Dixie Duganis best known as a long-running syndicated newspapercomic strippublished from October 21, 1929 to October 8, 1966.[4]The title character was originally modeled after 1920s film actressLouise Brooksand early stories followed Dixie's exploits as a Hollywood showgirl.
| Dixie Dugan | |
|---|---|
 Dixie Duganas reprinted inBig Shot Comics#8 (December 1940). | |
| Author(s) | J. P. McEvoy(1929–1955) Amram Scheinfield (ghost,early 1930s)[1] Renny McEvoy (ghost mid-1930s – 1955, credited 1955–1966)[2][3] |
| Illustrator(s) | John H. Striebel |
| Current status/schedule | Concluded daily & Sunday strip |
| Launch date | October 21, 1929 |
| End date | October 8, 1966 |
| Alternate name(s) | Show Girl |
| Syndicate(s) | McNaught Syndicate |
| Publisher(s) | Columbia Comics |
| Genre(s) | romance, comedy, crime, suspense |
Novels
editDixie Duganfirst appeared in two slightly risqué novels written byJ. P. McEvoy,serialized in 1928-29 in the pages ofLiberty.McEvoy's novels were then published in book form bySimon & SchusterasShow Girl(1928) andHollywood Girl(1929). In the first story, Dixie begins as aBroadwaychorus girl, and in the second she moves toHollywood.[5]
The stories combine romance, glamour and a bit of scandal as Dixie pursues a career inshow business.The novel's illustrations byJohn H. Striebelshow a strong resemblance between Dixie Dugan and 1920s film actress Louise Brooks, complete with Brooks' then-fashionable "helmet" hairdo.
Comic strip
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Beginning in October 1929, writer McEvoy and Striebel teamed to produce a daily newspaper comic strip, syndicated by theMcNaught Syndicate.The name of the strip was originallyShow Girlbut changed toDixie Duganon December 23, 1929.[4]As time went by, the strip dropped the show business aspect, and Dixie became a career girl pursuing a more wholesome variety of jobs. The stories varied from romance and comedy to crime and suspense.
Other characters featured in the strip included Dixie's elderly parents Ma and Pa Dugan, her niece Imogene and Dixie's best friend Mickie. The strip added a popular feature also used byBill Woggonin hisKaty Keenecomic books: fashion designs for Dixie were submitted by fans and credited to them in the strip. In addition, when Dixie opened a small cafe, recipes were requested. When the action occurred on the town's streets, there was always in the background a bass player carrying his instrument on his back.
TheDixie DuganSunday page included atopper strip,Good Deed Dotty,which ran from February 5, 1933 to October 17, 1948.[6]
Striebel continued to work on the strip until the early 1960s, when he became ill. Streibel's assistants were Al Bare, Dave Huffine and Frank McNitt, the son of McNaught Syndicate co-founder Virgil McNitt. Striebel's daughter, Margery Ann Huffine, did the strip's lettering from the age of 14[7]and Ed Mann did the artwork.
Like many other popular newspaper comic strips, the daily strips were collected and reprinted in various early comic books beginning in the 1930s.
Films
editBoth novels were quickly adapted to movies, both starringAlice Whiteas Dixie Dugan and both produced byWarner Bros.:Show Girl(1928) andShowgirl in Hollywood(1930). The first film featured music and sound effects using theVitaphonesound-on-discsystem, while the second film was a talkie using the earlyWestern Electricsound-on-filmsystem. In 1943,Twentieth Century Foxproduced another film titledDixie DuganfeaturingLois Andrewsas the title character. By this time, Dixie had long since left behind her origins as a show girl. In this wartime movie, Dixie gets a job working as a secretary in a government office. Her new boss has a romantic interest in Dixie, but she remains faithful to her fiancé, a defense plant worker.
References
edit- ^Dixie Dugan Mystery solved
- ^Ink-Slinger Profiles: Renny McEvoy
- ^Dixie Dugan, Forgotten Working Girl
- ^abHoltz, Allan (2012).American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide.Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. p. 127.ISBN9780472117567.
- ^Markstein, Don."Dixie Dugan".Don Markstein's Toonopedia.Retrieved2 April2020.
- ^Holtz, Allan (2012).American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide.Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. p. 174.ISBN9780472117567.
- ^Lambiek: John H. Striebel
External links
edit- Show Girlon IMDb
- Showgirl in Hollywoodon IMDb
- Dixie DuganatIMDb
- Dixie DuganatDon Markstein's Toonopedia.Archivedfrom the original on September 9, 2015.
- Lambiek
- Dixie Dugan and Renny McEvoy
