Nicholas P. Dallis
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Nicholas Peter Dallis (December 15, 1911 – July 6, 1991), was an American
psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...
turned
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 ...
writer, creator of the
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
-style strips '' Rex Morgan, M.D.'', '' Judge Parker'' and ''
Apartment 3-G ''Apartment 3-G'' is an American newspaper soap opera comic strip about a trio of career women who share an apartment in Manhattan. Created by Nicholas P. Dallis with art by Alex Kotzky, the strip began May 8, 1961, initially distributed by t ...
''. Separating his comics career from his medical practice, he wrote under pseudonyms, Dal Curtis for ''Rex Morgan, M.D.'' and Paul Nichols for ''Judge Parker''.


Biography

Born in New York City, Nick Dallis grew up on Long Island. He graduated from
Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, United States. The college traces its origin to three Presbyterian m ...
in 1933 and from
Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...
's medical school in 1938 and married a nurse, Sarah Luddy. He decided to specialize in psychiatry, and after World War II, started a practice in
Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...
.Mendez, E. "Remembering the Girls Next Door: Alex Kotzky and ''Apartment 3-G''", 2006.
Allen Saunders Allen Saunders (April 24, 1899 – January 28, 1986) was an American writer, journalist and cartoonist who wrote the comic strips ''Steve Roper and Mike Nomad'', ''Mary Worth'' and ''Kerry Drake''. He is credited with being the originator of the ...
was chair at the time of the local mental hygiene center that invited him there, and in his autobiography, he recalled that Dallis approached him, as a well-known comics writer ('' Steve Roper and Mike Nomad'', '' Mary Worth''), about "his desire to write a comic strip, one tracing the history of medicine. I told him that, commendable as his idea was, such a feature would not succeed. Readers want entertainment, not enlightenment. But a story about a handsome young doctor's involvement with his patients might be a winner."


Comic strips

After further conversations with Saunders on strip writing, Dallis successfully launched his ''Rex Morgan, M.D'' in 1948. Later, he found himself working more with troubled youth in juvenile court, and from his experiences there, he conceived a second strip focused on the legal world, ''Judge Parker'', which took off in 1952 and also became successful. Both strips were in the soap opera tradition pioneered by Saunders, as continuities in which each story was basically distinct. And yet they differed from ''Mary Worth'' in centering on male protagonists who counseled their clients with professional advice as well as intervening to help them with personal problems. In addition, Dallis did manage to work in education and enlightenment for his readers, as well as entertainment. In 1958, he retired from medicine and moved to Arizona, where he continued to author his comics. In 1961, he launched his third strip, ''Apartment 3-G'', about three young women sharing a Manhattan apartment. Dallis died in 1991, but all three of his strips survived over the years (with ''Apartment 3-G'' ending in 2015), and as of 2023 ''Judge Parker'' and ''Rex Morgan, M.D.'' continue in syndication. He was later remembered by his successor on two of his strips, Woody Wilson, as "a prince among men... educated, kindly, compassionate, talented and generous."Boog, Jason. The Publishing Spot, June 21, 2007.
/ref> Wilson honored Dallis in a striking manner in the episodes of November 30 and December 1, 2015, by giving Rex and June's baby boy the second name "Dallis"; when asked by his daughter why he and June had chosen this name, Rex replied, "Nick Dallis was a very good friend of ours, Princess. We wanted to honor him!" ''Judge Parker'' and ''Rex Morgan, M.D.'' continue to honor Nick Dallis by sometimes letting their characters eat at a "Nick's Diner."


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dallis, Nicholas 1911 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American physicians 20th-century American writers American comics writers American psychiatrists Washington & Jefferson College alumni Writers from New York City