Falk, Lee

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{{Infobox Comics creator
 
{{Infobox Comics creator
 
| name          = Lee Falk
 
| name          = Lee Falk
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| caption      =  
 
| caption      =  
 
| birthname    = Leon Harrison Gross
 
| birthname    = Leon Harrison Gross
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| birthdate    = [[April 28]], [[1911]]
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| birthdate    = April 28, 1911  
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| location      = [[St. Louis]]
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| location      = [[St. Louis, Missouri]]
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| deathdate    = [[March 13]], [[1999]]
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| deathdate    = March 13, 1999
 
| deathplace    = [[New York City]]
 
| deathplace    = [[New York City]]
 
| nationality  = [[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|right]] American
 
| nationality  = [[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|right]] American
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'''Leon Harrison Gross''', more known by the alias of Lee Falk, (April 28, 1911 - March 13, 1999) with talents in [[music]], [[art]], [[theater]], and [[writing]], was best known as the creator of the popular [[comic strip]]superheroes [['The Phantom']] and [['Mandrake the Magician']], who at the height of their popularity, were read by over a hundred million readers every day. These were also the first costumed superheroes to appear in the ‘comics’). He was also a playwright and theatrical director/producer, leading him to direct actors such as [[Marlon Brando]], [[Charlton Heston]], [[Paul Newman]], [[Chico Marx]], and [[Ethel Waters]]. Falk also contributed to a series of novels about 'The Phantom'.
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'''Leon Harrison Gross''' (alias Lee Falk), (April 28, 1911 - March 13, 1999), was considered a talent in [[music]], [[art]], [[theater]], and [[writing]]. Falk was best known as creator of popular [[comic strip]] superheroes [['The Phantom']], and [['Mandrake the Magician']] who at the height of their popularity bragged over a hundred million readers daily. Falk's 'The Phantom' inspired the costumed image of what has today become known as the "superhero." 
  
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Falk, a [[Renaissance]] man, was a founding father of the [[United States|American]] [[comic strip]] industry, best known as the creator of the popular [[comic strip superheroes]] 'The Phantom' and 'Mandrake the Magician', were at the height of their popularity when they secured him over a hundred million readers every day. These were also the first costumed superheroes to appear in the ‘comics’. Falk also contributed to a series of novels about the 'Phantom'. A film 'The Phantom'([[Paramount]], 1996)was also produced after years of script revisions (Lee Falk would allow only pure and [[family]]-friendly subject-matter; and,therefore, vetoed numerous previous scripts over many years before his final approval). His two characters, 'Mandrake the Magician' and,'The Phantom,' are still active and popular, both in comic books (the newest addition of the 'Phantom' coming from [[Moonstone Books]]) and [[newspaper]] comic strips. New [[movie]] versions of both his creations are also on the schedule, with 'Mandrake' set to premiere as the first of them in 2008.
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Falk also contributed to a series of [[novel]]s about the 'Phantom'. He wrote five of 15 paperback novels about ''The Phantom.'' (The other ten were adapted from his writings.) The film 'The Phantom' ([[Paramount]], 1996) was produced only after years of script revisions as Falk demanded wholesome, [[family]]-friendly subject-matter. He vetoed numerous scripts over many years before giving his approval. His two characters, 'Mandrake the Magician' and 'The Phantom,' are still active and popular, both in comic books and [[newspaper]] comic strips.
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{{toc}}
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As a [[playwright]] and theatrical director/producer Falk directed such actors as [[Marlon Brando]], [[Charlton Heston]], [[Paul Newman]], [[Chico Marx]], and [[Esther Waters]].  
  
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==Life and Career==
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==Biography==
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Leon was born in St. Louis, where he spent his childhood and youth. His mother was Eleanor Alina (a name he would later on, in some form, use in both Mandrake and Phantom stories), and his father was Benjamin Gross. Both of his parents were Jewish, and met in a traveling theater troupe in Ohio. Benjamin Gross died when h was a child, and Eleanor remarried to Albert Falk Epstein, who became his father figure in life.
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Leon Gross was born to Benjamin Gross and Eleanor Alina in [[St. Louis, Missouri]], where he spent his childhood and youth. Both of his parents were [[Jewish]]. They met in a traveling [[theater]] troupe in [[Ohio]]. Benjamin Gross died when Leon was a child; Eleanor remarried Albert Falk Epstein, who became Lee's father figure. Leon used his mother's name in different forms in both Mandrake and Phantom stories. Other family names that became part of Falk's stories included Valerie, Conley, and Diane.  
  
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Leon changed his surname after leaving college, after he learned that he had been adopted,although always treated equally with his brother, by his stepfather. He took the middle name of his stepfather (Albert Falk Epstein)"Falk", but "Lee" had been his nickname since childhood. His younger half-brother, Leslie, who was a [[Rhodes scholar]] at [[Oxford University]],(whom Lee had helped to support while in university) also took the name "Falk".
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Leon changed his surname after college when he learned he had been [[adoption|adopted]]. He was treated by his stepfather as an equal to his brother, and took the middle name of his stepfather, "Falk," but "Lee" was his nickname from childhood. His younger half-brother, Leslie, a [[Rhodes Scholar]] at [[Oxford University]], (whom Lee helped support through university) also took the name "Falk." [[Leslie A. Falk]] became a medical administrator known for his work in the eradication of miners' disease, colloquially known as [[Black Lung]].
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([[Leslie A.Falk]] became a well-known medical administrator who officially eradicated the miners' disease, [['Black Lung']]. His wife, Joy Hume,(who had four children with him, Gail,Ted,Don and Beth, who are lawyers and educators),was the daughter of medical missionaries in [[Szechuan China]], and wrote a book about their experience.)
 
  
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When he began his comics writing career, he claimed that he was an experienced world traveler who had studied with [[Eastern mystics]]. In fact, he had created this story about himself in order to seem more like the right kind of person to be writing about globe-trotting heroes like 'Mandrake the Magician' and 'The Phantom'. In later life, however, he really became an experienced world traveler - at least partly, he said, to avoid the embarrassment of having his bluff inadvertently called by genuine travelers wanting to swap anecdotes.
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Lee Falk was married three times, all to theater professionals. His first wife, Joy Hume, was the daughter of medical missionaries in [[Sichuan]], [[China]], and wrote a book about her parents' experience. Their four children, Gail, Ted, Don, and Beth, became lawyers and educators with significant influence in the [[African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)|Civil Rights movement]] beginning in the 1960s.
  
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A trip to New York at age 19 to introduce 'Mandrake the Magician' to King Features Syndicate was, at that time, the farthest he had been from home. To his surprise, they accepted his new character. Though Falk drew the early episodes, he felt he was more of a writer and that the strip would benefit from a dedicated artist. The first artist he worked with was [[Phil Davis]], an older commercial illustrator from [[St. Louis]] who agreed to illustrate the strips while Falk, who was still in college, wrote them. From early on, Falk asked [[Ray Moore]] to be part of the team as inker for Davis' pencils.
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Louise Kanaseriff, stage actress/director and theater professor was the mother of Valerie Falk who became a professional artist, teacher and writer.
  
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==War Career==
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Constance Moorehead Lilienthal, mother of Diane and Conley Falk, worked as a theater professional using the stage name [[Constance Moorehead]]. She was leading lady for many Falk theater productions, including lead roles in ''The Country Girl,'' ''The Glass Menagerie,'' and ''The Cocktail Party.'' Constance Moorehead also performed [[Shakespeare]] and other theater masterpieces.  
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During [[World War II]], Falk also worked as Chief of Propaganda for the new radio station [[KMOX]] in Illinois, where he became the leader of the radio foreign language division of the [[Office of War Information]].(He also worked at the Headquarters office in Washington, DC with the person who would later become ([[Senator) Alan Cranston]] (of California). At that time, Alan Cranston smuggled out of [[Germany]] an unedited version of [['Mein Kamph']](a previously edited version had been circulating that was a completely different content from this newly translated original.)Then, within a few months,Lee Falk and Alan Cranston had this version translated and widely disseminated especially throughout [[America]] and the English-speaking world. As soon as the real message of Hitler's 'Mein Kamph' was known, UN Troops were sent immediately to free all the concentration camp victims wherever they were throughout Europe.([[Adolf Hitler]] tried to sue Falk and Cranston but, without success !!).
 
  
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Heartwarming stories have come to him over the years from people who grew-up with 'The Phantom' and 'Mandrake the Magician'. For example, during World War II, due to the scarcity of books, European school-age children would sometimes learn to read from sources of popular culture, such as newspaper cartoon and comics.
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Elizabeth Moxley was a stage-director who helped Lee with scripts in his final years. She also finished his last Phantom stories after he died.  
  
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One of the great stories of popular culture is the following: During [[World War II]], when Hitler was broadcasting his weekly radio shows throughout Europe, announcing that he had destroyed America and blown the USA off the map’, the American comic strip, The Phantom, continued to be published in the newspapers; therefore, assuring to all, that ‘America was(and is) still there’!
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As a father, Falk emphasized traditional education and values. Although his popular writing emphasized classic values, he did not encourage his own children to read [[cartoon]]s, instead telling them stories from his cartoons in advance of publication. Falk used his children's responses to a new ''Phantom'' or ''Mandrake'' story to determine whether or not he would continue to use a specific plot or storyline. The primary message in his stories was based on the [[Maxim|maxims]] that “Might does not always equal Right"; and, "a quick mind with serious study and thought, leads to Success."
  
