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Johnny Hart
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{{short description|American cartoonist}} {{Other people|John Hart}} {{Infobox comics creator | image = Johnny Hart.jpeg | imagesize = | caption = | birth_name = John Lewis Hart | birth_date = {{Birth date|1931|02|18|mf=y}} | birth_place = [[Endicott, New York]], U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|2007|04|07|1931|02|18}} | death_place = [[Nineveh, New York]], U.S. | area = artist, writer | alias = | notable works = ''[[B.C. (comic strip)|B.C.]]''<br />''[[The Wizard of Id]]'' | awards = [[#Awards|full list]] | spouse = Ida Jane "Bobby" Hatcher (1932 β 2018) }} '''John Lewis Hart''' (February 18, 1931 β April 7, 2007) was an [[Americans|American]] [[cartoonist]] noted as the creator of the [[comic strip]]s ''[[B.C. (comic strip)|B.C.]]'' and ''[[The Wizard of Id]]''. [[Brant Parker]] co-produced and illustrated ''The Wizard of Id''. Hart was recognized with several awards, including the Swedish [[Adamson Awards|Adamson Award]] and five from the [[National Cartoonists Society]]. In his later years, he was known (and sometimes criticized) for incorporating [[Christianity|Christian]] themes and messages into his strips.<ref name="postGazette">{{cite news|last= Bernstein|first= Adam |title= Obituary: Johnny Hart|newspaper = The Washington Post |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07099/776387-122.stm | date=April 9, 2007}}</ref> Hart was referred to by [[Charles Colson|Chuck Colson]] in a ''Breakpoint'' column as "the most widely read Christian of our time," over [[C. S. Lewis]], [[Frank E. Peretti]], and [[Billy Graham]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.christiancomicsinternational.org/quote_americas.html |title="Comics Quotes & Facts from The Americas (South & North)" citing "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson," July 1999 |access-date=2015-02-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507083519/http://www.christiancomicsinternational.org/quote_americas.html |archive-date=2016-05-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ==Biography== Born in [[Endicott, New York]], Hart published his first work in ''[[Stars and Stripes (newspaper)|Stars and Stripes]]'' while he served in [[Korean War|Korea]] as an enlisted member of the [[United States Air Force]]. Returning in 1953, he published cartoons in ''[[The Saturday Evening Post]]'', ''[[Collier's Weekly]]'' and other magazines. His pre-cartooning employment included working in a barbecue restaurant and sign painting.<ref>[https://www.hoganmag.com/blog/the-johnny-hart-interview/ ''The Johnny Hart Interview'', 1995]</ref> Hart's biggest success, ''B.C.'', was created in 1957 and began appearing in national daily [[newspaper]]s on February 17, 1958.<ref name="Lambiek">{{cite web|last=Lambiek Comiclopedia|title=Johnny Hart|url=http://www.lambiek.net/artists/h/hart.htm }}</ref> Hart also co-created and wrote the comic strip ''The Wizard of Id'', drawn by [[Brant Parker]], which has been distributed since November 9, 1964.<ref name="Lambiek"/> According to [[Hanna-Barbera]] animator [[Ed Benedict]], the animation powerhouses approached Hart in 1960 pitching a prime time animated B.C. series. Talks fell through with HB retooling the concept into what eventually became [[The Flintstones]].{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} {{wikinews|Johnny Hart of "B.C." fame passes away}}Hart died of a stroke on April 7, 2007. According to his wife Bobby, he was working at his drawing table at the time of his death.<ref name="Hart death report">{{cite news|title = Johnny Hart Dies at 76|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/09/nyregion/09HartObit.html |work = The New York Times | date=April 9, 2007 | access-date=May 7, 2010}}</ref><ref name=hart1>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6538751.stm BC cartoonist dies while drawing], BBC News</ref> His co-creator for ''The Wizard of Id'', Brant Parker, died just eight days later, on April 15, 2007. ===Religious convictions=== <!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:BC Hart turtle.gif|thumb|260px|A late-era ''B.C.'' strip by Johnny Hart]] --> Hart was raised in a casually religious family, and he attended [[Christianity|Christian]] Sunday School regularly. Although his formal education ended with high school, he was fascinated by the [[Bible]] from a young age.<ref name="PTM">{{cite web |title=At the Hart of B.C. |url=http://www.ptm.org/JulHartofBC.htm |publisher=Plain Truth Ministries |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040619222856/http://www.ptm.org/JulHartofBC.htm |archivedate=2004-06-19 }}</ref> In 1984 there was a distinguishable shift in Hart's spirituality, and Hart and wife Bobby began attending a congregation of the [[Presbyterian Church (USA)|Presbyterian Church]] in [[Nineveh, New York]]. Hart attributed his religious awakening to a father-son team of contractors who installed a satellite dish at his home.