This collection houses 158 5" x 8" panels for daily "Family Circus" cartoons and 50 11" x 26" panels for Sunday "Family Circus" cartoons. All of these panels are Keane's original artwork and date from 1962 to 1983.
Identification:
FM MSS 65
Language:
Material in English
Repository:
Arizona State University Library. Greater Arizona Collection P.O. Box 871006 Tempe, AZ 85287-1006 Phone: (480) 965-4932 E-Mail: archives@asu.edu Questions? Ask An Archivist!
Biographical Note
The self-taught comic artist Bil Keane was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 5, 1922. Keane started his career in the late 1930s, putting out a satirical magazine entitled The Saturday Evening Toast with a couple of friends. After high school, he got a job at the Philadelphia Bulletin. While serving in the Army (1942-1945), Keane drew for Yank magazine and created the "At Ease with the Japanese" feature for Pacific Stars and Stripes. After the war, he returned to the Philadelphia Bulletin. Here, he created "Silly Philly", a weekly Sunday page based on Philadelphia founder William Penn. In
1954, Keane started his humorous "Channel Chuckles" television cartoon, which ran for 23 years. In 1983, the National Cartoonist Society named him cartoonist of the year. Keane died on November 8, 2011.
Bil Keane's family life inspired him to launch the "Family Circus" cartoon panel in February of 1960. This very popular panel is now widely distributed by King Features, appearing in over 1500 newspapers. There are over 14 million "Family Circus" books in print.
This collection houses 158 5" x 8" panels for daily "Family Circus" cartoons and 50 11" x 26" panels for Sunday "Family Circus" cartoons. All of these panels are Keane's original artwork and date from 1962 to 1983. The cartoons are filed chronologically by the date they appeared in syndication.
To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.
Copyright
King Features Syndication and Cowles Syndication own the copyright to the materials in this collection.
Bil Keane donated these cartoons to the Arizona Historical Foundation on October 12, 1995.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Bil Keane Cartoon Collection, FM MSS 65, Arizona State University Library.
Provenance
The Arizona Historical Foundation transferred these materials to the Arizona Collection in 2012.
Container List
Box
1
"Don't tell Mommy about the F-L-W-O-R-Z-S we bought her for Easter", 1964 March 28
1
"Call Daddy's office and tell him the grass is getting too deep", 1964 June 16
1
"NOW how many more days till we go on vacation?", 1964 July 21
1
"We're not watching our weight", 1964 August 9
1
"Vote Goldwater", 1964 November 4
1
"'She did it?'
'He did it!'
'Him!'", 1964 November 13
1
"How did the lamb keep up with the school bus?", 1964 November 24
1
"It's a salesman Mommy should we tell him you're not home?", 1965 February 23
1
"Mommy says it should have been taken down with the Christmas wreath", 1965 July 15
1
"Are we very mad at Daddy?", 1965 November 11
1
"Staying overnight? I never slept away from home till I went into the army!", 1965 November 26
1
"Does Jeffy always kiss the TV set good night, ride Barfy to the bedroom, turn a somersault into bed, put cookies under his pillow ...", 1966 March 26
1
"I'm trying to remember where I hid my scissors so the children wouldn't get them", 1966 March 29
1
"Time to set the Table", 1966 April 20
1
"I don't think they were very hungry, Mommy they all flew away", 1966 July 20
1
"I'm telling! Your foot's wet—you didn't wait an hour after eating!", 1966 September 26
1
"Don't you think grandma would like this one better?", 1966 September 27
1
