The McNaught Syndicate was an American newspaper syndicate founded in 1922. It was established by Virgil Venice McNitt (who gave it his name) and Charles V. McAdam. Its best known contents were the columns by Will Rogers and O. O. McIntyre , the Dear Abby letters section and comic strips, including Joe Palooka and Heathcliff . It folded in September 1989.
20-713: Virgil McNitt (1881–1964) first tried his hand at publishing a magazine, the McNaught Magazine , which failed. He then, in 1910, started the Central Press Association syndication service, with offices in Cleveland, Ohio . In 1920, McNitt founded the Central Press Association of New York City. (Although both services had the same name, they were separate operations.) In 1922, McNitt and Charles V. McAdam (1892–1985) absorbed
40-511: A close relationship with Columbia, running advertisements for Columbia books in their own comic book titles. Columbia Comics' first published title was the anthology title Big Shot Comics , the premiere of which introduced Skyman and The Face . Big Shot Comics would run for 104 issues until 1949, when Columbia went out of business. Other titles published by Columbia included spinoff series from Big Shot Comics featuring Skyman (four issues) and The Face . Charles V. McAdam, president of
60-403: A new comics publishing company, Columbia Comics , which would carry both new comics and reprints of McNaught syndicated comics like Joe Palooka . The company existed until 1949 and is best remembered for their publication Big Shot Comics . The syndicate continued columns and strips which were already successful when acquired, but it also was active in creating and suggesting new content, from
80-528: A promotional item to consumers who mailed in coupons clipped from Procter & Gamble soap and toiletries products. The company printed 10,000 copies, and it was a great success. In 1937, the McNaught Syndicate partnered with Frank J. Markey (formerly a McNaught executive) and the Register and Tribune Syndicate , as well as with entrepreneur Everett M. "Busy" Arnold , to provide material to
100-580: A separate division specializing in producing material for small-town newspapers until ceasing operations in 1971. Strips and panels that originated with the Central Press Association, the North American Press Syndicate, or Editors' Feature Services: Columbia Comics Columbia Comics Corporation was a comic book publisher active in the 1940s whose best-known title was Big Shot Comics . Comics creators who worked for Columbia included Fred Guardineer , on Marvelo,
120-486: A sports column by Ed Bang. He hired Bryan to cover the 1912 Republican and Democratic National Conventions for the Central Press. He also made a deal with Addams to circulate her Progressive Party Platforms to newspaper across the country. In 1920, McNitt founded a separate, New York City-based Central Press Association, which was soon absorbed by his new McNaught Syndicate (founded in 1922). By 1925,
140-476: The Central Press Association, including the strips Brick Bradford and Chip Collins Adventures , and possibly ghosting for Gilbert Patten on Frank Merriwell 's Schooldays . Central Press didn't introduce any new comic strips after circa 1934; King Features took over syndication of all Central Press's strips circa 1937. Murray Rosenblatt was the managing editor of the Central Press from 1946 to 1961. The Central Press Association continued to operate as
160-528: The McNaught Syndicate became the production company for a few Heathcliff movies, including Heathcliff: The Movie from 1986. In addition to the list below, cartoons by Rube Goldberg and editorial cartoons by Reg Manning from 1948 to 1971, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1951 Central Press Association The Central Press Association was American newspaper syndication company based in Cleveland , Ohio . It
180-805: The Monarch of Magicians ; and Ogden Whitney and Gardner Fox on Skyman. Columbia Comics was formed in 1940 as a partnership between artist/editor Vin Sullivan , the McNaught Syndicate , and the Frank Jay Markey Syndicate to publish comic books featuring reprints of such McNaught and Markey comic strips as Joe Palooka , Charlie Chan , and Sparky Watts , as well as original features. Other properties published by Eastern Color Printing are also transferred to Columbia Comics. Eastern appears to have subsequently retained
200-479: The Will Rogers columns to comic strips like Don Dean's Cranberry Boggs . In one case, McNitt supported a crossover between the comic strips Joe Palooka and Dixie Dugan , a feat which was commented upon by Editor & Publisher . Their last success came with the comic strip Heathcliff , which they syndicated from the start in 1973 until the late 1980s. Heathcliff appeared in some 1,000 newspapers, and