<ref name="PTM"/> Hart's increasingly deep religious faith, and the staunch theological and political [[conservatism]] that accompanied it, came to be the source of considerable controversy in the later years of his life. In a 1999 interview with ''[[The Washington Post]]'', for example, he stated that "[[Jew]]s and [[Muslim]]s who don't accept Jesus will burn in Hell" and that "[[homosexuality]] is the handiwork of [[Satan]]."<ref name="LATimes-obit">{{cite news |last=Noland |first=Claire |title=Johnny Hart, 76; created 'B.C.' comic strip|work = Los Angeles Times |date=April 9, 2007 |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-hart9apr09,0,5483287.story?coll=la-home-obituaries}}</ref> In the same piece, Hart opined that "the end of the world is approaching, maybe by the year 2010." The lion's share of controversy, however, came from Hart's increasing tendency to incorporate his religious and political themes and ideals into his comic strips, especially ''B.C.'' Some newspapers refused to print strips with overtly religious themes or, as with the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', moved them to the religious section of the newspaper.<ref name="CC">{{cite news |title=Easter Comic Strip Creates an Uproar |url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_14_118/ai_74439261 |last=Christian Century |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070306110944/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_14_118/ai_74439261 |archivedate=2007-03-06 }}</ref> ===Controversial strips=== Two strips in particular were controversial. The ''B.C.'' strip for April 15, 2001, which was [[Easter Sunday]], portrayed a Jewish [[Menorah (Temple)|menorah]] with seven candles progressively burning out as the strip captions ran the words of [[Jesus Christ]]. At the end, the outer arms of the candelabrum broke away, leaving a [[Christian cross]], with the final panel portraying the opened and [[Death and resurrection of Jesus|empty tomb of Christ]].<ref name="WashingtonPost2003">{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/456685601.html?FMT=ABS&date=Nov+21%2C+2003 |title=Cartoon Raises a Stink: Some See Slur Against Islam in a 'B.C.' Outhouse Strip |first=Gene |last=Weingarten |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 21, 2003|access-date=2007-04-09|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910013835/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/doc/409528755.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=&type=current&date=Nov%2021,%202003&author=&pub=&edition=&startpage=&desc= |archivedate=September 10, 2015}}</ref> Critics including the [[Anti-Defamation League]] and the [[American Jewish Committee]] argued that Hart's strip portrayed [[replacement theology]], that is, the conception of Christianity as supplanting [[Judaism]]. Hart offered an apology "if I have offended any readers," but still thought the strip could increase "religious awareness" and claimed that he had meant the strip to be a tribute to both religions.<ref name="CC"/><ref name="USAToday">{{cite news|title='B.C.' cartoonist Johnny Hart dies at 76|last=USA Today|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-04-08-johnny-hart-obit_N.htm | date=April 9, 2007 | access-date=May 7, 2010}}</ref><ref name="CNN">{{cite news|title='B.C.' cartoonist Johnny Hart dies |website=CNN.com |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/08/obit.hart.ap/index.html |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070412184336/http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/08/obit.hart.ap/index.html |archivedate=April 12, 2007 }}</ref> Another ''B.C.'' strip, which ran November 10, 2003, showed an outhouse with a traditional [[crescent]], which a character entered with a vertical graphic "SLAM", only to ask, "Is it just me, or does it stink in here?" Critics including the [[Council on American-Islamic Relations]] claimed that the combination of the vertical bar and the "SLAM", as well as the crescent moons both in the sky and on the outhouse, made the strip a slur on [[Islam]]. Hart denied that it was anything but an outhouse joke.<ref name="WashingtonPost2003"/> ==Personal life== Hart was an active member of his local community β the area of [[Greater Binghamton]] in [[Broome County, New York]], which shares a common abbreviation of "B.C." Hart donated B.C.