William Aloysius Keane (born October 5, 1922), better known as Bil Keane, is an American cartoonist notable for his work on the long-running newspaper comic The Family Circus, which began its run in 1960 and continues in syndication. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Keane taught himself to draw while attending Northeast Catholic High School by mimicking the style of the cartoons published in The New Yorker. His first cartoon was published on May 21, 1936 on the amateur page of the Philadelphia Daily News. While in high school, his in-comic signature spelled his name "Bill Keane", but early in his career, he omitted the second L from his first name "to be distinctive". Keane served in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1945, drawing for Yank and creating the "At Ease with the Japanese" feature for the Pacific edition of Stars and Stripes. While stationed in Australia he met Thelma "Thel" Carne. Bil and Thel were married in Brisbane in 1948 and settled in Roslyn, Pennsylvania.
Bil Keane, the man behind the iconic comic strip "Family Circus" died yesterday ... he was 89."Family Circus" has been in circulation for more than 50 years and is currently featured in roughly… READ MORE >
