On Strips: Cartoonist as Celebrity

One thing that I think we frequently forget these days is that, back in the first half of the twentieth century, cartoonists were celebrities. They'd get paid to hawk wares the way pro athletes do today. Here's clearly-not-very-comfortable-in-front-of-a-camera Rube Goldberg in an educational short about perpetual motion. (Also, buy a Chevrolet!) And here's (in addition to the cast of the Blondie radio show) Alex Raymond encouraging people to join the Marines...And here's a Chicago Tribune promotion about the creation of paper featuring Chester Gould and Carey Orr...
Maybe it's just me, but I'm continually astounded that cartoonists used to be celebrated that much.

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