-based drawings and logos free of charge to many entities and organizations found in the Broome County area, including logos for: * [[B.C. Transit]] β Caveman on Wheel * [http://www.gobroomecounty.com/parks Broome County Parks] β Dinosaur * [http://www.gobroomecounty.com/senior/mow Broome County Meals on Wheels] β Caveman on Wheel with Food * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080725073001/http://unitedwaybroome.org/Pages/Member%20Agencies/American_Red_Cross.htm Southern Tier Red Cross] β Caveman building Red Cross with Bricks * [http://bccpd.org/ Broome County Celtic Pipes and Drums] β Caveman wearing Kilt and playing Bagpipes * [http://bcceltickazooband.blogspot.com/2013/01/welcome.html Broome County Celtic Kazoos] β Irish Caveman with Kazoo * [[B.C. Open]] PGA Tour Event (1971β2006) β Caveman golfing * [[Broome Dusters]] [[NAHL]] Hockey Club β Caveman with hockey stick * [[B.C. Icemen]] [[United Hockey League|UHL]] Hockey Club β Brute Cavemen playing hockey * [http://www.stic-cil.org/ Southern Tier Independence Center] β Caveman in stone wheelchair stuck in cave doorway, "Wiley" character navigating a landscape full of holes Hart's involvement with the B.C. Open dated back to the early 1970s, and characters from ''B.C.'' were used extensively in advertising and marketing materials for the event, including the winner's trophy, which was a bronzed version of a hapless ''B.C.'' Caveman golfing, a light-hearted trophy when compared to many others, leading it to have earned the designation of being "voted by the players on Tour as the best trophy on Tour; the one that they would love to have."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070409/NEWS01/704090324/1001/ARCHIVE |title=B.C. Loses Hart |first=George |last=Basler |publisher=[[Press & Sun-Bulletin]] |date=April 9, 2007 |access-date=2007-04-09}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> Additionally, Hart contributed original panels of ''B.C.'' strips for charity auctions with the [[Binghamton, New York]]-based PBS affiliate, [[WSKG-TV]]. He also provided album cover art for the 1999 album ''Still Fresh'' by the world-famous jazz vocal group [[The Four Freshmen]], and his strips for B.C. were the inspiration for the mascot of [[University of California at Irvine|UC Irvine]], the anteater.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.uci.edu/peter/ |title=Peter's Page |publisher=[[University of California, Irvine]] |access-date=2009-08-05 |archive-date=2009-08-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805064408/http://www.uci.edu/peter/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> ==Tribute== <!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:MGG051407.gif|thumb|300px|A May 14, 2007 ''[[Mother Goose & Grimm]]'' cartoon paying tribute to Hart.]] --> Hart was memorialized in a May 14, 2007, strip of the comic strip ''[[Mother Goose & Grimm]]''. In the June 20, 2007, ''Blondie'' strip, the last panel shows Mr. Dithers saying, "Boy oh boy, that Johnny Hart sure knew his stuff, didn't he?" [[Bruce Tinsley]] honored Hart in his ''[[Mallard Fillmore]]'' strip of July 10, 2007. [[Image:Mallard fillmore BC tribute.jpg|thumb|300px|A July 10, 2007 ''[[Mallard Fillmore]]'' tribute.]] There was also a tribute in ''[[The Wizard of Id]]'' strip. In the February 14, 2008, strip, two peasant women are talking. One who has just bought some flowers says: "How come you don't celebrate Valentine's Day?" and the other answers: "My Hart isn't in it this year." ===Mastroianni Poems=== Traditionally, every December 3, Johnny Hart would draw a ''B.C.'' cartoon with his wife Ida "Bobby" Hart portrayed as the queen of the ant colony, to celebrate her birthday. On December 3, 2007, his grandson [[Mason Mastroianni]] carried on the tradition, a practice he would keep up yearly until 2019, the year after Bobby Hart's death.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mastroiannni |first1=Mason |title=B.C. by Mastroianni and Hart for December 3, 2019|url=https://www.gocomics.com/bc/2019/12/03|website=GoComics |access-date=May 2, 2022 |date=December 3, 2019}}</ref> ===grOnk=== In January 1967, the Candian writer [[bpNichol]] edited and published the first issue of the avantgarde literary magazine ''grOnk'', named after the prelinguistic sound uttered by dinosaurs in Hart's ''B.C.''. ''grOnk'' ran for at least 122 issues in various series until the time of Nichol's death in 1988, with a further 7 "Inadmissible Series" issues published posthumously. ==Awards== With the release of ''Wizard of Id'' in 1964, Hart became one of only four cartoonists to have two comic strips appearing in over 1000 papers each.