Bil Keane

As a kid my favorite comic strip was Family Circus. Growing up with such a large and extended family I appreciated Bil Keane's sense of humor. We only had three channels when we lived on the indian reservation and that was on a good day. Reading his comics were light, comforting and a great quick escape. I remember writing Bil Keane quite often starting in the fourth grade and he always responded. He used several of my ideas in his strip and he made the point to send me the artwork. I called him on the phone a few times, yes I was 10, and his wife always answered the phone. "Luv, your friend Charlie from California!" I loved her beautiful Australian accent. I love how she called him Luv. He explained the entire process of how he worked from home, how he got his ideas and the process of publishing a nationally syndicated cartoon. I was never much of an artist but Bil Keane truly planted those writing seeds. A delightful man that I never met in person but he always took my call and whose letters I cherished receiving and saved.