Morris Nolton Turner was an American cartoonist, creator of the strip Wee Pals, the first American syndicated strip with an integrated cast of characters.
17 Facts About Morrie Turner
2.
Morrie Turner was raised in Oakland, California, the youngest child of a Pullman porter father and a homemaker and nurse mother.
3.
Morrie Turner attended Cole Elementary School and McClymonds High School in Oakland and Berkeley High School.
4.
Morrie Turner first started drawing at age 10, drawing what he heard while listening to radio shows.
5.
Morrie Turner later moved onto cartoons during high school, ultimately deciding at the age of 14 that he wanted to become a professional cartoonist.
6.
Morrie Turner got his first training in cartooning via a correspondence course.
7.
In 1963, Turner joined the Association of California Cartoonists and Gag Artists, where he befriended fellow cartoonists Charles M Schulz and Bil Keane, the respective creators of Peanuts and Family Circus.
8.
Morrie Turner lamented the lack of minorities in cartoons, and Schulz suggested he create one.
9.
In 1970, Morrie Turner became a co-chairman of the White House Conference on Children and Youth.
10.
Morrie Turner appeared twice as a guest on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, on May 7,1971 and May 14,1973.
11.
Morrie Turner presented a clip from his Kid Power animated series, which aired Saturday mornings on ABC at the time.
12.
For concerts by the Bay Area Little Symphony of Oakland, California, Morrie Turner drew pictures to the music and of children in the audience.
13.
Morrie Turner launched the first in a series of Summer Art exhibitions at the East Oakland Youth Development Center on June 10,1995.
14.
Morrie Turner married Letha Mae Harvey on April 6,1946; they collaborated on "Soul Corner," the weekly supplement to Wee Pals.
15.
Late in life, Morrie Turner's companion was Karol Trachtenburg of Sacramento.
16.
Morrie Turner died on January 25,2014, at age 90 from chronic kidney disease in a hospital in Sacramento.
17.
Morrie Turner was honored a number of times at the San Diego Comic-Con: in 1981, he was given an Inkpot Award; and in 2012 he was given the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award.