Alvaro Scaduto (July 12, 1928 – December 8, 2007), better known as Al Scaduto, was a cartoonist noted for his 61-year span of work for

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is an American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product License, licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, columnist, newspape ...

on the classic strips, ''

They'll Do It Every Time ''They'll Do It Every Time'' is a single-panel newspaper comic strip, created by Jimmy Hatlo, which had a long run over eight decades, first appearing on February 5, 1929, and continuing until February 3, 2008. The title of the strip became a pop ...

'' and '' Little Iodine'', which

Jimmy Hatlo James Cecil Hatlo (September 1, 1897 – December 1, 1963), better known as Jimmy Hatlo, was an American cartoonist who in 1929 created the long-running comic strip and gag panel ''They'll Do It Every Time'', which he wrote and drew until his d ...

created. Born in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, Scaduto attended high school at the School of Industrial Art, where he focused on cartooning and won several awards. He also studied at the Art Students League. After graduating from the School of Industrial Art in 1946, he joined the art department at King Features, and two years later, he teamed with cartoonist Bob Dunn on ''They'll Do It Every Time''. Over a 14-year period, Scaduto drew both the ''Little Iodine'' newspaper strip and comic books. The character appeared in a series of 56

Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...

published between 1949 and 1962. Scaduto continued to work with Dunn after Hatlo's death in 1963.

Hatlo to Dunn to Scaduto

After Dunn's death in 1989, Scaduto took over ''They'll Do It Every Time'', doing the writing and art for both the daily and the

Sunday strip The Sunday comics or Sunday strip is the comic strip section carried in some Western newspapers. Compared to weekday comics, Sunday comics tend to be full pages and are in color. Many newspaper readers called this section the Sunday funnies, t ...

. He continued on the feature into his seventies, commenting, "What I like most about being a cartoonist is starting with a fresh piece of paper and ending up with an idea. You're the writer, the actor and the director. I never thought about retiring. I enjoy what I do." He often listened to opera while he worked. Rather than hire a new cartoonist after Scaduto's death, King Features chose to cancel ''They'll Do It Every Time'', and the last strip was published February 2, 2008. In addition to illustrating for magazines, ads and children's books, Scaduto designed greeting cards, games, toys and packaging.

Awards

In 1979, Scaduto and Dunn received the

National Cartoonists Society The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...

's Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award. In 1991, Scaduto was again honored with the same award.

Personal life

For his NCS profile, written in 2003, Scaduto described his personal life: "Married 50 years to Joyce Lawrence. Currently keeping company with fiancee Claire Adelman. Two daughters Deby and Patricia. Grandkids—Allison, Atticus & Lazarus." After the death of his wife in 2000, Scaduto moved to

Milford, Connecticut Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, between New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the Vill ...

, to live with his youngest daughter, Patricia Violette.

Death

Scaduto died December 8, 2007, in

Sleepy Hollow, New York Sleepy Hollow is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant, New York, Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. The village is located on the east bank of the Hudson River, about ...

, following a short-term illness."Al Scaduto, Comic Strip Artist, Dead At 79"

References

External links

The Comics Curmudgeon lengthy discussion of Al ScadutoObituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scaduto, Al 2007 deaths 1928 births American comic strip cartoonists Artists from the Bronx High School of Art and Design alumni