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The ''Los Angeles Times'' Syndicate was a
print syndication Print syndication distributes news articles, column (periodical), columns, Editorial cartoon, political cartoons, comic strips and other features to newspapers, magazines and websites. The syndicates offer reprint rights and grant permissions to ...
service that operated from 1949 to 2000. Owned by the
Times Mirror Company The Times Mirror Company was an American newspaper and print media publisher from 1884 until 2000. History It had its roots in the Mirror Printing and Binding House, a commercial printing company founded in 1873, and the ''Los Angeles Times'' ...
, it also operated the ''Los Angeles Times'' Syndicate International; together the two divisions sold more than 140 features in more than 100 countries around the world. Syndicated features included
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
-winning commentators and
columnists A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...
, full news and feature services,
editorial cartoons A political cartoon, also known as an editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically co ...
and
comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...
, online products and photo and graphics packages.


History

The syndicate was founded in c. 1949 by the
Times Mirror Company The Times Mirror Company was an American newspaper and print media publisher from 1884 until 2000. History It had its roots in the Mirror Printing and Binding House, a commercial printing company founded in 1873, and the ''Los Angeles Times'' ...
as the Mirror Enterprises Syndicate. In the early 1960s the name was changed to the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, and was operated as a department of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' newspaper. Rex Barley was manager of the syndicate from 1950 until at least 1968. The syndicate acquired the New York City-based independent syndicate General Features Corp. in 1967 for approximately $1 million, retaining it as a separate entity."Times Mirror Company And General Features,"
''New York Times'' (January 4, 1967), p. 84.
In 1974, the L.A. Times Syndicate absorbed General Features into its own operations. In mid-1987, the Los Angeles Times Syndicate was the fifth-ranked syndication service, with 85 features. The
Tribune Company Tribune Media Company, also known as Tribune Company, was an American multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through Tribune Broadcasting, Tribune Media was one of the largest television broadcasting companies, owning 39 ...
acquired the Times Mirror Company in early 2000; upon completion of the merger, the L.A. Times Syndicate became a division of
Tribune Media Services Tribune Content Agency (TCA) is a syndication company owned by Tribune Publishing. TCA had previously been known as the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (CTNYNS), Tribune Company Syndicate, and Tribune Media ...
. The New York office closed June 1, 2000, while the Salt Lake City office closed on August 31, 2000. International work continues to be done in Los Angeles through the Tribune Content Agency. Several of the employees were offered follow on jobs with Tribune Media Services after the closing. The only strip that appeared to survive the merger was Dave Blazek and John Gilpin's '' Loose Parts''.


Comic strips and panels

Neither iteration of the syndicate ever produced a breakout comic strip; the most successful strips — '' Luther'', '' Napoleon and Uncle Elby'', ''Mr. Tweedy'' — tended to be inherited from other syndicates. Most Mirror Enterprise strips didn't last more than two or three years, and the company appeared to give up on syndicating comic strips after c. 1961. After a five-year hiatus, the newly named Los Angeles Times Syndicate picked up the distribution of comic strips again in 1965. It had a similar lack of long-term success, with most strips not lasting more than three of four year in syndication. The most popular strips that originated with the L.A. Times Syndicate were Ed Nofziger's ''Animalogic'' (11 years in syndication) and Lee Nordling's ''Sherman on the Mount'' (9 years). The syndicate also distributed Lou Grant's editorial cartoons from the 1950s through the 1980s.


Mirror Enterprises Syndicate (c. 1949–c. 1961)

* ''
Annie Oakley Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American marksman, sharpshooter and folk heroine who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West. Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoveris ...
'' by Bill Ziegler (1950–1952)"Bill Ziegler,"
''Who's Who of American Comic Books: 1928–1999''. Accessed Nov. 30, 2017.
* ''Dragnet'' by Mel Keefer and Bill Ziegler (1953–1954) * '' Hopalong Cassidy'' by Royal King Cole and Dan Spiegle (1949–1951) * ''The Life of General Ike'' by "staff artist" Bill MacArthur (1952) — "36-installment story strip" on the life of
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
* '' My Friend Irma'' by
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
, Jack Seidel, and
Dan DeCarlo Daniel S. DeCarlo (December 12, 1919 – December 18, 2001) was an American cartoonist best known for having developed the look of Archie Comics in the late 1950s and early 1960s, modernizing the characters to their contemporary appearance and es ...
(1951–1952) * '' Napoleon and Uncle Elby'' by Margot McBride (widow of strip creator Clifford McBride), Roger Armstrong, and Joe Messerli (1952–1961) — acquired from LaFave Newspaper FeaturesKnoll, Erwin. "Napoleon" Strip Moves To Mirror Syndicate," ''Editor & Publisher'' (September 20, 1952). Archived a
''Stripper's Guide''
Accessed Oct. 31, 2018.
* ''Soapy Waters'' by George Stallings & Kay Wright (February 7, 1955 – April 20, 1957) * ''Times Have Changed?'' by P. S. Clayton & Jack Chick (Nov. 16, 1953 – 1955) * ''Too Funny for Words'' by Courtney Dunkel (June 12 1950 – 1952) — wordless daily strip


Los Angeles Times Syndicate (1965–2000)

