Douglas daily dispatch., 1927-12-11
BUD FISHER PRACTICAL JOKER
WELL ASAUTHOR OF A. MUTT
And JEFF, POPULAR COMIC STRIP

running at Emeryville. A hunch! Mr..
Mutt leaped from the window, gall
loped to Emeryville, arriving just in
time to put five snlackers on Bright
Skies at 300 to /, the actual odds. And
Bright Skies won!
From that day on, Mr. Mutt spent
his afternoon at Enleryville, and his
successes. as q picker were SO remark
able that within week he was the
feature of the pink race track extra.
incidentally, Nuts choices came
through h with astonishing regularity
and Nuts tips sold thousands OF pink
sporting extras.
Since that day of days for Bright
Skies, Augustus, Mutt has slammed,
banged, gagged and lodged across
more than 6O00 seven-column strips,
and he's q young man yet. Little JeIf
was not born until May, 1909.
A month after Augustus Mutt made
his first large killing at Emeryville,
the art editor of William r. Hearsts
San Francisco Examiner was commits
stoned to hire Mr.. Fisher.
How much does the Chronicle pay
you?" asked the art editor
Mr.. Fisher thought fast-so fast in
deed that his answer was several laps
ahead of fact.
"Thirty-five dollars" said Mr.. Fisher,
reaching for his hat.
Leave your hat lay" said the art
editor "We pay $45."
Before reporting for work on the
Examiner, Mr.. Fisher surrendered to
another inspiration He copyrighted
Augustus Mutt, not because he dis
trusted Mr.. Hearst, but merely be-l
cause he always acted on lunches
Little jeff was hardly well Of his first
ntt-given black eye when Mr.. Hearst
raised Mr.. Fishers wages to $100 a
week and ordered the three Of them
to New York.
After several rich months in New
York we find Mr.. Fisher listening to
Florence White of the New York
World. Mr.. White wanted him. but
Mr.. Hearst held the Fisher contract.
So good was Mr. Whites offer that
Mr.. Fisher tried a number of ingenious
ways to get himself fired. None
worked.
For example: Cigarette smoking was
forbidden in the part of the American
building where Mr.. Fisher worked, A
sign to that effect had been erected
by an anti-nicotine gentleman then
powerful to the organization. Mr..
Fisher, beholding this dignitary in his
office one afternoon, lit three Gig
arettes. With one in his mouth and
one in each hand he asked the re-
former if he had match.
GeUO1I1aoy MON o7~in6 tho OIItTa Op0
one, "do YOU know that I can dis
charge you for this?"
Listen" said Mr.. Fisher, "if you
can fire me now SO that it sticks, I'll
give. you $40, 600,
!. But it was not until 1915 that Mr..
Fisher left Mr.. Hearst John N.
Wheeler, president Of the Bell Syndi-
cate, offered him $1,000 week to draw
Mutt and Jeff for him SO that he
might sell them to newsp spapers
throughout the country. Mr.. Wheeler
posted $4,000 in bank in Mr.. Fishers
name to convince Mr. Fisher that he
meant business. Without further ado
Mr.. Fisher quit MI. Hearst, who imIne-
diately obtained an injunction. For a
year thereafter, while the courts were
catching up with the case, Mutt and
Jeff vanished from the newspapers.
Mr.. Fisher lived upon Mr.. Wheeler's
thousands and Mr. Hearst hired a
bright young man to draw Mutt and
Jeff. The bright young man turned
cut one day, although Mr.. Fishers
counter-injunction prevented d their
publication. Presently the courts de-
creed. that Mutt and Jeff were Mr..
Fishers, not Mr.. Hearsts. The
bustling pals began to appear in scores
of newspapers under the chaperonageI
of Mr.. Wheeler's syndicate.
Today Mr.. Fishers lads appear I'M
2O9 newspapers throughout the United
States, Canada, England, Germany and
South America. His income from this
strip alone is $4,000 a week. Mutt and
Jeff toys, movies, candy, crackers,
E = :. : :.