View source for Hank Ketcham

{{Short description|American cartoonist (1920–2001)}}
{{for|the football player|Hank Ketcham (American football)}}
{{Infobox comics creator

|image         = Hank Ketcham (1116702441).jpg
|imagesize     = 
|caption       = Ketcham in 1982
|birth_name  = Henry King Ketcham
|birth_date  = {{Birth date|1920|3|14}} 
|birth_place      = [[Seattle]], Washington, U.S. 
|death_date  = {{death date and age|2001|6|1|1920|3|14}}
|death_place = [[Carmel, California]], U.S.<ref name="newyorktimes"/>
|area          = Artist, writer
|alias         = 
| spouse           = {{plainlist|
*{{marriage|Alice Louise Mahar||1959|end=d}}
*{{marriage|Jo Anne Stevens|1959|1968|end=div}}
*{{marriage|Rolande Praepost |1969 }}}}
|children = 3
|notable works = ''[[Dennis the Menace (U.S. comics)|Dennis the Menace]]''
}}
'''Henry King Ketcham''' (March 14, 1920 &ndash; June 1, 2001) was an American [[cartoonist]] who created the ''[[Dennis the Menace (U.S. comics)|Dennis the Menace]]'' [[comic strip]], writing and drawing it from 1951 to 1994, when he retired from drawing the [[daily strip|daily cartoon]] and took up painting full-time in his home studio. In 1953, he received the [[Reuben Award]] for the strip, which continues today in the hands of other cartoonists.

==Early life==
Born in [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], Ketcham was the son of Weaver Vinson Ketcham and the former Virginia King.<ref name="newyorktimes">{{cite news
|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/02/obituaries/02KETC.html?ex=1195966800&en=a19e683b85e127b7&ei=5070
|date = 2001-06-02
|title =  Hank Ketcham, Father of Dennis the Menace, Dies at 81
|access-date = 2007-11-24
|work = The New York Times
| first=Lawrence
| last=Van Gelder}}</ref> When Ketcham was six years old, his father had an illustrator over for dinner. After dinner, this guest showed Ketcham his "magic pencil", and drew some illustrations. Ketcham was immediately hooked, and soon his father set up a small desk in the closet of his bedroom at which he could draw. After graduating from [[Queen Anne High School (Seattle, Washington)|Queen Anne High School]] in 1937, he attended the [[University of Washington]], but dropped out after his first year and hitchhiked to [[Los Angeles]], hoping to work for [[Walt Disney]].<ref>{{cite news
|url = http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?issue=06-02-01&storyID=5235
|date = 2001-06-02
|title =   Creator of 'Dennis The Menace' dies at 81
|access-date = 2007-11-24
|publisher = Berkeley Daily Planet}}</ref>

==Career==
[[File:HankKetcham, 1953.jpg|thumb|Ketcham in 1953]]
Ketcham started in the business as an assistant animator for [[Walter Lantz]] and, starting in 1939, for Walt Disney, where he worked on ''[[Pinocchio (1940 film)|Pinocchio]]'', ''[[Fantasia (1940 film)|Fantasia]]'', ''[[Bambi (film)|Bambi]]'', and several [[Donald Duck]] shorts. During [[World War II]], Ketcham was a photographic specialist with the [[United States Navy Reserve|U.S. Navy Reserve]]. He also created the character [[Mr. Hook]] for the Navy during World War II, and four cartoons were made (one by [[Walter Lantz Productions]], in color, and three by [[Warner Bros. Cartoons]], in black and white). Also while in the Navy, he began a camp newspaper strip, ''[[Half Hitch (comic strip)|Half Hitch]]'', which ran in ''[[The Saturday Evening Post]]'' beginning in 1943.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.toonopedia.com/hitch.htm |title=Markstein, Don. ''Half Hitch'' |publisher=Toonopedia.com |date=1970-02-16 |access-date=2014-01-13}}</ref><ref>[https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/hank-ketcham-and-animation/ Hank Ketcham and Animation]
</ref> By 1944, his freelance cartoons were running in ''[[Collier's]]'' and ''[[Liberty (general interest magazine)|Liberty]]'' magazines.<ref name="Pine Cone">{{cite web|url=http://pineconearchive.fileburstcdn.com/221125PC.pdf|title=What to do when you discover your muse is a real menace|author=Neal Hotelling|work=[[Carmel Pine Cone]] |place=Carmel-by-the-Sea, California |date=25 Nov 2022 |pages=27|access-date=2022-11-29}}</ref>

