Billy Ireland
| Billy Ireland | |
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Billy Ireland at The Columbus Dispatch
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| Born | William Addison Ireland 1880 Chillicothe, Ohio |
| Died | May 29, 1935 (aged 54–55) Ohio |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist |
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Notable works
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The Passing Show |
William Addison "Billy" Ireland (1880 – May 29, 1935), a native of Chillicothe, Ohio, was a self-taught cartoonist well known throughout Ohio. The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum was named in his honor in 2009.
Shortly after his 1898 high school graduation, Ireland was hired by The Columbus Dispatch in Columbus, Ohio. Ireland worked his entire life for the Dispatch, drawing four to seven editorial cartoons each week in addition to his weekly feature, The Passing Show.
Ireland was best known for The Passing Show, which debuted on February 9, 1908, with its title inspired by George Lederer's The Passing Show (1894), the first successful American revue-format entertainment. In Ireland's full-page color Sunday strip, he commented on everything from local politics and visiting celebrities to the trials and tribulations of the Ohio State University football team. For the September 30, 1923 Passing Show page, Ireland created a character inspired by Ohio State's 1902 school song, "Carmen Ohio". The Passing Show came to an end on June 2, 1935, the Sunday following his death on May 29.
Comic strip historian Allan Holtz commented:
In 2003, his work was exhibited at Ohio State University's Cartoon Library & Museum, since renamed the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. Another exhibition of Ireland's work was mounted in 2010, as announced by the Museum's founding curator, Lucy Shelton Caswell:
The Elizabeth Ireland Graves Foundation is managed by the cartoonist's granddaughter, Sayre Graves. Kn September 2009, it was announced that the Ohio State University Board of Trustees approved a new name, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, in recognition of a $7 million gift from the Elizabeth Ireland Graves Foundation to support the renovation of the University's Sullivant Hall. The $20.6 million project was completed in 2013, and the Sullivant Hall houses both the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum and Ohio State's Department of Dance.
While at the Dispatch, Ireland mentored notable cartoonists Dudley Fisher and Milton Caniff.
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