Bil Keane:

America's "Family" Man

by

Mike Nappa

For over four decades now, Bil Keane has been an icon of American families through his timelessly popular comic strip, The Family Circus. Known as the "most widely syndicated comic panel on the planet," The Family Circus is printed in over 1500 newspapers and read by an estimated 188 million people each day. In this comic, Keane’s gentle brand of faith-based humor has entertained and taught us much about family life, family hopes, and family sorrows. Like few before him, Keane has become a mainstay of our culture—all from drawing silly little cartoons that speak to the heart of America.

Recently, Bil Keane was kind enough to grant FamilyFans Communications Inc. an exclusive interview. We’re proud to share Bil’s thoughts from that interview with you here…

FamilyFans Communications Inc: Thanks for taking time to chat with us, Bil. We’ll start off with the question we’re sure is burning on the hearts of [our] readers…What's the typical process you go through to create a Family Circus cartoon?

Bil Keane: The ideas are usually down long before I sit down to write the cartoon. I have 500-700 slips of paper in my file of ideas and quick drawings of ideas that I've had or received. I do my preliminary drawing on a tracing pad then size it and pencil it in. My finished sketches are sent to my son Jeff in California who does the inking. My readers know that Jeff is, in a sense, "warming up in the bull pen." He returns the finished cartoons to me and I send them to the syndicate for printing. I work about two months ahead.

FamilyFans: Many cartoonists younger than you have "burned out" and gone into early retirement. What keeps you fresh?

Keane: To me creating The Family Circus is pleasure. If you enjoy doing something you never get tired it. I enjoy the creative end of it. I enjoy the response I get from my readers. I have satisfaction from knowing I'm touching the lives of hundreds of millions of readers, especially because I know that, beyond entertainment, The Family Circus carries a message. It is true life and lets people know that the things that happen in one home, happen in every home.

FamilyFans: Has the fact that you are unafraid to write and speak about your Christian faith ever caused you problems as a cartoonist?

Keane: The majority of the reactions I've had to putting spirituality in the cartoon have all been positive. Early on, I would get a reaction from Christians saying "You shouldn't mention God on the comic page," today those people thank me. The editors, the readers, [and] the syndicate have all accepted it as a reflection of our family life. Occasionally I get gentle reactions from the Jewish community saying, "why do you need to mention Jesus, don't you know that you have lots of readers who don't believe the way you do?" I always write them back and thank them for their comments, but while I don't identify any particular denomination in the feature, I do indicate that they are Christians because that is the faith that was practiced in our family.

FamilyFans: What was your reaction to the recent passing of your colleague and friend, Charles Schulz?

Keane: Sparky had been a close friend for almost 40 years. I had really hoped that he would pull through this illness but when I heard that he was retiring in order to try to take the time to fight it, I knew it was serious. I had hoped he would be around for many years of retirement. Unlike many cartoonists, he personally did every stroke, every inking of every cartoon that was run. He was an icon in the comic industry and he deserved a rest. I talked to his wife Jeannie not long after his passing. People were saying that it was "ironic," "coincidental" or somehow "fitting" that he would pass away the night before his last cartoon. I told her that I thought it was providence, the hand of God and she said she felt the same way. Arizona Republic, the major daily paper in Arizona ran a full-color cartoon on it's cover that next day of the four Family Circus children kneeling in prayer with a single tear running down their cheeks. This was my tribute to the passing of a great man and friend.

FamilyFans: As you look back on the 40+ years you've been creating The Family Circus, what are your favorite memories of that time?

Keane: Naturally my favorite memories are the cartoons that really came out the way I intended them. I get a satisfaction each day when I see the feature in print and then the effort I put into the ideas or the drawing is all worth it. The other satisfaction is the response I get from readers whether about the Family Circus in general or a specific cartoon which has touched their life and brought a message or some happiness to them. One note I remember receiving was from a young mother of five preschool children. It was Christmas Eve. She finally had all the kids in bed, the presents were wrapped and under the tree. But her note to me said that she just couldn't go to bed that night without telling me how much the feature had meant to her. She shared with me how The Family Circus had touched here life throughout the past year, reflecting the family values she was trying to instill in her children.

FamilyFans: If you could give anything to today's families what would you want to give?

Keane: I guess I hope that people will see that the experiences, problems and events of their family are "normal," and common to other people’s family experience. The Family Circus family is, of course, idealized. But while the family structure in America has changed, "family" is still the common denominator. It is the backbone of America.

SIDEBAR

	The Family Circus was originally published in 1960 under the name, "Family Circle." However, after receiving objections from Family Circle magazine, Bil Keane renamed it, The Family Circus.
	The family in The Family Circus—Bill, Thel, Billy, Dolly, Jeffy, and PJ—is modeled after Bil Keane’s own family: Bil (of course), wife Thel, daughter Gail, and sons Neal, Glen, Christopher, and Jeff.
	Bil Keane passed his artist talents on to his children! His son, Glen Keane, is a directing animator for Disney, responsible for bringing to life Disney characters like Tarzan, The Little Mermaid, and The Beast (from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast). Another son, Jeff Keane, has been assisting Bil in creating The Family Circus since 1991.
	The Family Circus has been translated into dozens of languages and is read literally all around the world.
	Thanks to Solid Light apparel company, cartoons from The Family Circus are available on T-shirts, mouse pads, tote bags and more. (These are available at local Christian stores, or by calling Solid Light directly at 800- 726-9606.)
	Bil Keane now has nine grandchildren whom he says are his current inspiration for The Family Circus.