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Traditionally, newspaper cartoons and comic books presenting noble adventures, with forces of good overcoming evil in various sequences of stories, are more currently referenced as the [[Graphic Novel]] or [[Sequential Art]]. While what we call comics or cartoons, one of the few phenomenons of American [[Popular Culture]] along with [[Jazz]] and the ‘[[mystery]] and adventure [[novel]]'(first created by [[nineteenth-century writers]], [[James Fennimore Cooper]] and [[Edgar Allan Poe)]]are actually extolled by the [[French]] as genuine and original culture—at a time when Americans thought they had no culture. In fact, with the explosion of [[‘Pop Culture']] in the 1960s, Ph.D. candidates were writing their dissertations at the [[Sorbonne]] in Paris, on the 'Jungle Wisdom'in'The Phantom” and about the features of [[science fiction]] with the elegant character 'Mandrake the Magician' — the creations and continuous work of the famous cartoonist, playwright and theater director, Lee Falk. Also, Festivals in Spoleto, Italy celebrated the creative accomplishments of especially, the American cartoonists. Other good examples of noble adventure are the classic 'Prince Valiant', Will Eisner's 'The Spirit'; also, the gentle humor of Jerry Robinson's 'Flubs and Fluffs' and Charles Schulz's 'Peanuts', etc. Actually, the list is quite extensive and the good examples numerous for family-friendly Popular Culture.
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Advice to his children included, "find something that you love; and, if circumstances permit, work for free," and “You will have success and victory in spite of difficulties.”
  
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==Personal Life==
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Family life in [[New York City]] included family Sunday walks, visits to the city's great museums, the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], the [[Hayden Planetarium]] and the [[Natural History Museum]], art galleries, and theater visits and viewings. Weekends also included visits to the studios of artist friends, and attendance at theater events of fellow actors, directors, and producers.
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Lee Falk married three theater professionals: Louise Kanaseriff,stage actress/director and theater professor; and, mother of Valerie Falk, who beame a professional artist, teacher and writer;and, whose three children, Marie-Louise, Antony and Rondi are all very active and accomplished theater and education professionals.  
 
  
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Constance Moorehead Lilienthal, who in addition to having two children, Diane and Conley Falk, worked as a theater professional with her stage name, Constance Moorehead; she was often the leading lady for many of the Falk theater productions. She acted the lead parts in such classics as ''The Country Girl'',''The Glass Menagerie', and ''The Cocktail Party''. Constance Moorehead also performed Shakespeare and other great theater masterpieces.  
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Falk was a hobbyist chef, creating dishes from his own inspiration as well as from historical recipes. Eventually he published the ''[[Cartoonists Cookbook]]'' (with such recipes as "Eggs Falk to the Fourth Power"). It was created with friends and colleagues.
  
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Elizabeth Moxley (interestingly, he married Elizabeth, a respected stage-director, not long before he decided to marry 'The Phantom' and his longtime girlfriend Diana Palmer in The Phantom" strip). Elizabeth would sometimes help Lee with the scripts in his last years. She also finished his last Phantom stories after he died. Lee became the father of three children, Valerie (daughter of Louise Kanaseriff), and Diane and Conley (children of Constance Moorehead Lilienthal).
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Lee Falk lived for more than 40 years in [[New York City]], at [[The Beresford]] apartments with a panoramic view of the New York skyline and [[Central Park]]. Summers he spent with his family on [[Cape Cod]] where he invented 50 cent, 75 cent, and one dollar sunsets (these last were considered the most spectacular). Falk was surrounded by friends in the arts and literature, including [[Alan Lomax]] (with his own department at the [[Library of Congress]] for recording original music and dance of world cultures: [[Cantometrics]] and [[Choreometrics]]); collage and abstract expressionist painter, [[Shirlann Smith]], mosaic and community arts sculptor, [[Pedro Silva]], [[Pulitzer Prize]] winning author [[Norman Mailer]], [[Jack Kahn]] of ''The New Yorker Magazine,'' Mexican silversmith [[Xavier Gonzales]] and his wife, [[Ethel Edwards]], famous for her canvases, the series, ‘Moon Viewing Parties’, among others.
  
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As a father, he was supportive and inspiring to his family, especially to his children, always emphasizing traditional education and values. And, although his popular writing emphasized classic values, he did not encourage his own children to read cartoons. Instead, he loved to tell his stories, in advance of publication, especially to his children and family. Often, their response to a new 'Phantom' or 'Mandrake' story, would determine whether or not he would continue to use a specific plot or storyline. Always, with his stories, was the message, “Might does not always equal Right"; and, "a quick mind with serious study and thought, leads to Success".  
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He wrote his comic strips from 1934 until literally the last days of his life. In the hospital he tore off his oxygen mask to dictate more stories. Falk passed away in 1999.
  
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And further, lessons were offered with gentle hints of humor. He would say about courage (and The Phantom), ‘laugh in the face of DAN-ger”; or, to encourage careful thought before actions, he would say, T-H-I-N-Q!!(a humorous spelling for the word 'think').
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==Early Career==
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And, he was always inpiring with his imitation of the humorous [[Victor Borge]].
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When he began his comics-writing career Falk claimed falsely that he was an experienced, world traveler who had studied with [[Eastern mystics]]. He imagined this cast him as better equipped to write on globe-trotting [[hero]]es like "Mandrake the Magician" and "The Phantom." Later in life, he realized this claim of world travel, in part to avoid embarrassment when meeting genuine travelers wanting to swap anecdotes.
  
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And, when counseling his children about chosing a career, he would say, "find something that you love;and,would work for free.. ."
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When Falk first traveled to New York to introduce 'Mandrake the Magician' to [[King Features Syndicate]] it was the farthest he had ever been from home. To his surprise, "Mandrake" was accepted. At age 19, he signed a contract with the office of [[William Randolph Hearst]]. Falk drew the early episodes, but soon felt he was more of a writer and that the strip would benefit from a dedicated artist. He first worked with [[Phil Davis]], an older commercial illustrator from [[St. Louis]] who illustrated the strips while Falk, still in college, did the writing. Falk also brought [[Ray Moore]] on the team as inker for Davis' pencils.
  
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In talking to and counseling his children and family about failures or disappointments, he would say in a tone of [[faith]] and encouragement,“You will have success and victory in spite of these difficulties.”
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===War years===
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During [[World War II]], Falk worked as Chief of [[Propaganda]] for the new [[radio]] station [[KMOX]] in [[Illinois]], where he became the leader of the radio foreign language division of the [[Office of War Information]]. He also worked at the Headquarters office in [[Washington, DC]] with [[Alan Cranston]] who later became a [[United States Senate|U. S. Senator]] from [[California]].  
  
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And, although he always demonstrated a good sense of personal style (dressing well for elegance or casual-style as the occasion required), he would refer to persons whose ideas, in his opinion were in the wrong direction, as "stuffed shirts".
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During this time Cranston smuggled an unedited version of [[Mein Kampf]] out of [[Germany]], revealing that the previously edited version contained a completely "sanitized" content from this newly translated original. Falk and Cranston disseminated this version throughout the [[United States]] and the English-speaking world. As soon as [[Adolf Hitler]]'s real message was known, [[United Nations]] troops were sent to free all [[concentration camp]] victims throughout Europe. Hitler tried to sue Falk and Cranston without success.
  
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Growing-up in [[New York City]], there were many family Sunday walks in New York's [[Central Park]], and numerous visits to the great museums, the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], the [[Hayden Planetarium]] and the [[Natural History Museum]], with numerous art gallery and theater visits and viewings, created the experience of a rich cultural life. Also, a typical week-end would include visits to the studios of artist friends to see their 'works-in-progress'; and, attendance at the theater events of fellow actors, directors, producers, etc.
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One aspect of Falk's wartime service is the role played by cartoons and comics in the lives of young readers. Hitler's weekly [[radio]] broadcasts throughout [[Europe]] announced that [[America]] was destroyed and blown off the map. But readers noticed that the American comic strip, 'The Phantom', continued to be published in the newspapers, in this way assuring all, that ‘America was (and is) still there’.
  
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Lee Falk was also unique with his interest in creating gourmet foods both from his own inspiration and experimental cuisine as well as from unique historical recipes. One soup required rose petals; another recipe was for olives that were cooked within other ingredients for many days. Ultimately, the 'Cartoonists Cookbook'(including the recipe, "Eggs Falk to the Fourth Power") was created with friends and colleagues,including contributions from the famous [[Jerry Robinson]], President of the [[Cartoonists' Society]],and creator of 'Flubs and Fluffs'.
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==Comics==
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Falk had a fascination for stage [[magician]]s from his youth. He sketched the first few ''Mandrake the Magician'' [[comic strip]]s himself. When asked why the magician looked so much like himself, he replied, “Well, of course he did. I was alone in a room with a mirror when I drew him!”
  
