''Silly Philly'' was the first comic strip by

Bil Keane William Aloysius "Bil" Keane (October 5, 1922 – November 8, 2011) was an American cartoonist most notable for his work on the newspaper comic ''The Family Circus''. It began in 1960 and continues in syndication, drawn by his son Jeff Kean ...

, most noted for the long-running comic ''

The Family Circus ''The Family Circus'' (originally ''The Family Circle'', also ''Family-Go-Round'') is a syndicated comic strip created by cartoonist Bil Keane and, since Bil's death in 2011, is currently written, inked, and rendered (colored) by his son, Jef ...

''. ''Silly Philly'' ran from April 27, 1947, to September 3, 1961. In 1947, Keane created 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 ...

while working for the ''

Philadelphia Bulletin The ''Philadelphia Bulletin'' was a daily evening newspaper published from 1847 to 1982 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the largest circulation newspaper in Philadelphia for 76 years and was once the largest evening newspaper in the United ...

''.Bil Keane Cartoons 1954-1966
Syracuse University, 21 Jul 2009, Retrieved 11/30/2010 The main character was a goofy, juvenile

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy an ...

, who had somehow jumped down from his 37' statue on the tower of City Hall in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and become something of a scamp. The cartoon often featured jokes submitted by readers.Bil Keane Cartoons 1954-1966
Syracuse University, 21 Jul 2009, Retrieved 11/30/2010 The Sunday strip sometimes included ''Mirthquakers'', a puzzle and joke feature. Keane, a native Philadelphian, has occasionally brought the city into reminiscences in ''

Family Circus ''The Family Circus'' (originally ''The Family Circle'', also ''Family-Go-Round'') is a syndicated comic strip created by cartoonist Bil Keane and, since Bil's death in 2011, is currently written, inked, and rendered (colored) by his son, Jeff ...

'', which began in 1960.

References

External links

Bil Keane Cartoons 1954–1966
at Syracuse University (original ''Silly Philly'' artwork) American comic strips 1947 comics debuts 1961 comics endings Comics characters introduced in 1947 American comics characters Gag-a-day comics Fictional American people {{comic-strip-stub