"He listening for germs", 1966 November 3
1
"Don't worry, daddy, we won't tell mommy", 1966 November 15
1
"How about this for Tom and Kay's Kids? Last year they sent ours that ear-splitting xylophone", 1966 December 14
1
"Torn Valentine", 1967 February 14
1
"Gee, mommy! PJ and I are playing Hide and Seek and I can't find him anywhere!", 1967 February 20
1
"Is George Washington the one with the ponytail?", 1967 February 22
1
"Look at all those numbers! Daddy really must've been thinking!", 1967 April 15
1
"Hi, Daddy! It was an accident! Jeffy didn't mean to do it!", 1967 August 7
1
"If we went to visit that rainbow, could we touch the colors?", 1967 August 28
1
"Oh that's nothing. It's just the cover off Billy's ant farm", 1968 January 8
1
"One Grandma says I look like daddy and our other Grandma says I look like mommy!", 1968 February 27
1
"I happened to mention that today was leap year day", 1968 February 29
1
"I found the caps! They were under daddy's pillow!", 1968 July 5
1
"Give up, daddy?", 1968 July 8
1
"We found the kitchen and the bedroom, but where's the livin' room and the bathroom?", 1968 July 22
1
"Please? Can't we practice sleeping in the camper tonight?", 1968 July 23
1
"I guess some of us should ride with daddy. He's probably very sad and lonely", 1968 July 24
1
"Ninety cents, please. The lady at your back door just bought six", 1968 July 25
1
"This is a good camping spot! Can we just stay here?", 1968 July 26
1
"Which way to Smokey the Bear?", 1968 July 27
1
"There it is! I see it! I see the lake!", 1968 July 29
1
"Daddy's spilling my chocolate milk", 1968 July 30
1
"Where can I ride my skateboard?", 1968 July 31
1
"Those guys are lucky! They get to sleep in a tent!", 1968 August 1
1
"Mommy! Look what we found in the lake! A nice, cold watermelon!", 1968 August 2
1
"Why does daddy just like to sit and look at the water all day?", 1968 August 3
1
"Mommy! Daddy! Will you keep talking so we can tell you're still out there?", 1968 August 5
1
"Are you sure we're parked on level ground?", 1968 August 6
1
"... and we're missing 'Lost in Space', and 'The Beverly Hillbillies' and 'Run for your Life' and ...", 1968 August 7
1
"This is a neat house, mommy! I wish we could live here all the time!", 1968 August 8
1
"Boy! Are we lucky it rained! This is the best part of the whole camping trip!", 1968 August 9
1
"Our mommy's sick and tired of tryin' to cook meal in that camper!", 1968 August 10
1
"Wowee! Our house looks BIG!", 1968 August 12
1
"The Thompsons are lucky. They're leaving on Their vacation this Saturday", 1968 August 13
1
"Then we ran out of gas twice, and PJ got stung by a bee, and I got ivy poison and Jeffy's sunburn blistered, and Dolly got carsick ... it was a neat vacation!", 1968 August 14
1
"I like sports, too. Going on a high swing is my favorite", 1968 September 28
1
"Mommy! The clock in your bedroom is ringing! Should I answer it?", 1968 October 25
1
"Halloween costumes Scare PJ", 1968 October 31
1
"Mommy! That's not the lever Daddy pushed", 1968 November 5
1
"It's the sitter who lets us stay up to watch Johnny Carson!", 1969 February 21
1
"Why do you always taste the thread first?", 1969 March 18
1
"It's not there yet. You can't April Fool me!", 1969 April 1
1
"Don't look! You should Never look at the sun!", 1969 April 2
1
"This is far enough, Mommy! We can walk the rest of the way to the bus stop by ourselves!", 1969 September 2
1
"You may eat one thing!", 1969 November 1
1
"Jennifer and Rita shouldn't even be in kindergarten' cause they don't know how to button yet", 1969 November 6
1
"Dolly, get the egg beater out of the bathtub; Jeffy bring me the measuring spoons from the sandbox; Billy, those minnows will have to move out of the mixing bowl ...", 1969 November 22