After World War II, Ketcham settled in [[Carmel-by-the-Sea|Carmel]], California, and began work as a freelance cartoonist. He built a two-bedroom redwood house and studio in [[Carmel Woods]].<ref name="Pine Cone"/> In 1951, he started ''Dennis the Menace'', based on his own four-year-old son Dennis. Ketcham was in his studio in October 1950 when his first wife, Alice, burst into the studio and complained that their four-year-old, Dennis, had wrecked his bedroom instead of napping. "Your son is a menace!" she shouted. Within five months, 16 newspapers began carrying ''Dennis the Menace''. By May 1953, 193 newspapers in the United States and 52 in other countries were carrying the strip to 30 million readers.<ref name="newyorktimes"/>
{{Quote box
| width = 25em
| align = right
| quote ="The Charming Spanish residence and guest cottage overlooked sweeping lawns and gardens leading down to the swimming pool and cabana, and in the distance were the typical California soft golden hills dotted with live oak trees."
| salign = right
| source = —&nbsp;Autobiography of Hank Ketcham<ref name="Autobiography">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g1ppDAAAQBAJ|title=The Merchant of Dennis the Menace |author=Hank Ketcham|place= |date=2005 |pages=23|publisher=Fantagraphics Books |isbn=9781560977148 |access-date=2022-12-09}}</ref> 
}} By 1955, Ketcham moved from his Carmel cottage to upper [[Carmel Valley, California|Carmel Valley]], where he purchased the former {{convert|61.2|acre||adj=pre|}} Fred Wolferman ranch, only 40 minutes from the [[Monterey Peninsula]].<ref>
{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/ccarm_003115/page/n7/mode/2up?q=%22Hank+Ketcham%22|title=Pine Nedles|author=|work=[[Carmel Pine Cone]] |place=Carmel-by-the-Sea, California |date=16 Jun 1955 |pages=8|access-date=2022-12-09}}</ref> The Spanish adobe home on the Carmel Valley property was designed by architect [[Hugh W. Comstock]] with bitudobe brick. On the edge of the orchard was a Victorian ranch house for the foreman and his family, designed by architect Wilson Mizner.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pineconearchive.fileburstcdn.com/221209PC.pdf|title=Dennis the Menace's S.V. Comstock and how it grew|author=Neal Hotelling|work=[[Carmel Pine Cone]] |place=Carmel-by-the-Sea, California |date=9 Dec 2022 |pages=23|access-date=2022-12-09}}</ref> 

In 1958, Dennis Play Products, Inc., was created by Ketcham to distribute toys, which included the Dennis the Menace Doll, Ruff Dog, and Banshee Ball. Between 1959 and 1964 ''[[Dennis the Menace (1959 TV series)|Dennis the Menace]]'' was broadcast on CBS television, based on the Ketcham comic strip. The show was a great success.<ref name="Menace">{{cite web |author=Neal Hotelling |date=6 Jan 2023 |title=The life of a perennial youngster and perpetual menace goes on |url=http://pineconearchive.fileburstcdn.com/230106PC.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106050818/http://pineconearchive.fileburstcdn.com/230106PC.pdf |archive-date=2023-01-06 |access-date=2023-01-10 |work=[[Carmel Pine Cone]] |place=Carmel-by-the-Sea, California |pages=19}}</ref>

In 1970, [[King Features Syndicate]] revived Ketcham's wartime strip ''Half Hitch'' as a newspaper comic. The strip was published under Ketcham's name, although it was drawn and written by others. The new version of ''Half Hitch'' ran until 1975.

==Family==
[[File:Hank Ketcham cartoon from golf program.jpg|thumb|left|Ketcham self-portrait in a cartoon for the program for the 1968 Bing Crosby Pro-Am Golf Tournament]]
Ketcham's first wife, Alice Louise Mahar Ketcham, died on June 22, 1959, of a drug overdose.<ref name="newyorktimes">{{cite news
|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/02/obituaries/02KETC.html?ex=1195966800&en=a19e683b85e127b7&ei=5070
|date = 2001-06-02
|title =  Hank Ketcham, Father of Dennis the Menace, Dies at 81
|access-date = 2007-11-24
|work = The New York Times
| first=Lawrence
| last=Van Gelder}}</ref> The real-life Dennis was 12 when his mother died. Ketcham and Alice were separated at the time of her death. Ketcham did not inform his son of his mother's death, or visit his son, until she was buried, and Dennis was not present at the funeral. Three weeks later, Ketcham married Jo Anne Stevens, who he met on a blind date. The family moved to [[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]], where they lived from 1960 to 1977, where Ketcham continued to produce ''Dennis the Menace''. Dennis had difficulty with his schooling, though, so was sent to boarding school in Connecticut, while Mr. Ketcham and his second wife remained in Switzerland. This marriage ended in divorce in 1968.<ref name="Menace"/>

