14 Facts About Lee Falk

1.

Lee Falk, born Leon Harrison Gross, was an American cartoonist, writer, theater director, and producer, best known as the creator of the comic strips Mandrake the Magician and The Phantom.

2.

Lee Falk was born in St Louis, Missouri, where he spent his boyhood and his youth.

3.

Lee Falk's mother was Eleanor Alina, and his father was Benjamin Gross.

4.

Lee Falk took the middle name of his stepfather, but "Lee" had been his nickname since childhood, so he took that name.

5.

Lee Falk married three times: to Louise Kanaseriff, Constance Moorehead Lilienthal, and Elizabeth Moxley.

6.

Lee Falk had three children, Valerie, and Diane and Conley.

7.

Lee Falk had had a fascination for stage magicians ever since he was a boy.

8.

Lee Falk, according to his own recollections, sketched the first few Mandrake the Magician comic strips himself.

9.

Lee Falk was fascinated by the Thuggee of India, and hence based his first Phantom comic on the Singh Brotherhood.

10.

Lee Falk originally considered the idea of calling his character "The Gray Ghost", but finally decided that he preferred "The Phantom".

11.

Lee Falk revealed in an interview that Robin Hood, who was often depicted as wearing tights, inspired the skin-tight costume of The Phantom, which is known to have influenced the entire superhero industry.

12.

The old Greek busts had no eye pupils, which Lee Falk felt gave them an inhuman, interesting look.

13.

Lee Falk wrote 12 plays, including two musicals: Happy Dollar and Mandrake the Magician, which were both based on his comic strip character.

14.

Lee Falk has been a candidate for a star on the St Louis Walk of Fame many times, and was so honored in a ceremony on what would have been his 104th birthday, April 28,2015.