View source for Jim Davis (cartoonist)

{{Short description|American cartoonist and creator of Garfield (born 1945)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| image              = James R. Davis.jpg
| caption            = Davis in 2010
| imagesize          = 220px
| birth_name         = James Robert Davis
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1945|7|28|mf=yes}}
| birth_place        = [[Marion, Indiana]], U.S.
| education          = [[Ball State University]]
| years_active       = 1969–present
| notable_works      = {{Plainlist|
* ''[[Garfield]]''
* (1978–present)
* ''[[U.S. Acres]]''
* (1986–1989)
}}
| occupation         = {{hlist|Cartoonist|television writer|television producer|screenwriter|film producer}}
| parents            = {{Plainlist|
* James William Davis
* Anna Catherine Davis
}}
| net_worth          = 
| signature          = Jim Davis signature.svg
}}

'''James Robert Davis''' (born July 28, 1945) is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known as the creator of the [[comic strip]]s ''[[Garfield]]'' and ''[[U.S. Acres]]''. Published since 1978, ''Garfield'' is one of the world's most widely [[Comic strip syndication|syndicated comic strips]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=LaMartina |first=Jerry |date=January 28, 2002 |title=Garfield Comic Strip Makes Guinness Book of World Records |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2002/01/28/daily4.html |access-date=January 29, 2018 |website=[[bizjournals]] |archive-date=September 20, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020920074947/https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2002/01/28/daily4.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Davis's other comics work includes ''[[Tumbleweeds (comic strip)|Tumbleweeds]]'', ''[[Gnorm Gnat]]'', and ''[[Mr. Potato Head]]''.

Davis wrote or co-wrote all of the ''Garfield'' TV specials for [[CBS]], originally broadcast between 1982 and 1991. He also produced ''[[Garfield and Friends]]'', a series which also aired on CBS from 1988 to 1994. Davis was the writer and executive producer for a series of [[Computer-generated imagery|CGI]] direct-to-video feature films about Garfield, as well as an executive producer for the CGI animated TV series ''[[The Garfield Show]]'' and ''[[Garfield Originals]]''.

==Early and personal life==
[[File:Jim Davis (Yearbook Portrait 1962).jpg|Davis' yearbook photo, 1962|thumb|left|200px]]
James Robert Davis was born in [[Marion, Indiana]], on July 28, 1945.<ref>{{Cite book |last=De Weyer |first=Geert |title=100 stripklassiekers die niet in je boekenkast mogen ontbreken |publisher=Atlas |year=2008 |isbn=978-90-450-0996-4 |location=[[Amsterdam]] / [[Antwerp]] |page=244 |language=nl}}</ref> Davis grew up on a small Black Angus cow farm<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jim Davis Bio |url=https://premierespeakers.com/jim-davis/bio |access-date=October 5, 2020 |website=Premiere Speakers Bureau |archive-date=December 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202222813/https://premierespeakers.com/jim-davis/bio |url-status=live }}</ref> in [[Fairmount, Indiana]], with his father James William "Jim" Davis, mother Anna Catherine "Betty" Davis (née Carter), and his brother, Dave Davis. Davis's childhood on a farm parallels the life of Garfield's owner, [[Jon Arbuckle]], who was also raised on a farm with his parents and a brother, Doc Boy. Jon is a cartoonist, who also celebrates his birthday on July 28. Davis attended [[Ball State University]] where he studied art and business, and one of his fellow students was [[David Letterman]]. While attending Ball State, he became a member of the [[Theta Xi]] [[Fraternities and sororities|fraternity]]. 

