Miss Peach
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''Miss Peach'' was a syndicated
comic strip 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 ...
created by American cartoonist Mell Lazarus. It ran for 45 years, from February 4, 1957, to September 8, 2002.


Format and style

The
daily strip A daily strip is a newspaper comic strip format, appearing on weekdays, Monday through Saturday, as contrasted with a Sunday strip, which typically only appears on Sundays. They typically are smaller, 3–4 grids compared to the full page Sunday s ...
s often contained only a single panel. The format was "
gag-a-day A gag-a-day comic strip 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 ...
". The drawing was stylized: the children had tiny bodies and large heads with flounder faces (both eyes on the same side of the nose).


Publication history

The strip came into being because of a
United Features Syndicate United Feature Syndicate, Inc. (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media ( ...
talent search contest for new comic strips. Lazarus recalled, "I scanned the papers, and there was nothing about schools, so I invented ''Miss Peach''." Although he did not win the United Features contest, ''Miss Peach'' was launched in the ''
New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...
'' and eventually was published internationally in 300 newspapers.Roberts, Sam
"Mell Lazarus, Cartoonist of 'Miss Peach' and 'Momma,' Dies at 89,"
''New York Times'' (MAY 25, 2016).
In the 1990s, the title was changed to the more modern ''Ms. Peach''. For health reasons, Lazarus stopped drawing the strip in August 2002; the last ran on September 8. His other strip, '' Momma'', ran until 2016 due to Lazarus' death that year.


Characters and story

The strip was set in Kelly School, named after '' Pogo'' cartoonist
Walt Kelly Walter Crawford Kelly Jr. (August 25, 1913 – October 18, 1973) was an American animator and cartoonist, best known for the comic strip ''Pogo (comic strip), Pogo''. He began his animation career in 1936 at The Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney S ...
. In the summer, the scene usually shifted to a summer camp, Kamp Kelly. *Miss Peach, the main teacher, sweet and good natured, beloved by her students, although she can be firm. *Ms. Crystal, the octogenarian kindergarten teacher. She would sometimes ask Francine to watch her young charges. *Mr. J. W. Grimmis, pompous and somewhat grouchy principal *Mr. Musselman, gym teacher *Miss Peach's students, Marcia Mason, Ira Brown, Arthur Strimm, Francine, Freddy Foster, Lester Larson, Linda, Walter, Stuart, Sheila, Farley, and Desdemona In 1964, Lazarus commented, "The characters in ''Miss Peach'' are not actually modeled on real persons, with the possible exception of Lester, the skinny kid in the strip. Possibly the most loved character is Arthur, the dopey little kid." Comics historian
Don Markstein 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 ...
observed: :Her students, Arthur, Ira, Marcia and several others, tended to be hip, wisecracking types rather than typical media kids from before the 1950s. Another frequently seen supporting character was Miss Crystal, who was in her 80s and still teaching at Kelly. The strip was a success from the start, and quickly began generating paperback reprints. There were also a couple of comic books. Dell put out an issue in 1963, written and drawn not by Lazarus, but by Jack Mendelsohn (''Jackys Diary''). Six years later, Lazarus did a comic book special, ''Miss Peach Tells You How to Grow''. Lazarus, a staunch supporter of creators' rights, later moved from the ''Herald-Tribune'' to Creators Syndicate ('' Baby Blues'', ''Crankshaft'').


Controversy

The November 29, 1963, episode was pulled from syndication because one of the characters fantasized about saving the President of the United States' life—one week after
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
was assassinated. Cartoonists prepare their strips many weeks before publication.''
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''


In other media

In 1971, Miss Peach was adapted as an animated segment for the television series '' Curiosity Shop''. From 1982, several television movies were based on the strip: ''Miss Peach of the Kelly School'' featured Deborah Grover as Miss Peach and
puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...
s as the children (some voiced by
Martin Short Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian and American comedian, actor, and writer. Short is known as an energetic comedian who gained prominence for his roles in sketch comedy. He has also acted in numerous films and television ...
). These focused on special holidays, notably
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and
Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...
.


References

{{Reflist 1957 comics debuts 2002 comics endings American comics characters American comic strips Child characters in comics Comics about children Comics about women Comics characters introduced in 1957 Female characters in comics Gag-a-day comics