In 1977, Ketcham moved back to the United States and settled in [[Monterey, California]], with his third wife, the former Rolande Praepost, whom he had married in 1969, and with whom he had two children, Scott and Dania. Dennis Ketcham served in Vietnam, suffered [[post-traumatic stress disorder]], and had little contact with his father. Ketcham and his son were estranged for much of Dennis's adult life.<ref name="newyorktimes"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hembeck.com/WordsAboutPictures/WisemanTooleDennis.htm |title=Words about Pictures |publisher=Hembeck.com |date=2003-12-21 |access-date=2014-01-13}}</ref>
{{clear left}}

==Later life and retirement==
[[File:Halfhitch121971.gif|right|thumb|290px|Hank Ketcham's ''Half Hitch'' (December 19, 1971)]]

When his ''Dennis the Menace'' cartoon added a [[Sunday strip]], Ketcham hired artist [[Al Wiseman]] and writer Fred Toole to produce the Sunday strips and the many ''Dennis the Menace'' [[comic book]]s that were published. People from around the country sent captions to him, and he would find one that he liked and illustrate the gag.

In 1990, Ketcham published a memoir titled ''The Merchant of Dennis the Menace'' chronicling his career. He retired from drawing the daily panel in 1994, when his former assistants, Marcus Hamilton and Ron Ferdinand, took over. At the time of Ketcham's death, ''Dennis the Menace'' was distributed to more than 1,000 newspapers in 48 countries and 19 languages, by [[King Features Syndicate]].<ref name="newyorktimes"/>

Ketcham spent his last years in retirement at his home in Carmel, California, painting in oil and watercolor. Many of his paintings can be seen in a hospital in nearby [[Monterey, California|Monterey]]. He died in Carmel<ref name="newyorktimes"/> on June 1, 2001, at the age of 81. He was survived by his oldest son, Dennis;<ref>[https://www.grunge.com/289273/the-tragic-true-story-of-dennis-the-menace/ ''The Tragic True Story of Dennis the Menace''], [[grunge.com]], December 4, 2020</ref> his third wife, Rolande; and their two children, Dania and Scott.

In 2005, [[Fantagraphics Books]] started publishing what was to be a complete ''Dennis'' by Ketcham from the start of the strip, collecting two years per volume, but the publishing ceased in 2009 with the 1961–1962 volume.

== Legacy ==
The [[Lake El Estero#Dennis the Menace Playground|Dennis the Menace Playground]] was designed by Ketcham and with the help of sculptor [[Arch Garner]] in 1954. The playground opened on November 17, 1956, with children's play areas including a 1924 locomotive steam engine, donated by the [[Southern Pacific Railroad]]. A life-sized, {{convert|3.5|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}}, {{convert|200|lb|kg|adj=on}} bronze statue of cartoon strip character Dennis the Menace was displayed at the entrance to the playground. In recent years it has been stolen twice.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fisher |first=Vern |date=2009-04-03 |title=Looking Back at Monterey County: Dennis the Menace Train, Jan. 26, 1956 |url=https://heraldphotos.blogspot.com/2009/04/dennis-menace-train-jan-26-1956.html |access-date=2022-08-28 |website=Looking Back at Monterey County}}</ref> The statue was sculpted by [[Wah Chang|Wah Ming Chang]], another Disney man who resided in Carmel Valley.<ref name="Autobiography"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://pineconearchive.fileburstcdn.com/230113PC.pdf|title=His work animated famous tales|author=Neal Hotelling|work=[[Carmel Pine Cone]] |place=Carmel-by-the-Sea, California |date=13 Jan 2023 |pages=19 |access-date=2023-01-13}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Ketcham, Hank. ''The Merchant of Dennis''. New York: Abbeville Press, 1990.

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080919103812/http://www.dennisthemenace.com/tribute.html Hank Ketcham Tribute]
*{{IMDb name|450477|Hank Ketcham}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071016112758/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/books/06/01/obit.ketcham/index.html Hank Ketcham obituary]

{{Dennis the Menace}}
{{Inkpot Award 1980s}}
{{Carmel Valley, California}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ketcham, Hank}}
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:2001 deaths]]
[[Category:American animators]]
[[Category:American cartoonists]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Dennis the Menace (U.S. comics)]]
[[Category:Deaths from prostate cancer in California]]
[[Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios people]]
[[Category:Walter Lantz Productions people]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. Cartoons people]]
[[Category:Artists from Seattle]]
[[Category:Reuben Award winners]]
[[Category:United States Navy sailors]]
[[Category:University of Washington alumni]]
[[Category:Artists from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California]]
[[Category:United States Navy reservists]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Switzerland]]
[[Category:Phi Delta Theta members]]