1
"I know it's Phoenix, Arizona and Detroit, Michigan, but what's Omaha's last name?", 1972 May 3
1
"Aw, Daddy! That's the fourth town we've gone through without seeing a good place to stop for Lunch. We're Hungry!", 1972 August 1
1
"Mommy, can Kathy go on vacation with us? She wouldn't take up much room", 1973 July 21
1
"29,999.9—Now watch, everybody---there it goes! 30,000.0! Hold it there, Daddy! Look at all the ZEROES!", 1973 July 23
1
"There's another on and another! Aw, Daddy, can't you steer around those poor bugs?", 1973 July 25
1
"Aw! Do we hafta stop and get out again, Daddy?", 1973 July 26
1
"PJ can't go in there! He's not a Girl!", 1973 July 28
1
"Ahh! Feels good to sit down!", 1973 July 30
1
"Mommy, will you tell Jeffy to stop bumping me while I'm Crayoning?", 1973 July 31
1
"Let's just forget about having a fire in the fireplace", 1973 August 3
1
"'Daddy, you have some dirt right here.' That's a Moustache! I've been waiting for somebody to notice", 1973 August 7
1
"... Four ... Five ... WOW! Daddy made that stone skip SIX times! How many can you do, Mommy?", 1973 August 8
1
"There they are, Daddy! There are those fishies we were trying to catch!", 1973 August 13
1
"This is my side of the road. You look on your side", 1973 August 14
1
"Why can't we, Mommy?", 1973 August 15
1
"If I pretend I'm asleep, too, do I get carried in?", 1973 August 16
1
"Why do you keep saying I'm ready for a vacation, Mommy? We just got back from one", 1973 August 17
1
"And here's where I fell off a log and this from swimmin' into a rock and here's some ivy poison and ...", 1973 August 18
1
"First, you'll notice that, contrary to what you may have heard, I do not have horns, two heads or wear a swastika", 1973 November 29
1
"I said 'Merry Christmas' to the mailman, but he didn't look too happy", 1973 December 13
1
"Now it's even beginning to smell like Christmas", 1973 December 17
1
"A super-burger, three french fries, one large coke, a small root beer ... No, that's Two French fries, Two large cokes ... make it Three ...", 1974 July 22
1
"Which Grandma is it? The one that wears lipstick or the other one?", 1974 July 25
1
"It's almost dark, Mommy. Shouldn't you and Daddy be getting into the house now?", 1974 July 31
1
"Don't lock the back door cause somebody might want to come in and see what time it is or something", 1974 August 1
1
"Now how many hours till it's morning?", 1974 August 2
1
"Look, Mommy! I found a little hunch work!", 1975 May 28
1
"Mrs. Bombeck said we look just precious!", 1975 May 31
1
"Mommy likes to talk to her plants ‘cause they never talk back", 1975 October 3
1
"Why didn't they finish that bridge, Daddy?", 1975 October 11
1
"Oh, come let us adore me ...", 1976 December 20
1
"Santa comes down the chimney cause if he came through the door it might slam and wake everybody up", 1976 December 23
1
"My feet don't reach the pedals", 1977 July 4
1
"Why must you always be a bad guy?", 1978 July 14
1
"Billy! You better hold Daddy's hand so that if an animal escapes it won't eat you!", 1979 June 4
1
"If the chimp is the smartest of all the animals do they pay him the most money?", 1979 June 6
1
"They remember even longer than Mommies", 1979 June 7
1
"I bet he'd be easy to ride. Look at the handlebars", 1979 June 8
1
"The sign says 'Dromedaries' but they sure look just like camels", 1979 June 11
1
"He'd have an awful time getting a sweater on", 1979 June 13
1
"Come back, Dolly. He's not through looking at you", 1979 June 14
1
"Jeffy went back to say goodbye to the gorilla", 1979 June 16
1
"I like the inside of an orange, but not the crust", 1981 February 27