While attending Fairmount High School in 1959, Davis joined the staff of his school's newspaper ''The Breeze'', where he eventually became Art Editor. This is where Davis's first comic was featured, apparently inspired by school life. Davis also drew the majority of the illustrations for his 1963 senior yearbook, reusing the same characters.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG6y6FkMEQ4&t=47s |title=My Garfield Vacation: A Historical Voyage |date=June 12, 2020 |type=Video |publisher=Quinton Reviews |access-date=June 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/IG6y6FkMEQ4 |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live |via=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=0 Pre-Pendleton |url=https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BY8LbndpcUiRQeaF4kJ9Z53S_JXJYpYM |access-date=October 5, 2020 |via=[[Google Drive]] |archive-date=June 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606004016/https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BY8LbndpcUiRQeaF4kJ9Z53S_JXJYpYM |url-status=live }}</ref>

Davis has been married twice,. First, he was married to Carolyn Altekruse, who was allergic to cats;<ref name="Time">{{Cite magazine |date=December 7, 1981 |title=Those Catty Cartoonists |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,953256-2,00.html |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=June 6, 2020 |archive-date=April 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430130011/http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,953256-2,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> however, they owned a dog named Molly.<ref name="everything2">{{Cite web |title=Jim Davis - Everything2.com |url=http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Jim+Davis |website=Everything2.com |access-date=November 16, 2017 |archive-date=November 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117070030/https://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Jim+Davis |url-status=live }}</ref> They have a son.<ref name="Time" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=NNDB Profile |url=http://www.nndb.com/people/523/000023454/ |access-date=March 15, 2008 |website=NNDB.com |archive-date=June 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603051055/http://www.nndb.com/people/523/000023454/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On July 16, 2000, Davis married Jill, who had two children from a previous marriage.<ref name="everything2" />

Davis joined the faculty of [[Ball State University]] in Muncie as an adjunct professor in fall 2006, lecturing on the creative and business aspects of the comics industry.

Davis resides in [[Albany, Indiana]], where he and his staff produce ''Garfield'' under his [[Paws, Inc.]] company, launched in 1981.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 25, 2022 |title=Jim Davis |url=https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/artists/jim-davis/ |access-date=January 25, 2022 |website=[[The Saturday Evening Post]] |archive-date=January 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125225220/https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/artists/jim-davis/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Paws, Inc. employs nearly 50 artists and licensing administrators, who work with agents around the world managing Garfield's vast licensing, syndication, and entertainment empire.

Davis is a former president of the Fairmount, Indiana [[National FFA Organization|FFA]] chapter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National FFA Organization Prominent Members |url=https://www.ffa.org/documents/about_prominentmembers.pdf |publisher=National F.F.A. Organization |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100713074526/http://www.ffa.org/documents/about_prominentmembers.pdf |archive-date=July 13, 2010}}</ref>

