Walt Kelly

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Born of Irish-American heritage in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Walter Crawford Kelly, Sr. and Genevieve Kelly, Walt's family moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut during his second year.His father reportedly worked in a munitions plant although other sources report that Kelly's father was a painter of theatrical scenery. After graduating from Warren Harding High School in 1930, Kelly worked at odd jobs until he was hired as a crime reporter on the Bridgeport Post. He also took up cartooning and illustrated a biography of fellow Bridgeport native P. T. Barnum. Kelly was extremely proud of his journalism pedigree and considered himself a newspaper man as well as a cartoonist. Described as gruff on the exterior although reportedly personable, highly energetic and extroverted. Kelly liked most animals except for cats. He didn't like them, or said he didn't, according to his widow, Selby. When Kelly first saw a live opossum during a camping trip, he didn't know what it was and was "frightened to death," said Selby. His fascination with a Los Angeles production of Show Boat reportedly inspired the Southern setting of Pogo.... Mehr