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'Expressive sunsets' were also a great part of life with his family in the summers on [[Cape Cod]]. He would designate 'humorous financial values' to the different levels of beauty that he felt were represented in each sunset. For example, there were 50 cents, 75 cents and one dollar sunsets (these last were considered the most spectacular !!)
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'The Phantom' was inspired by Falk’s fascination for [[myth]]s and [[legend]]s like [[El Cid]], [[King Arthur]], [[Norse mythology|Norse]] and [[Greek mythology]], and popular fictional characters like [[Tarzan]] and Mowgli from [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s ''[[The Jungle Book]]''. Falk originally considered the idea of calling his character The Gray Ghost, but finally decided on "The Phantom." In an interview Falk revealed that [[Robin Hood]], who often wore tights in the stories about him, inspired the skin-tight costume of "The Phantom," which is known to have influenced the entire superhero-industry.
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{{readout||right|250px|Lee Falk's [[comic strip]] character 'The Phantom' inspired the costumed image of what has today become known as the "superhero."}} 
  
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Lee Falk lived for more than forty years in New York City, at [[The Beresford]],in an apartment with a panoramic view of the New York skyline and Central Park; and, during the summers, he and his family lived in a house on [[Cape Cod]] (Truro, Massachusetts),with strong circles of friends in the arts and literature, such as [[Alan Lomax]] (with his own department at
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In the ''A&E Phantom Biography'' (on the [[A&E Biography]] channel), he explained that [[Greek art|Greek busts]] inspired him to not depict The Phantom’s eye pupils when he wore his mask. The Greek busts had no pupils, which Falk felt gave them an inhuman, interesting look. 'The Phantom' inspired the image of what has today become known as the "[[superhero]]." Other features of [[Greek drama]] to which Falk adhered include: not showing violence (this may only be inferred); and the [[Aristotle|Aristotelean]] "unity of time" in which the 'real time' and 'fictional time' must match (i.e., two hours of the play or story must only be two hours of the lives of the characters).
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[[The Library of Congress]] for recording original music and dance of world cultures:[[Cantometrics]] and [[Choreometrics]]);the unique collage and abstract expressionist painter, [[Shirlann Smith]], the prominent mosaic and community arts sculptor,[[Pedro Silva]],
 
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[[Norman Mailer]](the [[Pulizer Prize]] winning author), [[Jack Kahn]] (of The New Yorker Magazine), [[Xavier Gonzales]] (the great Mexican silversmith), and his wife, [[Ethel Edwards]], famous for her canvases, the series, ‘Moon Viewing Parties’, and many more..
 
  
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Falk was a prolific writer. Besides his comics, he has written five of fifteen paperback novels about 'The Phantom'—the other ten being adapted from his treatments
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He adhered strictly to the [[Comics Code Authority|Comics Code]]—good must win over evil with every story and character. Falk thought that his comic strips would last a few weeks at best; however, he wrote them for more than six decades, until the last days of his life.
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[[King Features]] syndicates 'Mandrake the Magician' to more than two hundred newspapers in eight different languages and on six different continents. Now, as when it debuted, 'Mandrake' is admired for its tightly constructed plots, excellent dialogue, drama, and suspense. Falk began writing 'Mandrake the Magician' while studying at the [[University of Illinois]] during the [[Depression]]. In 1934, at the age of nineteen, while traveling through New York with his father, he stopped by [[King Features]] and offered his sequential art to them 'Mandrake the Magician' and 'The Phantom' have spread Falk's message of social tolerance, humanity, environmental awareness, and just plain "doing the right thing" to children and adults all over the world for more than sixty years.
 
  
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He literally wrote his comic strips from 1934 to the last days of his life, when in hospital he tore off his oxygen mask to dictate his stories; Lee Falk passed away in 1999 due to a complication of a health condition. However, his two characters, 'Mandrake the Magician' and,'The Phantom,' are still active and popular, both in comic books (the newest addition of the Phantom coming from [[Moonstone Books]]) and comic strips. New movie versions of both his creations are also on the schedule, with 'Mandrake' set to premiere first of them in 2008.
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In 1991 at the surprise 80th birthday for him at [[The Players Club]] in New York City, the famous cartoonist [[Jules Pfeiffer]] was quoted as saying:
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<blockquote>"The Phantom was the model for all superheroes who followed. Falk created mysterious universes with strange happenings before the era of [[television]]. The inspiration for much of the recent [[fantasy]] [[film]]s stems from the creation of characters like those he invented."</blockquote>
  
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==Creating 'Mandrake' and 'The Phantom'==
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''The Phantom'' has been translated into 15 languages and carried by more than five hundred newspapers in 40 countries.
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Falk had a fascination for stage magicians from his youth. According to his own reports, he sketched the first few 'Mandrake the Magician' strips himself. When asked why the magician looked so much like himself, he replied, “Well, of course he did. I was alone in a room with a mirror when I drew him!”
 
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[[King Features]] syndicates 'Mandrake' to more than two hundred newspapers in eight different languages and on six different continents. Now, as when it debuted, Mandrake is admired for its tightly constructed plots, excellent dialogue, drama, and suspense.
 
  
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===Mandrake and Lothar===
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Although Falk is considered first and foremost a [[comic strip]] writer, his mastery in fact lies in [[sequential literature]], the art of telling an in-depth, sometimes very detailed, continuing story in panel form. Sequential literature requires a compelling [[narrative]] with tightly constructed plots and rich, descriptive dialogue.
  
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'The Phantom' was inspired by Falk’s fascination for myths and legends, like the ones about [[''El Cid'']], [[King Arthur]], [[Nordic and Greek folklore]], and popular fictional characters like [[Tarzan]] and Mowgli from [['The Jungle Book]].' Falk originally considered the idea of calling his character The Gray Ghost, but finally decided that he preferred '''The Phantom'''. Referred to in the 'Phantom' stories as 'The Ghost Who Walks', the character, Kit Walker and his fiance and ultimate wife, Diana,survived many adventures and challenges. Falk revealed in an interview that [[Robin Hood]], who often wore tights in the stories about him, inspired the skin-tight costume of 'The Phantom', which is known to have influenced the entire superhero-industry. In the A&E Phantom biography, he also explained that [[Greek]] busts inspired the idea of The Phantom’s eye pupils not showing when he wore his mask. The Greek busts had no pupils, which Falk felt gave them an inhuman, interesting look. It is known that the look of 'The Phantom' inspired the look of what has today become known as the "[[superhero]]".
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In the fiercely competitive [[American cartoon strip industry]], reader loyalty is dictated by character consistency. 'The Phantom' and 'Mandrake the Magician' are the longest-running strips—a notable achievement.
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Falk thought that his comic strips would last a few weeks at best; however, he wrote them for more than six decades, until the last days of his life.
 
  
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At a 1991 surprise birthday 80th party for him at [[The Players Club]] in New York City (on the edge of Gramercy Park), the famous cartoonist [[Jules Pfeiffer]] was quoted as saying, "The Phantom" was the model for the superheroes that followed. Falk created mysterious universes with strange happenings, before the era of [[television]]. The inspiration for much of the recent fantasy films stems from the creation of characters like those he invented."
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'Mandrake' is a result of Falk's love for magicians and adventurers. As he explains, "I came up with the story of 'Mandrake the Magician' because I loved magicians like [[Houdini]] and the great adventurers, like [[Marco Polo]]. I have always read a lot of adventure, [[science fiction]], and [[detective novel]]s. 'Mandrake' is a combination of the great magicians, adventurers, and detectives I have always enjoyed reading about. 'Mandrake' is both a world traveler and an interplanetary traveler. He is a friend and a consultant to both the [[FBI]] and [[CIA]]."
  
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The most widely read superhero strip today, 'The Phantom' is translated into approximately fifteen languages and is carried by more than five hundred newspapers in forty countries.
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The unusual name, 'Mandrake', is derived from Falk's interest in great literature. The name comes from a poem by the seventeenth-century poet [[John Donne]]:
  
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==Theater==
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:''Go, and catch a falling star,  
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Another great passion for Falk was the theater. During a lifetime, he ran six theaters with another famous cartoonist, [[Al Capp]] (in Boston, Cambridge, Marblehead and Framingham, Massachusetts, and in New York City and Nassau, in the Bahamas) and produced more than 300 plays and theater productions, directing more than 100 of them. He wrote 12 plays, two of them musicals; "Happy Dollar" and "Mandrake the Magician", based on his comic strip creation. creation; two other brief plays that he wrote, 'Eris' and 'Home At Six' were written with stylized language in words of one syllable; produced together as one evening of theater in New York City, they are family dramas: 'Eris'(the Greek goddess of anger), also represents 'lost love'. After Falk's death, his widow Elizabeth directed a musical called "Mandrake the Magician and the Enchantress", written by Lee Falk, which was essentially the same as the previous "Mandrake the Magician" musical(performed in [[Tanglewood, Massachusetts]] in 1973). Some of his plays starred well-known actors like [[Marlon Brando]], [[Charlton Heston]], [[Celeste Holm]], [[Constance Moorehead]], [[Conrad Bain]], [[Basil Rathbone]], [[Chico Marx]], [[Ethel Waters]], [[Paul Newman]], [[Ezio Pinza]], [[James Mason]], [[Jack Warner]],
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:''Get with child a mandrake root.  
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[[Shelley Winters]], [[Farley Granger]], [[Eve Arden]], [[Alexis Smith]], [[Victor Jory]], [[Cedric Hardwicke]], [[Eva Marie Saint]], [[Eva Gabor]], [[Sarah Churchill]], James Donn, Eddie Bracken, Ann Corio, Robert Wilcox, and [[Paul Robeson]].
 
  
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He was especially proud of his professional relationship with the great Afro-American actor, [[Paul Robeson]]. This connection also enabled the desegregation of many theaters. Falk's personal beliefs are often mirrored in his writing and work. Many decades ago, his winter theater in [[Nassau, the Bahamas]], catered to the rich who lived and played in this British colony. Patrons of his theater included royals such as [[King Edward]], who left the throne for the love of [[Mrs. Simpson]]. Nassau was extremely segregated at this time, and the lush richness of the island and its society residents contrasted starkly with the extreme poverty of the majority of [[Bahamians]].
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[[Mandrake (plant)|Mandrake root]] was a medieval panacea used to bring fertility to women, soothe aches, and cure disease. Despite this quaint appellation, the name 'Mandrake the Magician' remains as timely and fresh when the strip began over 60 years ago; he remains a superhero who uses his wits and hypnotic power to battle and beat the villains. Able instantly to produce deep [[hypnosis]], Mandrake might disarm a gun-toting thug by making him think he is holding a banana. Then, using sleight of hand and [[telepathy]], he takes away the weapon.
  
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Theaters, like most public places, were segregated—though few of the black islanders could have afforded a ticket. Falk would often take his theater group down to the villages to bring some theater culture to churches and to the people.
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Falk engineered the first racially integrated [[superhero]] pair, teaming Mandrake with [[Lothar]], an African prince of the Federated Tribes who abdicated his throne to help Mandrake fight evil.
  
