Roger Bradfield

Roger Martin Bradfield(September 22, 1924 – December 31, 2021) was an American children's books writer, illustrator, cartoonist, painter, and world traveller.
Bradfield was born in 1924 inWhite Bear, Minnesota,and was raised by his mother and grandmother.
Roger Bradfield won severalartcontests as a child and had early encouragement from his high school art teacher to pursue a career inthe arts. His preferred medium iswatercolor, although he has also proven himself to be proficient inpencil,penandink, andacrylic.
Bradfield worked on theGeneral Millscerealboxes of the early 1960s. These included children's cereals, such asKix,Trix,WheatiesandJets, among other work. He also worked onMr Bubbleand some projects for thePillsbury Company. In 1964, he did the spot illustrations for theBisquick Cookbookfor theBisquickbaking product. In 1968 Roger created the firstKeebler elvesfor a series of commercials forFilmFair, an animation studio, which were commissioned by Chicago ad agency,Leo Burnett.
"Jolly" Roger Bradfield is perhaps best known for his work as a children's book author and illustrator. He began his writing career when he was teaching himself how totype. Bored with the tutorials of histext book, Bradfield chose to practice his typing by writing something fun. Thus, his first bookThere's an Elephant in the Bathtubwas created. Bradfield went on to write and illustrate several other titles includingPickle-Chiffon Pie,Benjamin Dilley's Thirsty Camel,Giants Come in Different Sizes,The Flying Hockey Stick, andBenjamin Dilley's Lavender Lion. The "Jolly" Roger books are known mostly for their colorful illustrations and wildly imaginative stories.
Bradfield illustrated some of the earliestSesame Streetstorybooks, includingThe Together Book, the firstSesame Streetbook in the popularLittle Golden Booksline. He also illustratedBert's Hall of Great Inventions,Big Bird's Birthday Party, andSherlock Hemlock and the Great Twiddlebug Mystery.
His children's books have found a second life withPurple House Press—since 2004 the small press has reissued six of Bradfield's books.
From 1972 to 1978, Bradfield worked as anewspaper syndicatecartoonist creating thedailyandSunday comic stripDooley's World. The strip featured stories centering on a boy and his collection of livingtoys. These comics featured many uniquevisual gagsandpuns. The strip was distributed byKing Features Syndicate.
In addition to the little boy, Dooley, recurring characters were the Professor, a know-it-allwind-up toyfigure, Norman, a sophisticated and reflective wind-upknight, Thelma, an unhappy and bullyingrag doll, and Max, anintrovertedmouse.
Bradfield created vibrant and colorful paintings. These paintings mostly depict subjects that he found on his world travels and playful and fun images that he conjured up with his imagination. His preferred medium waswatercolor, but he also dabbled inacrylic,ink, andpencil.
He was also an extensive world traveller and visited and sketched in countries that includeGreece,Norway,Portugal,France,Italy,Mexico,England, andSpain. On one trip to Mexico, Bradfield's plane had a minor accident resulting in some damage to the plane's wing tanks. So, he enlisted the help of some of the local children getting them to patch the damage up with large wads ofbubble gum. The scheme did not work, as thegasolinemelted the bubble gum, but the plane managed to reach its destination safely anyway.
Bradfield and his wife, Joan, raised five children. He died on December 31, 2021, at the age of 97.
Dooley's World(King Features Syndicate 1972–1978)
Mini books forTonkathat came free with the purchases of some of their toy vehicles in the early 1970s:
Books that Roger Bradfield wrote or co-wrote, but did not illustrate:
Punch-out kits illustrated by Roger Bradfield forPillsbury: