William Bendix (January 14, 1906 – December 14, 1964)

Bendix was a film, radio, and television actor, best remembered for the
title role in the movie The Babe Ruth Story (1948) and for his portrayal
of Chester A. Riley in radio and television’s The Life of Riley. He also
received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for 
Wake Island (1942).

 

William Bendix in a scene from “Lifeboat” (1944)

William Bendix and Claire Trevor in The Babe Ruth Story (1948)

1958

The first Mickey Mouse comic strip was published by King Features Syndicate
and first appeared in The New York Mirror, as a daily on Monday, January 13,
1930. They were scripted by Disney himself for the first few weeks with assistant
Win Smith as the inker. Smith was succeeded by Floyd Gottfredson who drew the
strip for 45 years until his retirement.   

Floyd Guttfredson

Walt Disney with Mickey Mouse

 
                 Burt Ward                                                       Adam West 

Batman is a television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same
name. It aired on the ABC-TV network for three seasons from Wednesday, January
12, 1966 to March 14, 1968 for a total of 120 episodes.

1940

The first Sunday strip of “Peanuts” 

Charles Monroe Schulz (November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000)

“Peanuts” is a syndicated daily and Sunday comic strip that was written
and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. It ran from October 2, 1950, to
February 13, 2000 and continued in reruns afterward. The strip made
it’s debut in Sunday papers "Peanuts" debuted in Sunday papers
across the United States.

Robert LeRoy Ripley (December 25, 1890 – May 27, 1949)

Cartoonist, and armature anthropologist Robert Ripley first called his cartoon
feature, originally involving sports feats, Champs and Chumps, and it premiered
on December 19, 1918, in the New York Globe (above). He began adding items not related to sports, and in October 1919 he changed the title to Believe It or Not. When
the Globe folded in 1923, Ripley moved to the New York Evening Post. The popular franchise was later adapted into a wide variety of formats, including radio, television,
a chain of museums, and a book series.

August 1, 2003