Note

  1. ↑ Lee Falk graduated from the Univerity of Illinos in 1932
  2. ↑ Lee Falk was born April 28, 1911. So he was 19 in 1930.
  3. ↑ Interesting the "Louis Westheimer & Co" had their office at the Louderman Building, same place were Phil Davis rented a studio
  4. ↑ Although Lee Falk is mentioned as the voice of Miss King it would be strange for radio listeners if Miss King had a male voice
  5. ↑ It is unknown if Lee Falk was involved in the production in Chicago

References

  1. ↑ Gardner Tom, "Phantom character's fate is in hands of creator Lee Falk", The Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, Alabama) 24 June 1983. p 1C and 9C
  2. ↑ Marguerite Martyn (1939). "The Man Who Draws Mandrake", Post-Dispatch (Every Sunday), August 30 1939, 3D
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Kinnaird Clark (1946), "Meet Lee Falk Creator of Mandrake the Magician", Feature Book no 46 1946, p
  4. ↑ Dale Bert (1948), "Meet Phil Davis", The OPEN ROAD for Boy's, February 1948, p 34-36
  5. ↑ "Lee Falk", Famous Artists and Writers, King Features Syndicat 1949, p
  6. ↑ "Phil Davis", Famous Artists and Writers, King Features Syndicat 1949, p
  7. ↑ Rochelle Ogden J (1949). "Mandrake and Narda Look Like Creators" Editor & Publisher, January 22 1949 p
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Bentley Byron (1955), "Mandrake’s Alter Ego", Theatre Arts (USA), September 1955, p 74-75, 90
  9. ↑ Resnais Alain (1966), "La Disturba il Fumetto?", L’Europeo (Italy), 25 August 1966, p 33-37
  10. ↑ Gerosa Guido (1972), "I maestri del fumetto - L'uomo che creo' Mandrake", L’Europeo (Italy), 20 January 1972, p 42-47
  11. ↑ "The Phantom", Cartoonist Profiles, September 1975, no 27, p 20-24
  12. ↑ Nerem Ann-Louis (1978), "Fantomets far i Norge", Serieleseren (Norway), 1978 No 3, p 3-6
  13. ↑ Millard Max (1978), "Westsider - Lee Falk ", 100 New Yorkers (USA), 1978, p?
  14. ↑ Granberg Ulf (1985), "Samtal med serieskapare", Fantomen (Semic Press, Sweden), 1985 No 24-25, p ?
  15. ↑ Tollin Anthony (1985), "A Visit with Lee Falk", Comic Buyer’s Guide (USA), February 1986, p ?
  16. ↑ Granberg Ulf (1986), "Team Fantomen presenterar Lee Falk", Fantomen (Semic Press, Sweden) 1986 no 2, p ?
  17. ↑ Schuster Hal (1988), "Interview with Falk", King Comic Heroes (USA), 1988
  18. ↑ Granberg Ulf (1996) ,"Om Fantomen - ett samtal med Lee Falk", Fantomen - En odödlig legend (Semic Press, Sweden) 1996, p ?
  19. ↑ Fredericks Fred (2010), "Some notes on Lee", Fantomen - Från lila vålnad till blågul hjälte, The Scandinavian Chapter of the Lee Falk Memorial Bengali Explorers Club, 2010, p 94
  20. ↑ "The Script" (St Louis US), January 1928, p 32
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Mikalson Job B (1941) "Smilet i avisspaltene, De humoristiske tegneseriene" Aftenposten (Oslo Norway) 22 March 1941, p 15-19 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "AP41" defined multiple times with different content
  22. ↑ "Instruction", St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) 9 Oct 1932, p 41
  23. ↑ "Advertisement", Moberly Monitor-Index (Moberly, Missouri) 7 Jan 1932, p 5
  24. ↑ "Foxy Grandpa on Relif", St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) 26 Apr 1935, p 3
  25. ↑ "Cast is Selected for The Little Clay Cart", The St. Louis Star and Times (St. Louis, Missouri) 25 Jun 1932, p 14
  26. ↑ "Cryptic Club Ends Season With Play Day", St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) 19 Jun 1932, p 19
  27. ↑ "The Business of Broadcasting, Station Accounts", Broadcasting 15 May 1933, p 22
  28. ↑ "Radio Tonight", The St. Louis Star and Times (St. Louis, Missouri) 19 Jan 1933, p 8
  29. ↑ "Radio Burlesque of Legislators", St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) 5 Feb 1933, p 46
  30. ↑ "New Year's Day Programs", St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) 31 Dec 1933, p 18
  31. ↑ "Ethel King has Solution for Love Problems", Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois) 14 May 1933, p 72
  32. ↑ "Heart to Heart Club Will Solve Love Problems", Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois) 07 May 1933, p 71
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