In December 2019, Davis announced that he would be holding weekly auctions for all hand-painted ''[[Garfield]]'' comics made from 1978 to 2011. As Davis explained, he started drawing comics digitally using a [[graphics tablet]] in 2011. Older comics remained sealed in a climate-controlled safe, and Davis had to figure out what to do with them.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Muncy |first=Julie |date=December 21, 2019 |title=Garfield Cartoonist Jim Davis Is Putting 30 Years of Strips Up for Auction |url=https://io9.gizmodo.com/garfield-cartoonist-jim-davis-is-putting-30-years-of-st-1840579280 |access-date=December 23, 2019 |website=io9 |language=en-us |archive-date=December 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222204848/https://io9.gizmodo.com/garfield-cartoonist-jim-davis-is-putting-30-years-of-st-1840579280 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Career==
Prior to creating Garfield, Davis worked for an advertising agency. In 1969, he began assisting Tom Ryan's comic strip, ''[[Tumbleweeds (comic strip)|Tumbleweeds]]''. He then created a comic strip, ''[[Gnorm Gnat]]'', that ran weekly for two years (1973–1975) in ''The Pendleton Times'', a newspaper in [[Pendleton, Indiana]].<ref name="Quinton" /> When Davis attempted to sell it to a national comic strip [[syndicate]], an editor told him: "Your art is good, your 'gags' are 'great', but bugs—nobody can relate to bugs!"<ref>Davis, Jim. ''20 Years & Still Kicking!: Garfield's Twentieth Anniversary Collection''. New York: Ballantine Books, 1998, p. 14.</ref> He then began studying the comic strips; still firmly believing that animals were funny, he took note of how [[Snoopy]] was not only a [[scene stealer]] in the ''[[Peanuts]]'' comic strips, but that he was far more of a marketing success than his owner [[Charlie Brown]]. Deciding that the comic market was oversaturated with dogs, he decided to create a cat character as a primary character his next strip instead.<ref name="wapocat">{{Cite magazine |last=Shapiro |first=Walter |date=December 12, 1982 |title=Lives: The Cat That Rots the Intellect |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1982/12/12/lives-the-cat-that-rots-the-intellect/d6ed28c6-bee3-41ad-81f2-1839b34b87b1/ |magazine=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=June 23, 2019 |archive-date=June 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190623024810/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1982/12/12/lives-the-cat-that-rots-the-intellect/d6ed28c6-bee3-41ad-81f2-1839b34b87b1/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Jon - 1976-01-08.png|alt=The first strip from Jon, 1976|thumb|The first ''Jon'' strip, which ran in the ''Pendleton Times'' on January 8, 1976]]
From January 1976 to February 1978, Davis then published a weekly strip titled ''Jon'' in ''The Pendleton Times'', starring the young bachelor [[Jon Arbuckle]] and his lethargic, cynical housecat Garfield; the latter's increasing popularity among both editors and readers led Davis to rename the strip ''Garfield'' on September 1, 1977. ''Garfield'' would ultimately evolve into a highly successful daily strip of the same name, beginning syndication in 41 newspapers on June 19, 1978.<ref name="Quinton">{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSPidZP_3X8 |title=Finding Garfield Lost Media |date=July 28, 2019 |type=Video |publisher=Quinton Reviews |access-date=July 29, 2019 |archive-date=August 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801024533/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSPidZP_3X8 |url-status=live }}</ref> As of 2008, it was syndicated in 2,580 newspapers and was read by approximately 300&nbsp;million readers every day.<ref name="BW1">{{Cite press release |date=January 22, 2002 |title=Garfield Named World's Most Syndicated Comic Strip. |publisher=[[Business Wire]] |location=Kansas City, Missouri |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2002_Jan_22/ai_82001296 |url-status=dead |access-date=July 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090121005601/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2002_Jan_22/ai_82001296 |archive-date=January 21, 2009}}</ref>

In March 1986, Davis launched the barnyard slapstick comic strip ''U.S. Acres''. Outside the U.S., the strip was known as ''Orson's Farm''. Failing to match the success of ''Garfield'', ''U.S. Acres'' would conclude on May 1, 1989; Davis' assistant Brett Koth was credited as a co-artist during its final year. Davis, along with Koth, also made a 2000–03 strip based on the [[Mr. Potato Head]] toy.

Davis founded the Professor Garfield Foundation to support children's literacy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TRC About Us: Professor Garfield |url=http://www.professorgarfield.org/parents_teachers/about/about.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100714190628/http://www.professorgarfield.org/parents_teachers/about/about.html |archive-date=July 14, 2010 |access-date=December 15, 2013 |website=ProfessorGarfield.org}}</ref>

His influences include [[Mort Walker]]'s ''[[Beetle Bailey]]'' and ''[[Hi and Lois]]'', [[Charles M. Schulz]]'s ''[[Peanuts]]'', [[Milton Caniff]]'s ''[[Steve Canyon]]'' and [[Johnny Hart]]'s ''[[B.C. (comic strip)|B.C]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ashton |date=November 9, 2012 |title=Interview with Jim Davis |url=http://blog.calendars.com/2012/11/interview-with-jim-davis/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225005336/http://blog.calendars.com/2012/11/interview-with-jim-davis/ |archive-date=February 25, 2014 |access-date=February 20, 2014 |publisher=Calendars.com}}</ref>

From 1984 until its closing in 2001, Davis owned a fine-dining restaurant in Muncie called Foxfires. Davis chose to close the restaurant after its head chef was hired elsewhere.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/253372237/ | title=Foxfires plans to close its doors for good next week | work=The Star Press | date=April 13, 2001 | accessdate=November 28, 2023 | author=Brian Saparnis | pages=5C}}</ref>

In 2019, Davis sold Paws, Inc. to the mass media conglomerate [[Viacom (2005–2019)|Viacom]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Whitten |first=Sarah |date=August 6, 2019 |title=Viacom Buys Lasagna-Loving Garfield for Nickelodeon |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/06/garfield-bought-by-viacom-for-nickelodeon.html |access-date=October 5, 2020 |publisher=[[CNBC]] |archive-date=September 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930031440/https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/06/garfield-bought-by-viacom-for-nickelodeon.html |url-status=live }}</ref> which months later merged with [[CBS Corporation]] to form ViacomCBS (now [[Paramount Global]]).

