Brad Anderson, the creator of the long-running comic strip "Marmaduke," died on Aug. 30 at
age 91, according to the National Cartoonists Society's website.
Anderson created "Marmaduke" in 1954, a comic that chronicled the adventures of a
giant dog and its family, The Huffington Post reported. The strip was syndicated by Universal Uclick in more than 500 newspapers in 10 countries.
"Brad loved to draw from an early age," the National Cartoonists Society statement read. "He was known to say he spent his youth 'cartooning his way through high school,' where he sold his first cartoon at age 15 to Flying Aces Magazine."
While serving in the Navy during World War II, Anderson continued to draw and went on to graduate from Syracuse University with a degree in advertising. NCS stated that he began freelancing in 1953 and, from 1954 to 1966, drew the comic strip "Grandpa's Boy" as well as "Marmaduke."
Paul Anderson, the cartoonist's son, helped his father later in life and the strip was eventually turned into a feature film in 2010 with Owen Wilson
voicing the character, the Los Angeles Times noted. The movie made
$33.6 million at the box office, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.
Anderson told the Dallas Morning News in a 1999 interview that Marmaduke was inspired by his mother's dog, a large boxer that he called
"quite a clown," according to The Washington Post.
"My stepdad used to dress him up, put hats on him, neckties, scarves — and the dog seemed to like it," Anderson said. "But I wanted a larger dog. I wanted a dog that doesn't know it's a big dog, because big dogs don't realize how large they are. They want to sit in your lap."
Many fans shared their memories of Anderson on social media.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.