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Falk fought for civil rights for all people, before the [[1960's]] and the [[Civil Rights Movement]]. Falk's theater was one of the first integrated theaters. There was a prominent doctor, a surgeon, on the island. Falk invited many of the society patrons to a special assigned-seating show. During this show, he sat the wealthiest white, female patron next to the black doctor. Although this does not seem momentous now, during the 1940s and '50s, it was people like Lee Falk and his theater celebrities who gave the [[Civil Rights Movement]] it's great start."
+
Non-white action heroes have been rare in comic and [[superhero history]]. Lothar is an intelligent partner, not just a sidekick. The prince possesses a keen sense of [[humor]] and [[loyalty]]. In choosing a black partner for 'Mandrake', Falk was not trying to make a statement, but he succeeded in writing an intriguing and exciting story. Lothar was widely viewed as an equal to Mandrake back in the 1930s when such acceptance was not easily won. Describing their relationship, he explains that "'Mandrake' is an exceptional mental giant, who has abilities to trick others with his mind and abilities. 'Lothar' is a physical giant, but one who is gentle and intelligent. Originally, Lothar wore a turban, and leopard skin, but as he evolved into Mandrake's best friend, he changed. After [[World War II]], Lothar became modernized, lost the pidgin English [he spoke], and his costume changed to a shirt, riding pants, and boots."
  
−
And further, the actors were all paid to perform, but many of them worked on a fraction of what they would normally earn with their movie work. Falk was proud to report that Marlon Brando turned down an offer of $10 000 a week to act on Broadway, in favor of working for his Boston theater in 1953 in the play "Arms and the Man". His Boston contract was less than $500 a week.
+
Lothar originally was Mandrake's bodyguard, but this quickly changed. According to Falk, the play between Lothar and Mandrake is key to the story.
  
 +
He also comments that when [[''Defenders of the Earth'']], a combination of different classic cartoon characters, was developed for [[television]] in 1986, Lothar was not included on the promotional posters with Mandrake and Falk's other superheroes, 'The Phantom' and [[Flash Gordon]]. Falk insisted that the error be corrected. Lothar has always been a favorite among his readers and has been a particularly good role model for his young black readers.
  
−
Falk has involved himself and his talents with many politically correct and socially conscientious causes. "One thing we did that was great fun was during Nancy Reagan's 'Just Say No to Drugs' campaign. I was on a train with 'Mandrake' and 'The Phantom', and we would visit towns and the kids with this message. [[Nancy Reagan]] came by at one of the stops, and we had a great time."
+
===The Phantom===
 +
In 1936, Falk introduced his readers to a second action hero, 'The Phantom'. This was the first costumed superhero to appear in the comics.
  
−
==Awards and Recognition==
+
Because Falk grew up with the Tarzan stories and was intrigued with the richness of the [[African heritage]], he decided to set 'The Phantom' in Bangalla, a mythical jungle somewhere between [[Africa]] and [[India]]. He saw the wealth of detail and adventure he could put into his black-and-white strips using such a background.
−
Lee Falk won many awards for his dedication to the field of writing for comic strips and theater. Here are a selected few:
 
−
• [[The Yellow Kid Award]] (1971)
 
−
• [[The Roman Lifetime Achievement Award]]
 
−
• [[The Adamson Award]] for best foreign comics creator (Sweden, 1977)
 
−
• [[The Golden Adamson]] (Sweden, 1986)
 
−
• [[Silver T-Square Award]] ([[Reuben Award]], 1986)
 
−
• In May 1994, his birthplace [[St. Louis]] honored him with [[Lee Falk Day]].
 
−
On the premiere of 'The Phantom' movie starring [[Billy Zane]], Lee Falk received a letter from [[President Bill Clinton]], congratulating him with his achievements.
 
−
Lee Falk has also been nominated as a candidate for the [[St. Louis Walk of Fame]].  
 
  
−
=='Favorite Quotes'==
+
The continuing storyline allowed Falk to write about [[societal ill]]s. 'The Phantom' flourished because Falk dealt timely issues of most interest to his readers. The strip had story lines dealing with the [[environment]], [[international conflicts]], [[human rights]], and the [[women's movement]].
−
"I may not agree with your beliefs, but I defend your right to express them."
 
  
−
"I give 100% of my time to theatre, and what's left goes to comics..."
+
Falk likened the writing of plays to that of creating a comic strip. "I think the art of writing a comic strip is closer to the [[theater]] and to [[film]] technique than any other kind of writing I know. When I write stories for 'Mandrake' and 'The Phantom', I write a complete scenario for the artist in which I detail the description of the scene, the action, and the costumes. If new characters are introduced, I write descriptions and dialogue for each panel. With each scenario in front of him, a cameraman could take this and shoot it, or an artist can take it and draw it."
  
−
(When asked about his age): "Never older than age thirty-nine.”
+
==Theater==
 +
Falk's other great passion was [[theater]]. Over the course of his life he ran six theaters with the famous cartoonist, [[Al Capp]]. These were in [[Boston]], [[Cambridge]], [[Marblehead]] and [[Framingham]], [[Massachusetts]], [[New York City]], and [[Nassau]], in the [[Bahamas]].
  
−
"My only politics is up with democracy and down with dictatorships."
+
He produced more than 300 [[drama|play]]s and theater productions, directing more than 100 of them himself. He wrote 12 plays: two musicals ("Happy Dollar" and "Mandrake the Magician") based on his comic strip creations; two short plays ("Eris" and "Home At Six") written in a stylized language of one-syllable words, produced together as one evening of theater in New York City. Falk's are family dramas; 'Eris' (the Greek [[goddess]] of anger) also represents 'lost love'.  
  
−
"Each artist, out of his own interests and imagination, creates his own world in his strip – this is true of [[Peanuts]], [[Beetle Bailey]], [[Popeye]], all good cartoons.. And, you accomplish this, not by imitating others - you may create your own good idea. To me, 'The Phantom' and 'Mandrake the Magician' are very real - much more than the people walking around whom I don't see very much. You have to believe in your own characters."
+
His plays starred such well-known actors as [[Marlon Brando]], [[Charlton Heston]], [[Conrad Bain]], [[Basil Rathbone]], [[Chico Marx]], [[Paul Robeson]], [[Alexis Smith]], [[Victor Jory]], [[Cedric Hardwicke]], [[Paul Newman]], [[Ezio Pinza]], [[James Mason]], [[Jack Warner]], and [[Farley Granger]], and actresses including [[Eve Arden]], [[Ethel Waters]], [[Celeste Holm]], [[Constance Moorehead]], [[Shelley Winters]], [[Eva Marie Saint]], [[Eva Gabor]], and [[Sarah Churchill]].  
  
−
"The Phantom" is a marvelous role model because he represents the force of ‘goodness’ that wins over evil. Evil never triumphs against 'The Phantom'... He hates dictatorship and is in favor of democracy. He is also opposed to any violation of human rights."
+
After Falk's death, his widow Elizabeth directed a musical called "Mandrake the Magician and the Enchantress," written by Lee Falk, essentially a re-creation of the same musical performed in [[Tanglewood, Massachusetts]] in 1973.  
  
−
"I believe that politics belongs on the editorial page. But consider that 'The Phantom' and 'Mandrake the Magician' reach one hundred million readers a day. The messages goes out to more people than my personal efforts would reach."
+
Falk was proud of the many job opportunities that he created for actors, stage hands and general staff in both his theater productions as well as within the comic strip industry.
  
−
"Falk has always held that violence is unacceptable for a hero. "I don't believe in violence in comics," he affirms. "The Phantom' has never killed anybody in over sixty years. He has never shot an animal except to save someone. Instead of shooting, he will knock the wind out of someone, even though he could shoot the wings off a fly at a hundred yards."
+
He was especially proud of his professional relationship with the talented [[African-American]] actor, [[Paul Robeson]]. This connection made possible the [[Desegregation|desegregation]] of many theaters.  
  
−
Falk explains that he enjoys writing plays and likens writing one to creating a comic strip. "I think the art of writing a comic strip is closer to the theater and to film technique than any other kind of writing I know," he observes. "When I write stories for 'Mandrake' and 'The Phantom', I write a complete scenario for the artist in which I detail the description of the scene, the action, and the costumes. If new characters are being introduced, I write the descriptions and dialogue for each panel. With such a scenario in front of him, a cameraman could take this and shoot it, or an artist can take it and draw it."
+
Falk's personal beliefs are mirrored in his writing and work. Many decades ago, his winter theater in [[Nassau, the Bahamas]], catered to the rich who lived and played in this British colony. Patrons of his theater included royals such as [[Edward VIII of the United Kingdom|King Edward]], who left the throne for the love of [[Wallis Simpson|Mrs. Simpson]]. Nassau was extremely segregated at this time, and the lush richness of the island and its society residents contrasted starkly with the extreme poverty of the majority of [[Bahamians]].
  
−
==Comic Strips==
+
Theaters, like most public places, were officially segregated–though few of the black islanders could have afforded a ticket anyway. Falk would often take his theater group down to the villages to bring some theater culture to [[churches]] and to the people.
−
Although Lee Falk is considered first and foremost a [[comic strip]] writer, he is in fact a master of [[sequential literature]], the art of telling an in-depth, sometimes very detailed, continuing story in panel form. Sequential literature requires a great story to keep it going. It also needs very tightly constructed plots with rich, descriptive dialogue. Not an easy art to master.
 