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} He won numerous awards for his work, including the [[National Cartoonists Society]]'s Reuben award for ''B.C.'' in 1968 and ''Wizard of Id'' in 1984. *'''1967''' β BC β Best Humor Strip National Cartoonists Society Newspaper Comic Strip (Humor) Award for ''B.C.'' *'''1968''' β BCβ [[Reuben Award]] β Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year National Cartoonists Society *'''1970''' β BC β [[Yellow Kid Award|The Yellow Kid Award]] β Best Cartoonist of the Year [[Lucca Comics & Games|The International Congress of Comics β Lucca, Italy]]. This was the first time this award was given to an American cartoonist. *'''1971''' β BC β Best Cartoonist of the Year β France *'''1971''' β Wizard of Id β Best Humor strip β Brant Parker National Cartoonists Society *'''1972''' β NASA Public Service Award For outstanding contributions to NASA *'''1973''' β Best Animation Feature The National Cartoonist Society "B.C. The First Thanksgiving" *'''1974''' β Silver Bell Award β Best Animated Television Commercial The Advertising Council "B.C. Tickets for ACTION" *'''1974''' β Golden Spike Award β Best Animated Television Commercial The International Society of Radio and Television Broadcasters "B.C. 'A' We're the ACTION Corps" *'''1976''' β BC β [[Adamson Award]] ("The Sam" Adamson Award) β Best International Comic Strip Cartoonist The Swedish Academy of Comic Art *'''1976''' - [[Inkpot Award]]<ref>[https://www.comic-con.org/awards/inkpot Inkpot Award]</ref> *'''1976''' β Wizard of Id β Best Humor strip β Brant Parker The National Cartoonist Society *'''1980''' β Wizard of Id β Best Humor strip β Brant Parker The National Cartoonist Society *'''1981''' β BC β The Elzie Segar Award β Outstanding Contribution to the Profession of Cartooning King Features Syndicate *'''1982''' β Golden Sheaf Award β Spontaneous Human Category The Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival β Canada "B.C. A Special Christmas" *'''1982''' β BC β Special Jury Award The Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival β Canada "B.C. A Special Christmas" *'''1982''' β Wizard of Id β Best Humor strip β Brant Parker The National Cartoonist Society *'''1983''' β Wizard of Id β Best Humor strip β Brant Parker The National Cartoonist Society *'''1984''' β Wizard of Id β [[Reuben Award]] β Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year β Brant Parker The National Cartoonist Society *'''1985''' β Wizard of Id β "The Sam" Adamson Award β Best International Comic Strip Cartoonist β Brant Parker The Swedish Academy of Comic Art *'''1986''' β BC β Katie Award β Best Magazine Cover β "D Magazine" The Press Club of Dallas *'''1986''' β Wizard of Id β The Elzie Segar Award β Outstanding Contribution to the Profession of Cartooning β Brant Parker King Features Syndicate *'''1988''' β BC β Telly Award β Best Television Commercial β Animation "Less filling" β Monroe Shocks *'''1989''' β BC β Best Newspaper Strip National Cartoonist Society *'''1992''' β BC β [[Max & Moritz Prize|Max and Moritz Award]] β Best Comic Strip The Comic Salon β Erlangen, Germany *'''1995''' β BC β Wilbur Award β Editorial Cartoon / Comic Strip Category The Religious Public Relations Council Inc β Dallas Easter 1995 cartoon ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.johnhartstudios.com Official Website for John Hart Studios] β johnhartstudios.com *[http://www.johnhartstudios.com/bc Official B.C. Webpage by the Hart family] β johnhartstudios.com/bc *[http://www.johnhartstudios.com/wizardofid Official Wizard of Id Webpage by the Hart family] β johnhartstudios.com/wizardofid *[http://www.johnhartstudios.com/ckennel Official Dogs of 'C' Kennel (by Johnny's grandsons Mick and Mason) Webpage] johnhartstudios.com/ckennel *[http://lambiek.net/artists/h/hart.htm Johnny Hart biography] on Lambiek Comiclopedia *[http://www.creators.com/comics_show.cfm?comicname=bc Creators Syndicate: ''B.C.''] *[http://www.creators.com/comics_show.cfm?comicname=wiz Creators Syndicate: ''The Wizard of Id''] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070415125706/http://www.creators.com/news/10.html Johnny Hart tribute art and quotations] Creators Syndicate *{{IMDb name|1145460}} *[http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/7r2/7r2018.html "Johnny Hart: Not Caving In"] β profile in ''[[Christianity Today]]'', March/April 1997 {{Inkpot Award 1970s}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Johnny}} [[Category:1931 births]] [[Category:2007 deaths]] [[Category:People from Endicott, New York]] [[Category:American comic strip cartoonists]] [[Category:American comics writers]] [[Category:American comics artists]] [[Category:American humorists]] [[Category:Reuben Award winners]] [[Category:American Christians]] [[Category:United States Air Force airmen]] [[Category:United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War]] [[Category:Artists from Binghamton, New York]] [[Category:Inkpot Award winners]] [[Category:Christian comics creators]]
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