| Whitney Ellsworth | |
|---|---|
 Ellsworth, probably in the 1970s | |
| Born | Frederick Whitney Ellsworth[1] November 27, 1908[2] Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | September 7, 1980(1980-09-07) (aged 71) North Hollywood, U.S. |
| Area(s) | Comic book editor, television producer |
| Pseudonym(s) | Frederic Wells, Fred Whitby,[1] Richard Fielding (w/ Robert Maxwell) |
Notable works | Batman (The Adventures of Superman (TV series)) |
Frederick Whitney Ellsworth (November 27, 1908 – September 7, 1980)[3] was anAmerican comic book editor and sometime writer and artist forDC Comics during the period known to historians and fans as theGolden Age of Comic Books. He was also DC's "movie studio contact", becoming both a producer and story editor on the TV seriesThe Adventures of Superman.[4]
Whitney "Whit"Ellsworth was born inBrooklyn, New York.[5] He took a cartooning course at theYMCA in Brooklyn and worked on the syndicated featuresDumb Dora (forNewspaper Feature Service),Embarrassing Moments (providing plots, pencils and inks for both) andJust Kids (assisting with pencils and inks, for theKing Features Syndicate) between 1927 and 1929.[1] In the early 1930s, he began working on another syndicated feature,Tillie the Toiler, for King, as well as writing gag cartoons, articles and features for theNewark Star-Eagle/Ledger newspaper (1931–1934), also finding time to work on a number ofpulp magazine stories throughout the 1930s.
In late 1934, he became associated withMajor Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson's fledgling companyNational Allied Publications, later known asDC Comics.[1][4] Initially an assistant editor, before becoming associate editor (1936–38), Ellsworth worked on such titles asBilly the Kid,Little Linda andMore Fun Comics, as well as producing cover roughs for several years.[1] Ellsworth left the company in c. 1937-38[4] for a brief hiatus in California before returning to DC a couple of years later.[1] He subsequently served as editorial director until c. 1951–1953, in particular on such titles as the flagship titlesAction Comics,Adventure Comics,Batman,Detective Comics andSuperman between 1940 and 1951, and later on such diverse titles asThe Adventures of Alan Ladd,All-Star Comics,Green Lantern,Mr. District Attorney,Real Fact Comics,Real Screen Comics,Scribbly,Superboy andWonder Woman (among others) between 1948 and 1951.[1][4] In 1945, he licensedThe Fox and the Crow and other animated characters from their distributor,Columbia Pictures.[6]
Ellsworth also wrote short stories for the pulp titlesBlack Bat,G-Man (including theDan Fowler novel "Spotlight on Murder" in September 1942[1][7]) andThe Phantom Detective (for which title he certainlyghosted two pulps – #76Murder at the World's Fair and #77The Forty Thieves in June and July 1939), among others.[1][8]
Acting as DC's major creative guide and editor during the company's early years, Ellsworth oversaw editorially both scriptsand art for several diverse comics (includingBatman,World's Best Comics,World's Finest Comics, et al.), developed a number of projects (including creatingCongo Bill in 1941) and wrote several more, includingHollywood Screen Shots (1936) (which, like some others, he also pencilled and inked),Slam Bradley,Genius Jones,Laughing at Life,Speed Saunders andStarman, among many other characters and comics.[1]
He also sketched "rough cover layouts for DC's top titles," including notably some for "Batman andDetective Comics until about 1946."[4]
Ellsworth was also the first writer on theBatman & Robinnewspaper strip, which appeared first on Sundays and later on weekdays. Featuring artwork primarily fromSheldon Moldoff andJoe Giella, Ellsworth wrote the strip between 1966 and 1970, whereuponE. Nelson Bridwell took over for a couple of years.
In addition to his extensive comics work, Ellsworth "was DC's movie studio contact" on a number of projects, keeping his "editorial director" title, but working mainly on "DC properties in Hollywood" between c. 1951–1959.[1]
Ellsworth was the representative from National Comics during the production of the 1948 serialSuperman, a position which gave him absolute control of the script and production. He initially objected to casting ofKirk Alyn as the lead, whom producerSam Katzman had found by looking through studio photographs. This was made even worse when Alyn came in for a screen test, during filming on a historical film, with a goatee and moustache. These initial reservations were eventually overcome and Alyn got the part. Columbia's advertising claimed that they could not get an actor to fill the role so they had hired Superman himself. Kirk Alyn was merely playing Clark Kent.[9]
Most notably, Ellsworth was a consultant on the serial sequelAtom Man Vs. Superman (1950) (also with Kirk Alyn), and co-wrote the feature filmSuperman and the Mole Men (1951) before becoming a producer, episode writer, andscript editor on the subsequent live-action TV seriesThe Adventures of Superman (both starringGeorge Reeves as the Man of Steel).[4] In 1958, he created a pilot titledSuperpup, which attempted to capitalise on that series' success by recasting theSuperman mythos in a fictional universe populated by dogs instead of people.
Three years later, Ellsworth helped produce another, ultimately aborted pilot for another spin-off series calledThe Adventures of Superboy.
According to noted comics historianJerry Bails, Ellsworth was also a consultant on the twoBatman serials in1943 and1949; theSuperman serial starring Kirk Alyn that was a precursor to the later live-action Superman features, and theCongo Bill serial (1949).[1] He is listed as having been – for "one week only" – a consultant on the 1966Batman TV series (withAdam West), and a writer for theSuperman radio show during thewar years.[1]
In addition, he wrote theOff-Broadway productionMaiden Voyage (1935), for the TV seriesThe Millionaire1 (1955) between c. 1954–56 and produced another pilot in 1961, this time for a "comedy-detective series starringSheree North" to be calledHere's O'Hare (ABC did not pursue the show).[10]
Ellsworth is also said by Bails to have helped co-writeThe Godfather.[1]
Ellsworth left DC (shortly after leaving the Batman newspaper strip) in 1970/1971. He died on September 7, 1980, in North Hollywood.[1][4] In 1985, he was posthumously named as one of the honorees by DC Comics in the company's 50th anniversary publicationFifty Who Made DC Great.[11]
Animated cartoons were big business on movie screens, and lots of publishers hoped that success could translate onto the pages of comic books...DC editor Whitney Ellsworth licensed the characters ofCharles Mintz' Screen Gems Studio from their distributor, Columbia. The resulting funny animal anthology,Real Screen Comics, starred the Fox and the Crow.
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