* ''Animalogic'' by Ed Nofziger (1967–1978) * ''Bonzer U'' by Kearney Egerton (1968) * ''Bush League'' by John Bianchi and Ken Shaw (1975) * ''Dallas'' by writer Jim Lawrence and artists Paul Chadwick, Ron Harris, and Deryl Skelton (1981–1984) * ''The DeBrees'' by Charles Barsotti and Kipp Schuessler (1975) * ''Drawn Out'' by Bill and Eric Teitelbaum (1980) * ''
Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist ''Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Jonathan Katz and Tom Snyder for Comedy Central. It originally ran from May 28, 1995, to February 13, 2002. The series starred the voice talents of Jonathan ...
'' by
Bill Braudis Bill Braudis is a writer, voice actor, and script-writing instructor from Boston, Massachusetts who has also done stand-up comedy. Career He started in stand-up in 1981, doing open mics at The Comedy Connection, in Boston and the Ding Ho, in Cam ...
and Dave Blazek, with artwork by Dick Truxaw (March 1997 – January 2000) * ''Et Tu'' by Dan Harpe (1975-1976) * ''Gerties Gig'' by Suzanne Farrow (1976) * ''Gleeb'' by Paul B. Lowney (1981-1985) * ''Grace and Looie'' by Al Wiseman (1966, 1973) * ''Guindon'' by Dick Guindon (1978–1981) * ''Homer's Groaners'' by Ed Stanoszek (1978-1979) * '' Jeff Cobb'' by Pete Hoffman (1974–1978)''Jeff Cobb''
at
Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on October 8, 2016.
— acquired from General Features Corp. * ''Lady Chatter'' by Nellie Caroll (1965–1966) * '' Legend of Bruce Lee'' by Sharman DiVono, Fran Matera, and Dick Kulpa (1982–1983) * ''Lord, I Said'' by Hank Hartmann and Martha Merrill (1978) * '' Loose Parts'' by Dave Blazek & John Gilpin (April 1998–December 2000; moved to
Tribune Media Services Tribune Content Agency (TCA) is a syndication company owned by Tribune Publishing. TCA had previously been known as the Chicago Tribune Syndicate, the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate (CTNYNS), Tribune Company Syndicate, and Tribune Media ...
) * '' Luther'' by Brumsic Brandon Jr. (1970–1986) — inherited from Newsday Specials * ''Mr. Tweedy'' by Ned Riddle (1974–1988) — continued from General Features Corp. * ''
Modesty Blaise ''Modesty Blaise'' is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by author Peter O'Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talen ...
'' (1976-1980) * ''My Stars'' by Ken Bruns (1976) * ''The Noob'' (1994) * ''Phoebe's Place'' by Bill Schorr (1990–1991) * ''Sherman on the Mount'' by Lee Nordling (1980–1989) * ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
'' by Thomas Warkentin, Sharman DiVono, Ron Harris,
Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His 1970 novel ''Ringworld'' won the Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus, Ditmar Award, Ditmar, and Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula award ...
,
Martin Pasko Martin Joseph "Marty" Pasko (born Jean-Claude Rochefort; August 4, 1954– May 10, 2020) was a Canadian comic book writer and television screenwriter. Pasko worked for many comics publishers, but is best known for his superhero stories for DC Com ...
, Padraic Shigetani, Bob Meyers,
Ernie Colón Ernesto Colón SierraColón in English translation of Via (July 13, 1931 – August 8, 2019) was a stateside Puerto Rican comics artist, known for his wide-ranging career illustrating children's, superhero, and horror comics, as well as main ...
,
Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" (" Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, science ficti ...
, and Dick Kulpa (Dec. 2, 1979 – Dec. 3, 1983) * ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' by Archie Goodwin,
Al Williamson Alfonso Williamson (March 21, 1931 – June 12, 2010) was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western, science fiction and fantasy. Born in New York City, he spent much of his early childhood in ...
, Russ Manning, Russ Helm,
Steve Gerber Stephen Ross Gerber (; September 20, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American comic book writer and creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. Other works include '' Man-Thing'', ''Omega the Unknown,'' ''Marvel Spotlight ...
, and
Alfredo Alcala Alfredo P. Alcala (August 23, 1925 – April 8, 2000) was a Filipinos, Filipino comics artist, born in Talisay, Negros Occidental, in the Philippines. Alcala was an established illustrator whose works appeared in the ''Alcala Komix Magazine''. ...
(1979–1984) * ''The Virtue of Vera Valiant'' by writer
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
"Stan Lee,"
''Who's Who of American Comic Books: 1928–1999''. Accessed Nov. 30, 2017.
and artists
John Buscema John Buscema ( ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, ; December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...
and Frank Springer (1976-1977) * '' Walt Kelly's Pogo'' by Larry Doyle and Neal Sternecky,"Neal Sternecky,"
''Who's Who of American Comic Books: 1928–1999''. Accessed Nov. 30, 2017.
Peter Sternecky, and Carolyn Sternecky (Jan. 1989 – Nov. 1993) * ''Why We Say'' by Robert Morgan and Pete Hoffman (1974–1978) — continued from General Features Corp.


See also

* Los Angeles Times–Washington Post News Service


References

{{reflist 1949 establishments in the United States 2000 disestablishments in the United States Comic strip syndicates Los Angeles Times Mass media companies of the United States Organizations established in 1949 Organizations disestablished in 2000 Tribune Publishing