| Ted Key | |
|---|---|
 Key with actressShirley Booth; the latter is outfitted in the maid's uniform she wore on television asHazel. | |
| Born | Theodore Keyser (1912-08-25)August 25, 1912 Fresno,California, United States |
| Died | May 3, 2008(2008-05-03) (aged 95) Tredyffrin,Pennsylvania, United States |
| Nationality | American |
Notable works | Hazel |
| Awards | 1977National Cartoonists Society Newspaper Panel Award |
Ted Key (bornTheodore Keyser; August 25, 1912 – May 3, 2008)[1] was an Americancartoonist and writer. He is best known as the creator of the cartoon panelHazel, which was later the basis for atelevision series of the same name, and also the creator of thePeabody's Improbable History animated segments.
Born inFresno, California, Key was the son ofLatvian immigrant Simon Keyser, who had changed his name from Katseff to Keyser, and then to "Key" duringWorld War I.[1] Although his family thereafter went by Key, Theodore Keyser did not legally adopt the name until the 1950s.[1] Attending theUniversity of California, Berkeley, Key became the art editor of the student newspaper,The Daily Californian, and was associate editor of the campus humor magazine, theCalifornia Pelican[2] and was a member of thePi Lambda Phifraternity.[3] After graduating from college in 1933, Key relocated toNew York City, where he published cartoons and illustrations in a number of periodicals, includingBetter Homes and Gardens,Collier's,The New Yorker,Ladies' Home Journal,Good Housekeeping,McCall's,Cosmopolitan,TV Guide,Mademoiselle,Look, andJudge. Key also worked as associate editor ofJudge in 1937.
Key's most famous creation, the single-panelHazel, about a wry and bossy household maid, came to Key in 1943 in a dream that he drew the next morning and sent toThe Saturday Evening Post, where it was accepted and began running regularly.[1] He soon afterward gave the character a name and employment at the Baxter household. In 2008, the cartoonist's son, Peter Key, said, "He picked the name Hazel out of the air, but there was an editor atThe Post who had a sister named Hazel. She thought her brother came up with the name, and she didn’t speak to him for two years."[1]
The cartoon ran until the weekly magazine ceased publication in 1969.Hazel was then picked up for newspaper syndication byKing Features Syndicate.[4] With the increased output of six cartoons a week, Key hired veteran gag cartoonistStan Fine to lend a hand.
Key later adapted his comic panel into the television showHazel, starringShirley Booth as the titular maid. It ran from 1961 to 1964 onNBC; for its final 1965 season, the show switched toCBS. Key continued to draw the strip until his retirement in 1993.[5] King Features reprints panels in over 50 newspapers as of 2008.[2]
Key's other work in the comics field includesDiz and Liz, a two-page feature that ran inJack and Jill magazine from 1961 to 1972, as well as conceiving and creatingPeabody's Improbable History, the original Peabody segment for producerJay Ward'sanimated television seriesThe Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.[6] Key also provided illustrations for the long-running "Positive Attitude" series of motivational pamphlets and posters, published biweekly by Economics Press Inc. from the 1960s to the 1980s.[7]
Key also wroteradio plays during the 1930s and 1940s. His radio drama,The Clinic, broadcast on NBC, was chosen for Max Wylie'sBest Broadcasts of 1939-40 anthology.
He was the screenwriter for threeDisney films (The Cat from Outer Space,Million Dollar Duck, andGus), and he created several classic children's books, includingPhyllis andThe Biggest Dog in the World (later adapted into the filmDigby, the Biggest Dog in the World).[8]
During World War II, Key served with theU.S. Army from 1943 to 1946, primarily inpublic relations, where he wrote a play aimed at recruiting women into military service.[1] Key retired in 1993, but King Features continued to syndicateHazel using material he had prepared for his retirement.Hazel still runs today in some 50 newspapers.
Diagnosed withbladder cancer in late 2006, Key suffered a stroke in September 2007. He was 95 at the time of his death inTredyffrin Township,Pennsylvania.[9] Key was married twice; his first wife, Anne, died in 1984, and Key was survived by second wife Bonnie and by three sons: Stephen, David, and Peter.[8]
In 1977, Key received theNational Cartoonists Society Newspaper Panel Award for his work onHazel.[10]
{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|url= (help)