  
−
If you consider the fiercely competitive [[American cartoon strip industry]], where reader loyalty is dictated by character consistency, you know that Falk is to be admired.
+
Falk fought for civil rights for all people before the 1960s and the [[Civil Rights Movement]]. Falk's theater was one of the first integrated theaters. There was a prominent doctor, a surgeon, on the island. Falk invited many of the society patrons to a special assigned-seating show. During this show, he sat the wealthiest white, female patron next to the black doctor, a radical act during the 1940s and 1950s.
  
−
When you realize that 'The Phantom' and 'Mandrake the Magician' are the longest-running strips still being created by their originator, you begin to think that he should even be deified.
+
Actors were all paid to perform, but many of them worked for a fraction of what they would normally earn in their movie work. Falk was proud to report that [[Marlon Brando]] turned down an offer of $10,000 a week to act on Broadway, in favor of working for his Boston theater in 1953 in a production of [[George Bernard Shaw]]'s "Arms and the Man." His [[Boston]] contract was less than $500 a week.
  
−
'Mandrake' is a result of Falk's love for magicians and adventurers. As he explains, "I came up with the story of 'Mandrake the Magician' because I loved magicians like [[Houdini]] and the great adventurers, like [[Marco Polo]]. I have always read a lot of adventure, science fiction, and detective novels. 'Mandrake' is a combination of the great magicians, adventurers, and detectives I have always enjoyed reading about. 'Mandrake' is both a world traveler and an interplanetary traveler. He is a friend and a consultant to both the [[FBI]] and [[CIA]]."
+
Falk also involved himself in other socially conscientious causes. "One thing we did that was great fun was during Nancy Reagan's 'Just Say No to Drugs' campaign. I was on a train with 'Mandrake' and 'The Phantom', and we would visit towns and the kids with this message. [[Nancy Reagan]] came by at one of the stops, and we had a great time."
  
−
The unusual name, 'Mandrake', is derived from Falk's lifelong interest in great literature. The name comes from a poem by the [[seventeenth-century]] poet [[John Donne]]:
+
When asked about what is next, Falk replies, "I continue to enjoy life, and I hope that the Phantom and Mandrake do also. I have been writing about them for so long. I feel that I am a chronicler of what they do: They are very strong characters with lives of their own. I am happily married with wonderful grown children and grandchildren. There is not a lot more one could ask for."
−
Poem by John Donne:
 
−
Go, and catch a falling star,
 
−
Get with child a mandrake root.  
 
−
[[Mandrake root]] was a medieval panacea used to bring fertility to women, soothe aches, and cure disease. Despite his quaint appelation,the'Mandrake the Magician' is still as timely and fresh as he was when the strip began sixty-one years ago.
 
  
−
'Mandrake' is a superhero who uses his wits and hypnotic power to battle and beat the villains. Able instantly to produce deep [[hypnosis]], Mandrake might disarm a gun-toting thug by making him think he is holding a banana. Then, using sleight of hand and telepathy, he takes away the weapon.
+
==Favorite Quotes==
  
−
Falk used 'The Phantom' and 'Mandrake the Magician' to show kids that 'might is not always right' and that 'a quick mind leads to success'. He also engineered the first
+
* "That which is Popular, is also Great." (He deeply believed that the majority of the people know what is right and best.)
−
"[[politically correct]]" [[superhero]] pair-up by teaming Mandrake with [[Lothar]], an African prince of the Federated Tribes who abdicated his throne to help Mandrake fight evil.
+
* "My only politics is: "up" with [[democracy]] and "down" with [[dictatorship]]s."
 +
* "The Phantom" is a marvelous role model because he represents the force of ‘goodness’ that wins over evil. Evil never triumphs against 'The Phantom'…. He hates dictatorship and is in favor of democracy. He is also opposed to any violation of [[human rights]]."
 +
* "I don't believe in violence in comics," he affirms. "The Phantom' has never killed anybody in over sixty years. He has never shot an animal except to save someone. Instead of shooting, he will knock the wind out of someone, even though he could shoot the wings off a fly at a hundred yards."
  
−
Non-white action heroes have been rare in comic and [[superhero history]]. Lothar is unique: He is a very real, intelligent partner—not just a sidekick. The prince also possesses a keen sense of humor and loyalty. In choosing a black partner for 'Mandrake', Falk was not trying to make a statement, but he succeeded in writing an intriguing and exciting story.
+
==Legacy==
  
−
Falk recollects that Lothar was widely viewed as an equal to Mandrake back in the 1930s, when such acceptance was not easily won. Describing their relationship, he explains that 'Mandrake' is an exceptional mental giant, who has abilities to trick others with his mind and abilities. Lothar is a physical giant, who is very gentle and also very intelligent. Originally, Lothar wore a turban, leopard skin, and shorts, but as he evolved into Mandrake's very best friend, he also changed. After [[World War II]], Lothar became modernized, lost the pidgin English [he spoke], and his costume changed to a shirt, riding pants, and boots."
+
[[King Features]] syndicates 'Mandrake the Magician' to more than two hundred newspapers in eight languages on six continents. Now, as when it debuted, 'Mandrake' is respected for its tightly constructed [[plot]]s, excellent dialogue, drama, and suspense. Falk began writing 'Mandrake the Magician' while studying at the [[University of Illinois]] during the [[Depression]]. Since then ''Mandrake the Magician'' and ''The Phantom'' have spread Falk's message of [[social tolerance]], [[humanity]], [[environmental awareness]], and plain, proper ethics, "doing the right thing." "The Phantom" and "Mandrake the Magician" are read by over a hundred million readers every day.
  
−
Lothar was originally Mandrake's bodyguard, but he quickly became more than an employee. According to Falk, the play between Lothar and Mandrake is key to the story.
+
Traditionally, newspaper cartoons and comic books portraying noble adventures in which forces of good overcoming [[evil]] in various sequences of stories are generally referred to as the [[Graphic Novel]] or [[Sequential Art]], which is one of the few [[Popular Culture|cultural phenomena]] with purely American roots, along with [[Jazz]], and the "[[Mystery (fiction)|mystery]] and [[adventure novel]]," (first created by [[nineteenth-century writers]], [[James Fenimore Cooper]] and [[Edgar Allan Poe]]). There was even scholarly research into such subjects as the 'Jungle Wisdom' in ''The Phantom'' and the features of [[science fiction]] in ''Mandrake the Magician.'' Festivals in [[Spoleto, Italy]] celebrated the creative accomplishments of American cartoonists, including ''Prince Valiant,'' Will Eisner's ''The Spirit,'' Jerry Robinson's ''Flubs and Fluffs,'' and [[Charles Schulz]]'s ''Peanuts.''
  
−
He also comments that when [['Defenders of the Earth']] was developed for television in 1986, Lothar was not included on the promotional posters with Mandrake and Falk's other superheroes, 'The Phantom' and [[Flash Gordon]]. Falk insisted that the error be corrected. Lothar has always been a favorite among his readers and has been a particularly good role model for his young black readers.
+
Falk played an important role in the desegregation of the theaters in [[Nassau]], the Bahamas in the 1950s, preceding the [[African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)|American Civil Rights]] era.
  
−
[[King Features Syndicate]] publishes 'Mandrake the Magician' to more than two- hundred newspapers in eight different languages and on six different continents. Now, as when it debuted, 'Mandrake' is admired for its tightly constructed plots, excellent dialogue, drama, and suspense.
+
===Awards and Recognition===
−
 
 
−
==A Jungle World==
 
−
In 1936, Falk introduced his readers to a second action hero, 'The Phantom'. This was the first costumed superhero to appear in the comics.
 
  
−
Because Falk grew up with the Tarzan stories and was intrigued with the richness of the African heritage, he decided to set 'The Phantom' in Bangalla, a mythical jungle somewhere between Africa and India. He saw the wealth of detail and adventure he could put into his black-and-white strips using such a background.
+
In May, 1994, Falk was honored by his hometown, [[St. Louis, Missouri]], with the establishment of [[Lee Falk Day]]. "I was in town for a comics conference," he explains. "I have a slide show called [['The Golden Age of Comics]],' which includes pictures and the history of comics from the [[Yellow Kid]] in 1895 up to the strips of the 1950s such as [[Peanuts]]. During that show they announced that I was to be honored and presented me with a beautiful certificate, which I have in my home." Falk has also been nominated as a candidate for the [[St. Louis Walk of Fame]].
  
−
The continuing storyline has allowed Falk to write about many societal ills. The Phantom has flourished because Falk has dealt with those timely issues of most interest to his readers. The strip has had story lines dealing with the environment, international conflicts, human rights, and the women's movement.
+
On the premiere of 'The Phantom' movie (1996) starring [[Billy Zane]],<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117331/ The Phantom (1996)].''imdb.com''. Retrieved December 1, 2008.</ref> Lee Falk received a letter from [[President Bill Clinton]], congratulating him with his achievements.
  
−
Falk states that he enjoys writing plays and likens writing one to creating a comic strip. "I think the art of writing a comic strip is closer to the theater and to film technique than any other kind of writing I know," he observes. "When I write stories for 'Mandrake' and
+
Some of Falk's awards include:
−
'The Phantom', I write a complete scenario for the artist in which I detail the description of the scene, the action, and the costumes. If new characters are being introduced, I write the descriptions and dialogue for each panel. With each scenario in front of him, a cameraman could take this and shoot it, or an artist can take it and draw it."
 