1
"But I didn't Ask Grandma for a piece of her cake. It was her idea", 1981 March 10
1
"It's raining, Mommy. We'll need our underbrella", 1981 April 6
1
"Mommy! Jeffy's going to eat off one of your collector's plates!", 1981 May 19
1
"That man said an X-rated word", 1981 May 29
1
"Jeffy! It's the Goodyear rocket", 1981 June 6
1
"Look, I've bitten out Idaho!", 1981 June 24
1
"Water!", 1981 July 6
1
"Here comes a customer, Mommy! Are we open for business", 1981 September 12
1
"Why does Grandma get a question mark on her cake instead of a number?", 1982 March 16
1
"That's money is for a rainy day. Can I spend my money now?", 1982 April 28
1
"He's not coming unraveled, Dolly. He's spinning a web", 1982 June 14
1
"This pot isn't any good. It has a hole in it", 1982 June 30
1
"Mommy, a feather fell off your tree", 1982 July 16
1
"This chicken is better than the Colonel's, Mommy. You oughta be a General!", 1982 September 30
1
"We've been in this part already, Mommy. I remember this vent", 1982 October 21
1
"Why do I always have to be what Billy was last year?", 1982 October 30
1
"Mommy, the san is all down stairs now", 1982 November 24
1
"They shouldn't have been dropping that bread. That's littering!", 1982 December 4
1
"When you and Daddy ordered me was I in stock or did you have to put me on back order?", 1983 March 1
1
"I go peanut butter on John Denver", 1983 March 10
1
"Disco some more, Daddy!", 1983 March 18
1
"Mommy's countin' to 10!", 1983 March 26
1
"They wear stripes to make themselves look taller", 1983 March 28
1
"How much longer till we goeth home?", 1983 April 2
1
"It'd be hard to put any ‘raffiti on That fence", 1983 April 19
1
"This is where Mommy puts all the stuff that doesn't belong anywhere", 1983 April 30
1
"Jeffy kicking a tree, to make his toy plane fall down", 1983 June 3
1
"... and it's caffeine-free, too!", 1983 June 15
1
"When you out ice cream on it it's called pie Alamo", 1983 June 30
1
"Boy! You'd need a lot of rope to hang a swing from that!", 1983 July 4
1
"These are the baggage tags they put on Daddy when he was in the Army", 1983 July 21
1
"Which is this, Mommy, a lasso, a Lariat, a noose or a rope?", 1983 September 7
1
"I can hardly wait to go to church tomorrow. They're havin' a bake sale after!", 1983 October 1
1
"That white smoke sure is pushing' that plane real fast!", 1983 October 18
1
"Wait right here, Daddy, and hide behind the tree", 1983 October 31
1
"Can we go around to the houses where nobody was home last night?", 1983 November 1
1
"'Who's responsible for this old half-eaten sandwich in the piano bench?'
'Not me.'
'Not me'", 1983 November 11
1
"Why didn't Santa use his reindeer and sleigh instead of a helicopter?", 1983 November 25
1
"Now we have to go back to January and start all over again!", 1983 December 31
1
"Grandma! Your TV gets the same shows as our TV!", 1984 January 20
1
"I'll always love you, Grandma. Even when I'm a hundred!", 1984 January 27
1
"They can make us learn all this stuff now, but as soon as soon as I'm old enough I'm gonna forget!", 1984 March 9
1
"That's the stern, and this is the bow", 1984 June 1
1
"I guess crickets only know that one tune", 1984 June 22
1
"What was the name of that place where we saw the mules, Mommy? The Grand Canyon!", 1984 July 5
1
"PJ eating ice cream on Daddy's shoulders", 1984 July 21
1
"Is there any hope of teachers' strike this year, Mommy?", 1984 September 4
1
"I can't crayon when you're drivin'", 1984 September 20
1
"PJ littered! He threw this shoe out the window!", 1984 September 27
1
"This caterpillar isn't walkin'. He's just winklin' along", 1984 October 17
1
"Aren't we getting' one with lights?", 1984 December 11