{{Clear|right}}

==Awards==
{|class="wikitable"  style="max-width:90%;"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Year
! style="width:50%;"| Award
! style="width:90%;"|Presenting organization and sciences
|-
| 1983
| Golden Plate Award<ref>{{Cite web |title=Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/ |website=Achievement.org |publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]] |access-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-date=December 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215023909/https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wade |first=Larry |date=July 14, 1983 |title=American Academy of Achievement Fills Coronado with Famous Names |url=https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Coronado-Journal-July-14-1983.pdf |publisher=Coronado Journal |access-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-date=June 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630031718/https://achievement.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Coronado-Journal-July-14-1983.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
|[[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]]
|-
| [[37th Primetime Emmy Awards|1984–85]]
| [[Primetime Emmy Award|Emmy Award]], [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)|Outstanding Animated Program]], ''[[Garfield in the Rough]]'', TV special, [[CBS]]
| [[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]]
|-
| 1985
| [[Elzie Segar]] Award for Contributions to Cartooning
| National Cartoonist Society
|-
| 1986
| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)|Outstanding Animated Program]], ''[[Garfield's Halloween Adventure]]'', TV special, [[CBS]]
| [[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]]
|-
| 1986
| Best Strip
 | National Cartoonist Society
|-
| [[41st Primetime Emmy Awards|1988–89]]
| [[Primetime Emmy Award|Emmy Award]], [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)|Outstanding Animated Program]], ''[[Garfield's Babes and Bullets]]'', TV special, [[CBS]]
| [[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]]
|-
| 1988
| [[Sagamore of the Wabash]]
| [[Indiana|State of Indiana]]
|-
| 1989
| Reuben Award for Overall Excellence in Cartooning
| National Cartoonist Society
|-
| 1989
| Indiana Arbor Day Spokesman Award (presented to Jim Davis and Garfield)
| Indiana Division of Natural Resources and Forestry
|-
| 1990
| Good Steward Award (presented to Jim Davis and Garfield)
| [[National Arbor Day Foundation]]
|-
| 1991
| Indiana Journalism Award (presented to Jim Davis and Garfield)
| [[Ball State University]] Department of Journalism
|-
| 1992
| Distinguished Hoosier
| State of Indiana
|-
| 1995
| Project Award
| National Arbor Day Foundation
|-
| 1997
| LVA Leadership Award (presented to [[Paws, Inc.|Paws]])
| Literacy Volunteers of America
|-
| 2016
| [[Inkpot Award]] (presented to Jim Davis)<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 6, 2012 |title=Inkpot Award |url=https://www.comic-con.org/awards/inkpot |website=San Diego Comic-Con |access-date=September 12, 2020 |archive-date=January 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129155249/http://www.comic-con.org/awards/inkpot |url-status=live }}</ref>
| San Diego Comic-Con
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Bruce McCabe, "The Man Who Put Garfield on Top", ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', March 8, 1987.

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0204825|Jim Davis}}

{{Garfield}}
{{Inkpot Award 2010s}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Jim}}

[[Category:Jim Davis (cartoonist)]]
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:20th-century American artists]]
[[Category:21st-century American artists]]
[[Category:American comic strip cartoonists]]
[[Category:Ball State University alumni]]
[[Category:Ball State University faculty]]
[[Category:Cat artists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Grant County, Indiana]]
[[Category:People from Marion, Indiana]]
[[Category:Artists from Muncie, Indiana]]
[[Category:Reuben Award winners]]
[[Category:People from Albany, Indiana]]
[[Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners]]
[[Category:American television writers]]
[[Category:Inkpot Award winners]]
[[Category:Television producers from Indiana]]