  
−
Falk is definitely a literary leader. His works within the [[comic genre]] are critically acclaimed both for their tight literary style and for their content and social value.
+
* [[The Yellow Kid Award]] (1971)
−
Born slightly more than a decade after the turn of the century, he has always been a step ahead of his time as an innovator and writer of American comics.
+
* [[The Roman Lifetime Achievement Award]]
 +
* [[The Adamson Award]] for best foreign comics creator (Sweden, 1977)
 +
* [[The Golden Adamson]] (Sweden, 1986)
 +
* [[Silver T-Square Award]] ([[Reuben Award]], 1986)
  
−
==A Worldwide Following==
+
===International recognition===
−
Among The Phantom's many fans are several pop-culture icons. [[Federico Fellini]], known for his [[avant-garde]] films such as [[La Dolce Vita]] and [[La Strada]], met Falk in the late 1930s.
+
[[Federico Fellini]], known for his [[avant-garde]] films such as [[La Dolce Vita]] and [[La Strada]], met Falk in the late 1930s. Later, as a popular director, Fellini said that he had always wanted to do a Mandrake film with Italian [[actor]] [[Marcello Mastroianni]] as the lead. Mastroianni himself was enthusiastic about the project, but, unfortunately, when Fellini died the project was never completed.
  
−
Later, when he was a popular director, Fellini said that he had always wanted to do a Mandrake film and he wanted [[Marcello Mastroianni]] to play the lead. Mastroianni himself was enthusiastic about the project, but, unfortunately, when Fellini died the project was never completed."
+
In [[Scandinavia]], "Phantom" fan clubs rival the [[Boy Scouts]] for size and good deeds. Even a king of [[Sweden]] has been a member of the Phantom Fan Club. The is a Phantom Theme Park in Gottesborg, Sweden.
  
−
'The Phantom' remains popular with international fans. In [[Scandinavia]], his fan clubs rival the [[Boy Scouts]] for size and good deeds; indeed, a king of [[Sweden]] has been a member of the Phantom Fan Club. There is also a [[Phantom Theme Park]] in Sweden.
+
In [[Haiti]], the Phantom's oath was taken by a group of revolutionaries during the tyrannical reign of [[Papa Doc Duvalier]]. Young officers swore to battle inhumanity and injustice by staging a revolution during a large parade. Unfortunately, the plan was leaked. The effort was foiled, and the young officers were never heard from again.
  
−
"I love to travel to other countries and meet fans of Mandrake and The Phantom," Falk says. "I have heard some great stories from people I have met."
+
==Notes==
 +
<references/>
  
−
In [[Haiti]], the Phantom's oath was taken by a group of revolutionaries during the tyrannical reign of [[Papa Doc Duvalier]]. The story is that a group of young officers swore to battle inhumanity and injustice by staging a revolution during a large parade. Unfortunately, the plan was leaked. The effort was foiled, and the young officers were never heard from again.
+
==References==
 +
*Falk, D. M. E-Journal, "Youth Issues and Media Influences," The World Media Association, [www.wmassociation.com]. (Spring, 2006).
 +
*Falk, Lee. ''Mandrake the Magician''. Grosset & Dunlap, 1979. ISBN 978-0448164731
 +
*Harris, Bill and Bill Lignante. ''The Phantom The Complete Series: The Gold Key Years Volume One''. Hermes Press, 2011. ISBN 978-1613450055
 +
*Hurd, J. "The Phantom - 60th Anniversary," ''Cartoonist PROfiles'' No. 110 (June 1996): 16-28. ISSN 0008-7068
 +
*Horne, M. ''The Golden Age of Comics No.3: The Phantom.'' New York, NY: Nostalgia Press Inc., 1969. 3-4.
 +
*Illenberger, Theodora. ''The Cartoonist Cookbook.'' New York, NY: Hobbs Dorman & Company, 1966. {{ASIN|B000NZZY1C}}
 +
*Madison, B. "Master Magicians & Phantoms—Lee Falk," ''Scarlet Street: The Magazine of Mystery and Horror'' No. 22, (1996): 47-50. ISSN 1058-8612.
 +
*Murray, W. ''The Phantom: Official Movie Magazine'' Starlog Group Inc., 1996. 48-51. OCLC 174150969
 +
*Shepherd, Jim and Barry Stubbersfield. ''Lee Falk's The Phantom Encyclopedia.'' Sydney: Frew Publications, 2007. OCLC 225393636
 +
*Szadkowski, J. "Father of the Phantom," ''The World & I: The Magazine for Serious Reading,'' (November 1995): 136-143. ISSN 0887-9346
 +
*Tollin, A. "A Visit with Lee Falk," ''Comics Revue'' 1 (27) (1988): 2, 44, 48, 65. OCLC 12730925
 +
*Van Hise, J. ''King Comic Heroes.'' Las Vegas, NV: Pioneer Books, 1988, 44-65. {{ASIN|B001DJ4NGY}}
  
−
While honored as a continuous contributor to [[American popular culture]],he was also honored in May, 1994, by his hometown, [[St. Louis]], with his very own [[Lee Falk Day]]. "I was in town for a comics conference," he explains. "I have a slide show called
+
*''The Phantom Diary 1993.'' Sydney: Mallon Publications, 1992.  
−
[['The Golden Age of Comics]],' which includes pictures and the history of comics from the [[Yellow Kid]] in 1895 up to the strips of the 1950s such as [[Peanuts]]. At that slide show, they announced that I was being honored and presented me with a beautiful certificate, which I have in my home."
+
*''Obituaries in the News,'' The Wire - News from the Associated Press, March 14, 1999. ISSN 1472-443X
 +
*Cartoonist PROfiles, No. 27 (September 1975), 20-24. ISSN 0008-7068
  
−
Before the end of his life, when asked about what is next, Falk replied, "I continue to enjoy life, and I hope that the 'Phantom' and 'Mandrake' do also. I have been writing about them for so long. I feel that I am a chronicler of what they do: They are very strong characters with lives of their own. I am happily married with wonderful grown children and grandchildren. There is not a lot more one could ask for."
+
==External Links==
−
As he concluded every story that he ever wrote with the words, --To Be Continued—
+
All links retrieved October 25, 2022.
−
We may observe here that all of his creative contributions continue to be important to readers and fans everywhere; and,therefore,are —to be continued--.
+
*[http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-lee-falk-1081509.html Obituary: Lee Falk] ''The Independent''. March 19, 1999.
 +
*[http://articles.latimes.com/1996-06-10/entertainment/ca-13477_1_phantom-head 'The Phantom's' Father Is a Pretty Legendary Figure Too] ''Los Angeles Times''. June 10, 1996.
 +
*[http://articles.latimes.com/1999/mar/16/news/mn-17848 Lee Falk; Created 'The Phantom,' 'Mandrake the Magician' Comics] ''Los Angeles Times'' Obituaries. March 16, 1999.
 +
*[http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/1999/mar/20/guardianobituaries Daily dose of thrills Lee (Leon) Falk, strip-writer, born April 28, 1911; died March 13, 1999] ''The Guardian''. March 19, 1999.
 +
*[http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/5153024 Lee Falk's The Phantom Encyclopedia]. by Jim Shepherd, Barry Stubbersfield. ''bookcrossing.com''. 
 +
* Bryan Shedden, [http://www.deepwoods.org/lee_falk2.html Lee Falk Father of the Phantom 1911 - 1999]. ''deepwoods.org''.  
  
 +
[[Category:Biography]]
 +
[[Category:Art, music, literature, sports and leisure]]
 +
[[category:Writers and poets]]
 
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Latest revision as of 19:00, 25 October 2022

Lee Falk
Lee Falk.jpg
Birth name Leon Harrison Gross
Born April 28, 1911
St. Louis, Missouri
Died March 13, 1999
New York City
Nationality
Flag of the United States.svg
American
Area(s) Writer
Notable works The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician
Awards Adamson Award, Silver T-Square Award

Leon Harrison Gross (alias Lee Falk), (April 28, 1911 - March 13, 1999), was considered a talent in music, art, theater, and writing. Falk was best known as creator of popular comic strip superheroes 'The Phantom', and 'Mandrake the Magician' who at the height of their popularity bragged over a hundred million readers daily. Falk's 'The Phantom' inspired the costumed image of what has today become known as the "superhero."

Falk also contributed to a series of novels about the 'Phantom'. He wrote five of 15 paperback novels about The Phantom. (The other ten were adapted from his writings.) The film 'The Phantom' (Paramount, 1996) was produced only after years of script revisions as Falk demanded wholesome, family-friendly subject-matter. He vetoed numerous scripts over many years before giving his approval. His two characters, 'Mandrake the Magician' and 'The Phantom,' are still active and popular, both in comic books and newspaper comic strips.

As a playwright and theatrical director/producer Falk directed such actors as Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, Paul Newman, Chico Marx, and Esther Waters.

Biography

Leon Gross was born to Benjamin Gross and Eleanor Alina in St. Louis, Missouri, where he spent his childhood and youth. Both of his parents were Jewish. They met in a traveling theater troupe in Ohio. Benjamin Gross died when Leon was a child; Eleanor remarried Albert Falk Epstein, who became Lee's father figure. Leon used his mother's name in different forms in both Mandrake and Phantom stories. Other family names that became part of Falk's stories included Valerie, Conley, and Diane.

Leon changed his surname after college when he learned he had been adopted. He was treated by his stepfather as an equal to his brother, and took the middle name of his stepfather, "Falk," but "Lee" was his nickname from childhood. His younger half-brother, Leslie, a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, (whom Lee helped support through university) also took the name "Falk." Leslie A. Falk became a medical administrator known for his work in the eradication of miners' disease, colloquially known as Black Lung.

Lee Falk was married three times, all to theater professionals. His first wife, Joy Hume, was the daughter of medical missionaries in Sichuan, China, and wrote a book about her parents' experience. Their four children, Gail, Ted, Don, and Beth, became lawyers and educators with significant influence in the Civil Rights movement beginning in the 1960s.

Louise Kanaseriff, stage actress/director and theater professor was the mother of Valerie Falk who became a professional artist, teacher and writer.

