[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 68 (Wednesday, May 15, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E803]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E803]]


                        TRIBUTE TO HANK KETCHAM

                                 ______


                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 15, 1996

  Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, it is my great honor to rise in 
recognition of a man who has brought both smiles and laughter to 
countless Americans. Henry (Hank) Ketcham, who created the famed 
``Dennis the Menace'' cartoon strip, is being honored Friday with a 
Lifetime Achievement Award at the Carmel Arts Festival.
  A resident of my congressional district, Mr. Ketcham has led a 
distinguished, artistic life that we all can celebrate. Born in Seattle 
in 1920, he first became interested in drawing at the age of 7 when a 
local art director and family friend drew cartoon sketches to make him 
laugh. With considerable talent, he parlayed this love of cartooning 
into a number of impressive positions throughout his career.
  After entering the University of Washington as an art major in 1937, 
Mr. Ketcham moved to Hollywood 1 year later where he worked at the 
Walter Lantz animation studio, home of the ``Woody the Woodpecker'' 
cartoon series. Soon after, Mr. Ketcham was lured by the Walt Disney 
studios, where he worked on ``Pinocchio,'' ``Fantasia'' and many other 
famous Disney productions until the outbreak of World War II.
  Desiring to serve his country, Mr. Ketcham enlisted in the U.S. Navy 
and, as a chief photographer specialist, developed a variety of 
cartoons, magazines, posters, and animated film spots to encourage his 
fellow Americans to purchase war bonds. To help supplement his military 
pay, Mr. Ketcham also started cartooning for magazines, including the 
Saturday Evening Post, which bought a weekly panel.
  After the war, Mr. Ketcham fully launched himself into the highly 
competitive world of freelance cartooning. Because of his immense 
talent, he quickly became one of this country's most successful 
artists, selling his work regularly to Collier's, the Saturday Evening 
Post, Ladies' Home Journal, Liberty, the New Yorker, as well as to 
advertising agencies. By this time, Mr. Ketcham was also married and 
the father of a son named, you guessed it, Dennis, whom my sister 
Francesca, frequently babysat.

  In October 1950, the ``Dennis the Menace'' cartoon strip was created 
and, less than a year later, it was syndicated to 18 newspapers. Mr. 
Ketcham received the prestigious Billy deBeck Trophy as the outstanding 
cartoonist of 1952. Within the past 10 years, ``Dennis the Menace'' has 
been read in more than 1,000 different newspapers in 48 countries and 
has been translated into 19 different languages.
  In the following years, Mr. Ketcham expanded his lovable character's 
popularity through a variety of other media, including books and 
television. The hit TV show that was produced from 1959 to 1963 is 
still widely seen around the country and was updated into a popular 
animation series by the CBS television network. A 2-hour prime-time 
live action ``Dennis the Menace'' broadcast was aired in September 1987 
and in 114 television markets the following month.
  Over the past 46 years, Mr. Ketcham has sold more than 50 million 
``Dennis the Menace'' books, including a four-part anthology, a series 
of comic books from Marvel Comics and a favorite of Ketcham's, ``Dennis 
and the Bible Kids.''
  Throughout the years, Dennis' civic-mindedness has also made him a 
popular spokesman for a number of worthy causes, including the Boy 
Scouts of America, UNICEF, and the International Red Cross. He has had 
a starring role in two important public service messages through comic 
books entitled ``Dennis Takes a Poke at Poison'' and ``Coping with 
Family Stress.''
  To this day, ``Dennis the Menace'' continues to bring joy to children 
and adults alike. The comic strip is widely read throughout the world 
and, in fact, is delivered to my doorstep every day I am in Washington 
in the Washington Post. Though 46 this year, Dennis remains as youthful 
and entertaining as ever. Of course, this is a tribute to Hank Ketcham 
and his considerable talent. It is my great honor to salute him as he 
receives this well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award.

                          ____________________