On June 13, New York Daily News readers, and readers of 19 other newspapers around the country, will say good-bye to (Little Orphan) Annie, as the strip has been cancelled by its syndicator, Tribune Media Services after an amazing 86 year run.
Currently written & drawn by Jay Maeder & Ted Slampyiak, respectively, Annie made her debut in 1924, created, written, & drawn by Harold Gray, who drew all of his characters, Annie included, without pupils in their eyes. Annie has been fighting spies and assorted other villains for much of the series' run, including the current story arc, which will be the last. The strip was adapted first for television as part of a long forgotten 1-shot special, "Funny Papers", which aired in April 1970. I remember seeing pieces of this show, but you'd be hard pressed to find any prints of it today.
What most people will recall is the Broadway show, "Annie", which spawned the feature film of the same name, and the iconic ballad, "Tomorrow", which Annie sings while in the orphanage. These days, Annie hardly wears the equally iconic red & white dress anymore, since that would stand out when she's fighting bad guys.
Will this really be the end of "Annie"? No, I really don't think so. After all, the Broadway musical was revived, and there is a touring company that came through my area recently, which says that there is still interest in the character, such that another syndicator might come along and acquire the rights to the strip from Tribune. Consider that even though the late Charles Schulz's Peanuts ended 1st run publication some years back, reprints still are used as a testament to the series' enduring popularity. Annie won't go that same route, though. I don't know about you, but I think by this time next year, we'll be hearing about her return, proof positive that "the sun will come out tomorrow".
3 comments:
It will indeed be sad to see Little Orphan Annie pack it in. I'm not certain if it's still running in The Savannah News-Press but it was for a while...and it suffered the indignity of being on the same page as the announcements where people declare they won't be responsible for any debts incurred without their say-so.
Mark Evanier had an interesting take on the strip in that he never cared much for it when Harold Gray was running the store and that he preferred the Leonard Starr years. I think that has more to do with Mark's politics than any real appreciation of the strip; sure, Gray was a right-wing reactionary but also a damn good storyteller. My father and I, who used to marvel at the popularity of the Daddy Warbucks character (a war profiteer and damn proud of it), got a tremendous kick out of seeing Annie's guardian sing and dance with FDR in the 1982 John Huston movie based on the Broadway musical. Gray was probably turning over in his grave at the thought.
Ivan,
Do you remember seeing "Funny Papers"? All I remember is that I was in the hospital recouperating from a tonsilectomy at age 7, and I saw bits & pieces of this show.
I agree that Gray was probably spinning over the musical and the movie that followed. I don't think he'd imagined Annie ever going that route.
hob:
If I saw "Funny Papers" any memory of it was taken out with the trash ages ago. :-)
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