Constance Moorehead Lilienthal, mother of Diane and Conley Falk, worked as a theater professional using the stage name Constance Moorehead. She was leading lady for many Falk theater productions, including lead roles in The Country Girl, The Glass Menagerie, and The Cocktail Party. Constance Moorehead also performed Shakespeare and other theater masterpieces.

Elizabeth Moxley was a stage-director who helped Lee with scripts in his final years. She also finished his last Phantom stories after he died.

As a father, Falk emphasized traditional education and values. Although his popular writing emphasized classic values, he did not encourage his own children to read cartoons, instead telling them stories from his cartoons in advance of publication. Falk used his children's responses to a new Phantom or Mandrake story to determine whether or not he would continue to use a specific plot or storyline. The primary message in his stories was based on the maxims that “Might does not always equal Right"; and, "a quick mind with serious study and thought, leads to Success."

Advice to his children included, "find something that you love; and, if circumstances permit, work for free," and “You will have success and victory in spite of difficulties.”

Family life in New York City included family Sunday walks, visits to the city's great museums, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Hayden Planetarium and the Natural History Museum, art galleries, and theater visits and viewings. Weekends also included visits to the studios of artist friends, and attendance at theater events of fellow actors, directors, and producers.

Falk was a hobbyist chef, creating dishes from his own inspiration as well as from historical recipes. Eventually he published the Cartoonists Cookbook (with such recipes as "Eggs Falk to the Fourth Power"). It was created with friends and colleagues.

Lee Falk lived for more than 40 years in New York City, at The Beresford apartments with a panoramic view of the New York skyline and Central Park. Summers he spent with his family on Cape Cod where he invented 50 cent, 75 cent, and one dollar sunsets (these last were considered the most spectacular). Falk was surrounded by friends in the arts and literature, including Alan Lomax (with his own department at the Library of Congress for recording original music and dance of world cultures: Cantometrics and Choreometrics); collage and abstract expressionist painter, Shirlann Smith, mosaic and community arts sculptor, Pedro Silva, Pulitzer Prize winning author Norman Mailer, Jack Kahn of The New Yorker Magazine, Mexican silversmith Xavier Gonzales and his wife, Ethel Edwards, famous for her canvases, the series, ‘Moon Viewing Parties’, among others.

He wrote his comic strips from 1934 until literally the last days of his life. In the hospital he tore off his oxygen mask to dictate more stories. Falk passed away in 1999.

Early Career

When he began his comics-writing career Falk claimed falsely that he was an experienced, world traveler who had studied with Eastern mystics. He imagined this cast him as better equipped to write on globe-trotting heroes like "Mandrake the Magician" and "The Phantom." Later in life, he realized this claim of world travel, in part to avoid embarrassment when meeting genuine travelers wanting to swap anecdotes.

When Falk first traveled to New York to introduce 'Mandrake the Magician' to King Features Syndicate it was the farthest he had ever been from home. To his surprise, "Mandrake" was accepted. At age 19, he signed a contract with the office of William Randolph Hearst. Falk drew the early episodes, but soon felt he was more of a writer and that the strip would benefit from a dedicated artist. He first worked with Phil Davis, an older commercial illustrator from St. Louis who illustrated the strips while Falk, still in college, did the writing. Falk also brought Ray Moore on the team as inker for Davis' pencils.

War years

During World War II, Falk worked as Chief of Propaganda for the new radio station KMOX in Illinois, where he became the leader of the radio foreign language division of the Office of War Information. He also worked at the Headquarters office in Washington, DC with Alan Cranston who later became a U. S. Senator from California.

During this time Cranston smuggled an unedited version of Mein Kampf out of Germany, revealing that the previously edited version contained a completely "sanitized" content from this newly translated original. Falk and Cranston disseminated this version throughout the United States and the English-speaking world. As soon as Adolf Hitler's real message was known, United Nations troops were sent to free all concentration camp victims throughout Europe. Hitler tried to sue Falk and Cranston without success.

One aspect of Falk's wartime service is the role played by cartoons and comics in the lives of young readers. Hitler's weekly radio broadcasts throughout Europe announced that America was destroyed and blown off the map. But readers noticed that the American comic strip, 'The Phantom', continued to be published in the newspapers, in this way assuring all, that ‘America was (and is) still there’.

Comics

Falk had a fascination for stage magicians from his youth. He sketched the first few Mandrake the Magician comic strips himself. When asked why the magician looked so much like himself, he replied, “Well, of course he did. I was alone in a room with a mirror when I drew him!”

'The Phantom' was inspired by Falk’s fascination for myths and legends like El Cid, King Arthur, Norse and Greek mythology, and popular fictional characters like Tarzan and Mowgli from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. Falk originally considered the idea of calling his character The Gray Ghost, but finally decided on "The Phantom." In an interview Falk revealed that Robin Hood, who often wore tights in the stories about him, inspired the skin-tight costume of "The Phantom," which is known to have influenced the entire superhero-industry.

Did you know?
Lee Falk's comic strip character 'The Phantom' inspired the costumed image of what has today become known as the "superhero."

In the A&E Phantom Biography (on the A&E Biography channel), he explained that Greek busts inspired him to not depict The Phantom’s eye pupils when he wore his mask. The Greek busts had no pupils, which Falk felt gave them an inhuman, interesting look. 'The Phantom' inspired the image of what has today become known as the "superhero." Other features of Greek drama to which Falk adhered include: not showing violence (this may only be inferred); and the Aristotelean "unity of time" in which the 'real time' and 'fictional time' must match (i.e., two hours of the play or story must only be two hours of the lives of the characters).

He adhered strictly to the Comics Code—good must win over evil with every story and character. Falk thought that his comic strips would last a few weeks at best; however, he wrote them for more than six decades, until the last days of his life.

In 1991 at the surprise 80th birthday for him at The Players Club in New York City, the famous cartoonist Jules Pfeiffer was quoted as saying:

"The Phantom was the model for all superheroes who followed. Falk created mysterious universes with strange happenings before the era of television. The inspiration for much of the recent fantasy films stems from the creation of characters like those he invented."

The Phantom has been translated into 15 languages and carried by more than five hundred newspapers in 40 countries.

Mandrake and Lothar

Although Falk is considered first and foremost a comic strip writer, his mastery in fact lies in sequential literature, the art of telling an in-depth, sometimes very detailed, continuing story in panel form. Sequential literature requires a compelling narrative with tightly constructed plots and rich, descriptive dialogue.

In the fiercely competitive American cartoon strip industry, reader loyalty is dictated by character consistency. 'The Phantom' and 'Mandrake the Magician' are the longest-running strips—a notable achievement.

'Mandrake' is a result of Falk's love for magicians and adventurers. As he explains, "I came up with the story of 'Mandrake the Magician' because I loved magicians like Houdini and the great adventurers, like Marco Polo. I have always read a lot of adventure, science fiction, and detective novels. 'Mandrake' is a combination of the great magicians, adventurers, and detectives I have always enjoyed reading about. 'Mandrake' is both a world traveler and an interplanetary traveler. He is a friend and a consultant to both the FBI and CIA."

The unusual name, 'Mandrake', is derived from Falk's interest in great literature. The name comes from a poem by the seventeenth-century poet John Donne:

Go, and catch a falling star,
Get with child a mandrake root.

Mandrake root was a medieval panacea used to bring fertility to women, soothe aches, and cure disease. Despite this quaint appellation, the name 'Mandrake the Magician' remains as timely and fresh when the strip began over 60 years ago; he remains a superhero who uses his wits and hypnotic power to battle and beat the villains. Able instantly to produce deep hypnosis, Mandrake might disarm a gun-toting thug by making him think he is holding a banana. Then, using sleight of hand and telepathy, he takes away the weapon.

Falk engineered the first racially integrated superhero pair, teaming Mandrake with Lothar, an African prince of the Federated Tribes who abdicated his throne to help Mandrake fight evil.

Non-white action heroes have been rare in comic and superhero history. Lothar is an intelligent partner, not just a sidekick. The prince possesses a keen sense of humor and loyalty. In choosing a black partner for 'Mandrake', Falk was not trying to make a statement, but he succeeded in writing an intriguing and exciting story. Lothar was widely viewed as an equal to Mandrake back in the 1930s when such acceptance was not easily won. Describing their relationship, he explains that "'Mandrake' is an exceptional mental giant, who has abilities to trick others with his mind and abilities. 'Lothar' is a physical giant, but one who is gentle and intelligent. Originally, Lothar wore a turban, and leopard skin, but as he evolved into Mandrake's best friend, he changed. After World War II, Lothar became modernized, lost the pidgin English [he spoke], and his costume changed to a shirt, riding pants, and boots."

Lothar originally was Mandrake's bodyguard, but this quickly changed. According to Falk, the play between Lothar and Mandrake is key to the story.

He also comments that when ''Defenders of the Earth'', a combination of different classic cartoon characters, was developed for television in 1986, Lothar was not included on the promotional posters with Mandrake and Falk's other superheroes, 'The Phantom' and Flash Gordon. Falk insisted that the error be corrected. Lothar has always been a favorite among his readers and has been a particularly good role model for his young black readers.

The Phantom

In 1936, Falk introduced his readers to a second action hero, 'The Phantom'. This was the first costumed superhero to appear in the comics.

Because Falk grew up with the Tarzan stories and was intrigued with the richness of the African heritage, he decided to set 'The Phantom' in Bangalla, a mythical jungle somewhere between Africa and India. He saw the wealth of detail and adventure he could put into his black-and-white strips using such a background.

The continuing storyline allowed Falk to write about societal ills. 'The Phantom' flourished because Falk dealt timely issues of most interest to his readers. The strip had story lines dealing with the environment, international conflicts, human rights, and the women's movement.

