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 a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...

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 ''Little Iodine'' is an American Sunday comic strip, created by Jimmy Hatlo, which was syndicated by King Features and ran from August 15, 1943 until August 14, 1983. The strip was a spin-off of '' They'll Do It Every Time'', an earlier Hatlo cr ...

'', 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 a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

, Scaduto attended high school at the

School of Industrial Art The High School of Art and Design is a career and technical education high school in Manhattan, New York City, New York State, United States. Founded in 1936 as the School of Industrial Art, the school moved to 1075 Second Avenue in 1960 and more ...

, where he focused on cartooning and won several awards. He also studied at the

Art Students League The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stud ...

. 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 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark" ...

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 Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

and the

Sunday strip The Sunday comics or Sunday strip is the comic strip section carried in most western newspapers, almost always in color. Many newspaper readers called this section the Sunday funnies, the funny papers or simply the funnies. The first US newspa ...

. 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, located between New Haven and Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the village of Devon and the borough of Woodmon ...

, 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, in Westchester County, New York, United States. The village is located on the east bank of the Hudson River, about north of New York City, and is served by the Philipse Manor stop on ...

, 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