1
"... And if there's no snow then Santa comes by bus", 1984 December 14
1
"Why are we here again, Mommy? We were just here yesterday", 1984 December 21
Box
2
"Gee, Daddy with all these things to play with around her, why do you call this place your work?", 1964 January 26
2
"Thanks for oiling my bike daddy!", 1964 June 7
2
"Further Back Daddy, Further, Okay ...", 1964 June 14
2
"How about a nice relaxing old fashioned family picnic? Sounds wonderful", 1964 July 5
2
"There's the most beautiful sight of all", 1964 August 30
2
"Mommy Guess what I have behind my back? Ahhh! You guessed it!", 1965 January 31
2
"We had popcorn and two sodas! Then we had some ice cream candy, and ...", 1966 May 29
2
"Today PJ took his first Step!", 1966 July 10
2
"Church sing hymns", 1966 November 20
2
"Halloween custom imagination", 1967 October 29
2
"Easter egg hunt", 1968 April 14
2
"Why do we have to wait in the car", 1968 June 2
2
"Look out Point", 1968 August 4
2
"Happy house, Sad house", 1968 August 11
2
"I don't want to take a nap! I'm not tired!", 1969 January 12
2
"Mommy may I help myself to a cookie, and each of my friends?", 1969 March 30
2
"Sky Ride Spectacular View", 1969 August 24
2
"You clean up that plate young man! There are thousands of starving children in china who'd give anything to taste those carrots!", 1974 February 3
2
"I will now collect your homework and remember what I said—Everybody better have it done ... No excuses!", 1975 April 20
2
"Don't put that nickel in your mouth! You don't know where it's been!", 1975 June 22
2
"Be sure to take in the passing sights – the things of beauty! They'll be stored in your treasury of memories forever", 1975 August 3
2
"Who wants to come with me and help buy our Christmas tree?", 1975 December 14
2
"Boy old Mrs. Klink is a tough teacher!", 1976 February 15
2
"He won't eat a thing he just doesn't seem to be hungry", 1976 November 14
2
"Super bowl Sunday", 1977 January 9
2
"Hold it! Hold still while I take this picture! Don't move! Come on Everybody hold still!", 1977 September 18
2
"We play over there at recess an' you go in that door if you're late an no running in the hallway ...", 1979 February 18
2
"Mommy when can I go horseback riding?", 1979 May 27
2
"The pitchers flipping Mommy", 1980 April 20
2
"Why did you cut down that good old tree mister?", 1981 February 22
2
"Is this our house or our home Billy?", 1981 March 22
2
"Could we go over to the play-ground so I can play on the stuff, Mommy please?", 1981 June 7
2
"Ever have a song running around inside your head?", 1982 January 24
2
"'I've been calling you for five minutes!'
'You have?'", 1982 August 8
2
"Today we're going to the zoo to see all the animals!", 1983 April 20
2
"Schools out! A whole summer vacation!", 1983 June 12
2
"'Vintage cars' Wonder if anybody ever rode in it?", 1984 January 29
2
"Guess where our grandmother went on her vacation", 1984 April 18
2
"Politics at Home", 1984 October 21
2
"Now folks, a bit of nostalgia ...", 1985 September 29
2
"I thought there might be a hidden treasure in that old trunk of grandma's", 1986 May 18
2
"A day at the zoo", 1987 March 29
2
"Been there doe that!", 1987 April 5
2
"I like the first day of school cause we find out who our new teacher is, but after that I'm ready for home", 1987 September 6
2
"It's all in the way it's said", 1987 October 4
2
"'Slower!'
'Wait for me!'
'How it really happened'", 1988 May 15
2
"TV Watch", 1988 September 11
2
"Monsters! Daddy! I'm scared of the monsters!", 1989 January 22
2
"Poor Daddy. He looks sick", 1989 February 26
2
"Why is everybody so tired? We haven't done anything all day but ride in the car!", 1989 July 16
