Leigh Falk . At the peak of their popularity, these comics attracted over 100 million readers every day. A playwright and theater director and producer, Falk was familiar with actors such as Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, Paul Newman, Chico Marx and Ethel Waters.
| Lee Falk | |
|---|---|
| Lee falk | |
| Birth name | Leon Harrison Gross |
| Date of Birth | April 28, 1911 |
| Place of Birth | St. Louis , Missouri , USA |
| Date of death | March 13, 1999 (87 years old) |
| Place of death | New York , USA |
| Citizenship |  USA |
| Occupation | writer , theater director , producer , animator |
| Awards and prizes | Adamson Award, Reuben Award |
Content
Biography
Falk was born in St. Louis, Missouri, into a Jewish family. His father, Benjamin Gross, died when Falk was a young boy, and after a while his mother Eleanor married Albert Falk-Epstein, who became the father of Falk and his brother Leslie. Falk changed his last name after graduating from college. He took the surname of his stepfather, but “Lee” was his nickname from childhood, so he also took this name. His brother Leslie also took the surname Falk. Many thought that when Falk began to draw comics, he was an experienced traveler. In fact, Falk was not a traveler. His trip to New York to air the first comic about Medrake the Wizard to publish King Features Syndicate was at that time the farthest of all. During World War II , Falk also worked as an advocate for the new KMOX radio station in St. Louis. Lee Falk was married three times, to Louise Canaseriff, to Constance Moorhead Lilienthal, and Elizabeth Moxley. Elizabeth also sometimes helped him in comic book scripts in the last years of her life. She even completed the latest Phantom stories after Lee Falk died. Falk became the father of three children, Valerie (marriage to Louise Canaseriff), Diana and Conley (marriage to Constance Moorhead Lilienthal). Falk died of heart failure in 1999. He lived the last years of his life in New York, and he spent the summer in a house on Cape Cod. He wrote his comics from 1934 until the last days of his life. There is a legend when in the hospital, Falk dropped his oxygen mask to dictate his stories. However, new comics about the Phantom, and Mandrake, are still being developed by other publishers. Falk is buried in the Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn.
Creating the Phantom and Madrake the Wizard
Falk loved wizards from childhood, according to his own recollections, he made the first drafts of the Wizard for himself. After the success of Madrake, in an interview, he was asked why Madrake is so similar to his creator. And then, Falk replied that when he created Madrake, he was sitting alone in a room in front of a mirror. After the character’s success, the King Futures Syndicate comic book publisher proposed the creation of a new character Falk. So the Phantom appeared. The writer created it based on the legends of King Arthur, tales of Robin Hood , Mowgli and Tarzan . Falk wanted to name the character "Gray Ghost", but such a character already existed, and in the end decided that the best option is Phantom. The phantom was the first superhero who wore a tight-fitting suit and mask, which greatly influenced the design of all subsequent superheroes. Falk originally thought his comics would be published for several weeks at best. However, he painted them for more than six decades, until the last days of his life.
Theater
Falk's next great passion after comics was theater. Over the course of his life, Falk wrote about 300 plays, including two musicals: The Happy Dollar and Madrake the Wizard, which were both based on his comics. Some of his plays attracted famous actors and actresses such as Marlon Brando , Charlton Heston , Celeste Holm , Constance Moore, Basil Rathbone , Chico Marx, Ethel Waters , Paul Newman , Ezio Pinza, James Mason , Jack Warner, Shelley Winters , Farley Granger , Yves Arden , Alexis Smith , Victor Jory , Cedric Hardwick , Eva Marie Saint, Eva Gabor, Sarah Churchill, James Donne, Eddie Bracken, Anne Corio, Robert Wilcox and Paul Robson .
Awards and Prizes
Falk has won numerous awards in the field of literature and theater:
- Yellow Kid Award (1971)
- Roman Lifetime Achievement Award
- Adamson Award for best foreign comics creator (Sweden, 1977)
- Golden Adamson (Sweden, 1986)
- National Cartoonists Society's Silver T-Square Award (1986)
- In May 1994, at the place where he was born, in St. Louis , a celebration began - Lee Falk Day.
In connection with the premiere of the film Phantom with Billy Zane , President Bill Clinton sent Falk a letter of congratulations and best wishes.
Quotes
- “I give 100% of my time to the theater, and what remains goes into comics ...”
- "My only policy is with democracy, not dictatorship."
- “For me, the Phantom and Madrake are real - much more than people I don’t notice. You must believe in your own characters. ”
- “The phantom is a wonderful role model because it defeats evil. Evil never wins ... He hates dictatorship, and acts in favor of democracy. He also opposes any violation of human rights. ”
Links
* Gifford, Denis (1999-03-19). " Obituary: Lee Falk (link unavailable) ." The Independent (London). Retrieved 2011-04-28.
* "United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch ( https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JB2K-BMF : accessed Mar 12, 2013), Leon Falk, March 13, 1999.
* Mandell, Jonathan (1996-06-10). " The Phantom's' Father Is a Pretty Legendary Figure Too ." The Los Angeles Times (link not available) . Retrieved 2011-01-13.
* Woo, Elaine (1999-03-16). " Lee Falk; Created 'The Phantom,' 'Mandrake the Magician' Comics '. The Los Angeles Times (link not available) . Retrieved 2011-01-13.
* Gifford, Denis (1999-03-19). " Obituary: Lee Falk (link unavailable) ." Independent (inaccessible link) Retrieved 2012-03-09.
* Gravett, Paul (1999-03-20). " Daily dose of thrills (inaccessible link) ." The Guardian (link unavailable) (London). Retrieved 2011-04-28.