12 Facts About Lou Skuce

Thomas Lewis Skuce, more popularly known as Lou Skuce, was a Canadian comic strip and editorial cartoonist, who appeared widely in movie theatres to entertain while producing cartoons that were projected onto the screen.

Lou Skuce worked in commercial illustration, owning his own studio serving advertising clients in Canada and the United States.

Lou Skuce played rugby with the Ottawa Rough Riders, and ice hockey for at least one season at an amateur club in Winnipeg.

Lou Skuce became a staff cartoonist at the Ottawa Journal, and later moved to work at the Toronto Sunday World in 1909, working there until 1923.

Lou Skuce was the first Canadian cartoonist to draw three-colour front page illustrations, which allowed him to display his fine-art skills.

In 1923, Lou Skuce moved to New York City to work in animation for Bray Productions, a studio founded by JR Bray.

Lou Skuce later moved into comic strips, producing Cash and Carrie in 1926, initially for the Merit Newspaper Corporation and later for the Bell Syndicate.

Lou Skuce was noted for a series of murals that he created for the Toronto Men's Press Club.

Lou Skuce's interest continued afterwards, and at his death he was president of the Toronto chapter of the American Guild of Variety Artists.

Lou Skuce had done a cover for a program for the Toronto Maple Leafs during their last season in the Arena Gardens in 1930, and did their first program when they moved to the then-new Maple Leaf Gardens in 1931.

Lou Skuce's artwork was used in licensed jig saw puzzles in the 1930s, including one with the 1932 Stanley Cup Champions Maple Leafs.

Lou Skuce was instrumental in pushing for the creation of the Lou Marsh Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete, whether professional or amateur.