220-547: The burgeoning comic book industry. For this reason, from 1937 until 1939, many of the syndicate's comic strips were reprinted in the comic book anthology Feature Funnies (published by Arnold). In 1939, Cowles Media Company (the Register and Tribune Syndicate's corporate owner) and Arnold bought out the McNaught and Markey interests. In 1939, the syndicate hired Vin Sullivan , then editor of Action Comics , to start
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#1732773268890240-557: The concept of "comic books" was getting off the ground, Eastern Color Printing published Funnies on Parade , which reprinted in color several comic strips licensed from the McNaught Syndicate, the Ledger Syndicate , Associated Newspapers , and the Bell Syndicate , including Ham Fisher 's Joe Palooka . Eastern Color neither sold this periodical nor made it available on newsstands , but rather sent it out free as
260-656: The managing editor of the Cleveland Press , founded the Central Press Association in Cleveland in 1910. In 1912, McNitt acquired the Chicago-based North American Press Syndicate and merged it into the Central Press. That same year, McNitt entered into arrangements to publish works authored by William Jennings Bryan and Jane Addams . Other early features were Bob Satterfield 's cartoons, Edna K. Wooley's column, and
280-560: The new plant. Virgil McNitt remained the president and general manager of the Central Press from its founding in 1910 until 1930, when he sold the service to King Features Syndicate , part of the Hearst newspaper syndicate, which retained the Central Press as a separate division. Frank McLearn was managing editor of the Central Press at the time of the sale, eventually becoming president and general manager of King Features Syndicate. William H. Ritt wrote sports features and comic strips for
300-680: The operations of the New York City Central Press Association and co-founded the McNaught Syndicate, with headquarters in The New York Times building. Will Rogers ' weekly column started in 1922 in 25 newspapers. By 1926, his daily column ran in 92 newspapers, and it reached 400 papers three years later, making him one of the best paid and most read columnists of the United States at the time. From 1925 until 1951, Charles Benedict Driscoll
320-608: The original Central Press's features had 12 million daily readers and was the largest newspaper picture service in the United States. In 1927, the Central Press also took over the Editors Feature Service and in August 1929 it acquired control of Johnson Features. Also in 1929, the company constructed a mechanical production plant in New York, again forming a Central Press Association of New York, Inc. to operate
340-523: The time of McNitt's death in 1964, the syndicate was still led by McAdam, providing contents to 1,000 newspapers. By 1987, McNaught had only 24 features left, making it the tenth largest comic strip syndicate in the United States at that time. The syndicate eventually folded in September 1989. One of the first syndicated artists was Rube Goldberg . McNaught's line-up of comic strips included Mickey Finn and Dixie Dugan . Ham Fisher 's Joe Palooka
360-419: Was at first rejected by McNitt, but Fisher was hired as a salesman for the syndicate, offering McNaught's features to newspapers. After having sold his comic to 20 newspapers, McNitt had to change his opinion and added Joe Palooka to the syndicate, becoming one of the big successes for it. By the mid-1930s, McNaught's stable of cartoonists included Fisher, John H. Striebel , and Gus Mager . In 1933, just as
380-471: Was in business from 1910 to 1971. Originally independent, it was a subsidiary of King Features Syndicate from 1930 onwards. At its peak, the Central Press supplied features, columns, comic strips , and photographs to more than 400 newspapers and 12 million daily readers. Notable comic strips that originated with Central Press include Brick Bradford , Etta Kett , and Muggs McGinnis (later titled Muggs and Skeeter ). Virgil Venice McNitt (1881–1964),
400-468: Was one of the editors and contributors for the syndicate. Writers syndicated by McNaught in those first years included Paul Gallico , Dale Carnegie , Walter Winchell and Irvin S. Cobb . By the early 1930s, the McNaught Syndicate had a stable which included columnists O. O. McIntyre and Al Smith and at one time even syndicated a letter by Albert Einstein . Other successes included columns by Dale Carnegie and Dear Abby by Abigail Van Buren . At
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