Falk likened the writing of plays to that of creating a comic strip. "I think the art of writing a comic strip is closer to the theater and to film technique than any other kind of writing I know. When I write stories for 'Mandrake' and 'The Phantom', I write a complete scenario for the artist in which I detail the description of the scene, the action, and the costumes. If new characters are introduced, I write descriptions and dialogue for each panel. With each scenario in front of him, a cameraman could take this and shoot it, or an artist can take it and draw it."

Theater

Falk's other great passion was theater. Over the course of his life he ran six theaters with the famous cartoonist, Al Capp. These were in Boston, Cambridge, Marblehead and Framingham, Massachusetts, New York City, and Nassau, in the Bahamas.

He produced more than 300 plays and theater productions, directing more than 100 of them himself. He wrote 12 plays: two musicals ("Happy Dollar" and "Mandrake the Magician") based on his comic strip creations; two short plays ("Eris" and "Home At Six") written in a stylized language of one-syllable words, produced together as one evening of theater in New York City. Falk's are family dramas; 'Eris' (the Greek goddess of anger) also represents 'lost love'.

His plays starred such well-known actors as Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, Conrad Bain, Basil Rathbone, Chico Marx, Paul Robeson, Alexis Smith, Victor Jory, Cedric Hardwicke, Paul Newman, Ezio Pinza, James Mason, Jack Warner, and Farley Granger, and actresses including Eve Arden, Ethel Waters, Celeste Holm, Constance Moorehead, Shelley Winters, Eva Marie Saint, Eva Gabor, and Sarah Churchill.

After Falk's death, his widow Elizabeth directed a musical called "Mandrake the Magician and the Enchantress," written by Lee Falk, essentially a re-creation of the same musical performed in Tanglewood, Massachusetts in 1973.

Falk was proud of the many job opportunities that he created for actors, stage hands and general staff in both his theater productions as well as within the comic strip industry.

He was especially proud of his professional relationship with the talented African-American actor, Paul Robeson. This connection made possible the desegregation of many theaters.

Falk's personal beliefs are mirrored in his writing and work. Many decades ago, his winter theater in Nassau, the Bahamas, catered to the rich who lived and played in this British colony. Patrons of his theater included royals such as King Edward, who left the throne for the love of Mrs. Simpson. Nassau was extremely segregated at this time, and the lush richness of the island and its society residents contrasted starkly with the extreme poverty of the majority of Bahamians.

Theaters, like most public places, were officially segregated–though few of the black islanders could have afforded a ticket anyway. Falk would often take his theater group down to the villages to bring some theater culture to churches and to the people.

Falk fought for civil rights for all people before the 1960s and the Civil Rights Movement. Falk's theater was one of the first integrated theaters. There was a prominent doctor, a surgeon, on the island. Falk invited many of the society patrons to a special assigned-seating show. During this show, he sat the wealthiest white, female patron next to the black doctor, a radical act during the 1940s and 1950s.

Actors were all paid to perform, but many of them worked for a fraction of what they would normally earn in their movie work. Falk was proud to report that Marlon Brando turned down an offer of $10,000 a week to act on Broadway, in favor of working for his Boston theater in 1953 in a production of George Bernard Shaw's "Arms and the Man." His Boston contract was less than $500 a week.

Falk also involved himself in other socially conscientious causes. "One thing we did that was great fun was during Nancy Reagan's 'Just Say No to Drugs' campaign. I was on a train with 'Mandrake' and 'The Phantom', and we would visit towns and the kids with this message. Nancy Reagan came by at one of the stops, and we had a great time."

When asked about what is next, Falk replies, "I continue to enjoy life, and I hope that the Phantom and Mandrake do also. I have been writing about them for so long. I feel that I am a chronicler of what they do: They are very strong characters with lives of their own. I am happily married with wonderful grown children and grandchildren. There is not a lot more one could ask for."

Favorite Quotes

  • "That which is Popular, is also Great." (He deeply believed that the majority of the people know what is right and best.)
  • "My only politics is: "up" with democracy and "down" with dictatorships."
  • "The Phantom" is a marvelous role model because he represents the force of ‘goodness’ that wins over evil. Evil never triumphs against 'The Phantom'…. He hates dictatorship and is in favor of democracy. He is also opposed to any violation of human rights."
  • "I don't believe in violence in comics," he affirms. "The Phantom' has never killed anybody in over sixty years. He has never shot an animal except to save someone. Instead of shooting, he will knock the wind out of someone, even though he could shoot the wings off a fly at a hundred yards."

Legacy

King Features syndicates 'Mandrake the Magician' to more than two hundred newspapers in eight languages on six continents. Now, as when it debuted, 'Mandrake' is respected for its tightly constructed plots, excellent dialogue, drama, and suspense. Falk began writing 'Mandrake the Magician' while studying at the University of Illinois during the Depression. Since then Mandrake the Magician and The Phantom have spread Falk's message of social tolerance, humanity, environmental awareness, and plain, proper ethics, "doing the right thing." "The Phantom" and "Mandrake the Magician" are read by over a hundred million readers every day.

Traditionally, newspaper cartoons and comic books portraying noble adventures in which forces of good overcoming evil in various sequences of stories are generally referred to as the Graphic Novel or Sequential Art, which is one of the few cultural phenomena with purely American roots, along with Jazz, and the "mystery and adventure novel," (first created by nineteenth-century writers, James Fenimore Cooper and Edgar Allan Poe). There was even scholarly research into such subjects as the 'Jungle Wisdom' in The Phantom and the features of science fiction in Mandrake the Magician. Festivals in Spoleto, Italy celebrated the creative accomplishments of American cartoonists, including Prince Valiant, Will Eisner's The Spirit, Jerry Robinson's Flubs and Fluffs, and Charles Schulz's Peanuts.

Falk played an important role in the desegregation of the theaters in Nassau, the Bahamas in the 1950s, preceding the American Civil Rights era.

Awards and Recognition

In May, 1994, Falk was honored by his hometown, St. Louis, Missouri, with the establishment of Lee Falk Day. "I was in town for a comics conference," he explains. "I have a slide show called 'The Golden Age of Comics,' which includes pictures and the history of comics from the Yellow Kid in 1895 up to the strips of the 1950s such as Peanuts. During that show they announced that I was to be honored and presented me with a beautiful certificate, which I have in my home." Falk has also been nominated as a candidate for the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

On the premiere of 'The Phantom' movie (1996) starring Billy Zane,[1] Lee Falk received a letter from President Bill Clinton, congratulating him with his achievements.

Some of Falk's awards include:

  • The Yellow Kid Award (1971)
  • The Roman Lifetime Achievement Award
  • The Adamson Award for best foreign comics creator (Sweden, 1977)
  • The Golden Adamson (Sweden, 1986)
  • Silver T-Square Award (Reuben Award, 1986)

International recognition

Federico Fellini, known for his avant-garde films such as La Dolce Vita and La Strada, met Falk in the late 1930s. Later, as a popular director, Fellini said that he had always wanted to do a Mandrake film with Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni as the lead. Mastroianni himself was enthusiastic about the project, but, unfortunately, when Fellini died the project was never completed.

In Scandinavia, "Phantom" fan clubs rival the Boy Scouts for size and good deeds. Even a king of Sweden has been a member of the Phantom Fan Club. The is a Phantom Theme Park in Gottesborg, Sweden.

In Haiti, the Phantom's oath was taken by a group of revolutionaries during the tyrannical reign of Papa Doc Duvalier. Young officers swore to battle inhumanity and injustice by staging a revolution during a large parade. Unfortunately, the plan was leaked. The effort was foiled, and the young officers were never heard from again.

Notes

  1. ↑ The Phantom (1996).imdb.com. Retrieved December 1, 2008.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Falk, D. M. E-Journal, "Youth Issues and Media Influences," The World Media Association, [www.wmassociation.com]. (Spring, 2006).
  • Falk, Lee. Mandrake the Magician. Grosset & Dunlap, 1979. ISBN 978-0448164731
  • Harris, Bill and Bill Lignante. The Phantom The Complete Series: The Gold Key Years Volume One. Hermes Press, 2011. ISBN 978-1613450055
  • Hurd, J. "The Phantom - 60th Anniversary," Cartoonist PROfiles No. 110 (June 1996): 16-28. ISSN 0008-7068
  • Horne, M. The Golden Age of Comics No.3: The Phantom. New York, NY: Nostalgia Press Inc., 1969. 3-4.
  • Illenberger, Theodora. The Cartoonist Cookbook. New York, NY: Hobbs Dorman & Company, 1966. ASIN B000NZZY1C
  • Madison, B. "Master Magicians & Phantoms—Lee Falk," Scarlet Street: The Magazine of Mystery and Horror No. 22, (1996): 47-50. ISSN 1058-8612.
  • Murray, W. The Phantom: Official Movie Magazine Starlog Group Inc., 1996. 48-51. OCLC 174150969
  • Shepherd, Jim and Barry Stubbersfield. Lee Falk's The Phantom Encyclopedia. Sydney: Frew Publications, 2007. OCLC 225393636
  • Szadkowski, J. "Father of the Phantom," The World & I: The Magazine for Serious Reading, (November 1995): 136-143. ISSN 0887-9346
  • Tollin, A. "A Visit with Lee Falk," Comics Revue 1 (27) (1988): 2, 44, 48, 65. OCLC 12730925
  • Van Hise, J. King Comic Heroes. Las Vegas, NV: Pioneer Books, 1988, 44-65. ASIN B001DJ4NGY
  • The Phantom Diary 1993. Sydney: Mallon Publications, 1992.
  • Obituaries in the News, The Wire - News from the Associated Press, March 14, 1999. ISSN 1472-443X
  • Cartoonist PROfiles, No. 27 (September 1975), 20-24. ISSN 0008-7068

External Links

All links retrieved October 25, 2022.

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