View source for Al Taliaferro

{{short description|American comics artist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox comics creator
| image         = Al taliaferro.jpg
| image_size    = 
| caption       = 
| birth_name    = Charles Alfred Taliaferro
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1905|08|29}}
| birth_place   = [[Montrose, Colorado]], U.S.
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1969|02|03|1905|08|29}}
| death_place   = [[Glendale, California]], U.S.
| area          = 
| strip         = y
| write         = 
| art           = 
| pencil        = y
| ink           = y
| edit          = 
| publish       = 
| letter        = 
| color         = 
| alias         = 
| signature     = <!-- very optional -->
| signature_alt = 
| notable works = ''[[Donald Duck (comic strip)|Donald Duck]]'' comic strip
| awards        = 
| website       = 
}}

'''Charles Alfred''' "'''Al'''" '''Taliaferro''' (August 29, 1905 – February 3, 1969), was an American [[Disney comics]] artist who produced [[Disney comics|Disney comic strips]] for [[King Features Syndicate]]. Taliaferro is best known for his work on the ''[[Donald Duck (comic strip)|Donald Duck]]'' comic strip. Many of his strips were written by [[Bob Karp]].

==Family background==
The [[Taliaferro]]s trace their origins to [[Northern Italy]] and were one of the early families who settled in the [[Colony of Virginia]] during the 17th century. The family name, originally {{lang|it|Tagliaferro}}, literally means "Ironcutter" in the [[Italian language]].

==Early career==
After his family moved to [[Glendale, California]], Taliaferro studied at the [[Art Institute of Los Angeles]], California. Following his graduation, Taliaferro was hired as a [[designer]] for [[light fixture]]s. In January 1931, Taliaferro was hired by [[Walt Disney Studios (division)|Walt Disney Studios]] as an animator, but soon transferred to the comic strip department.<ref name="lambiek.net">{{cite web|url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/t/taliaferro.htm |title=Al Taliaferro; Lambiek Comiclopedia |website=Lambiek.net |access-date=October 27, 2018}}</ref>

At the time, [[Disney comics]] were limited to the [[Mickey Mouse (comic strip)|''Mickey Mouse'' comic strip]], with [[Floyd Gottfredson]] as its main artist. Taliaferro was hired as an [[inker]] for Gottfredson's drawings. Taliaferro also served as the inker for a [[model sheet]] for the Mickey Mouse character. The model sheet would later be featured in Disney merchandising.<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

Disney soon launched a [[Silly Symphony (comic strip)|''Silly Symphony'' comic strip]] (1932–1939), based on the ''[[Silly Symphony]]'' short film series. The strip debuted on January 10, 1932, as a Sunday comic strip. It would appear on a weekly schedule, in full color. The original writer and penciller for the comic strip was [[Earl Duvall]], with Taliaferro serving as his inker. In 1933, Duvall quit the strip and the Disney studio, as he was hired by [[Warner Bros. Cartoons|Leon Schlesinger Productions]]. Taliaferro replaced him as the comic strip's penciller. The new main writer of the comic strip was [[Ted Osborne]], but the comic strip also featured a number of stories written by [[Merrill De Maris]].<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

The comic strip had started by introducing a new character, not based on any previous Disney animated short. The character was [[Bucky Bug]], an [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic]] [[insect]] whose creation is credited to Duvall and Taliaferro. Bucky Bug would continue to be the star of the comic strip until March 4, 1934. He was the second Disney character (after Mickey Mouse) to become the star of his own comic strip series.<ref name="lambiek.net"/> The Bucky Bug stories were typical for a [[talking animals in fiction|talking animal]] series, though every character was 
either an insect or another type of [[invertebrate]].<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

The initial storyline of Taliaferro's comic strip was a [[coming-of-age story]]. Bucky Bug is introduced as a boy, the only son of his family. He has 16 sisters. He departs the family home to see the world, eventually settles down in the city of insects called "Junktown", and marries a local girl, called June Bug. June is the daughter of the town's [[mayor]]. The city which Bucky inhabits was built on human [[garbage]], every building or structure was once an item discarded by humans.<ref name="lambiek.net"/> Besides Bucky and June, the most prominent character of these stories was Bo Bug, Bucky's best friend and [[sidekick]]. Bo was depicted as a [[hobo]] and always wore a [[top hat]].<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

While Taliaferro did not draw more Bucky Bug stories after 1934, the Bucky Bug series would eventually be revived in comic book form by [[Western Publishing]]. Bucky and his supporting cast have since appeared in Disney magazines and newspapers in many countries.<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

In the 1930s, the ''Silly Symphony'' film series was at the height of its popularity, due to its innovations in storytelling and professionalism in production methods. Other [[animation studio]]s launched imitations with similar names, such as ''[[Looney Tunes]]'', ''[[Merrie Melodies]]'', and ''[[Happy Harmonies]]''.<ref name="lambiek.net"/> Taliaferro and Ted Osborne started producing comic strip adaptations of specific short films, as a [[tie-in]] to whichever ''Silly Symphony'' the Disney studio was trying to promote. In 1936, the comic strip started featuring the main cast of the hit short ''[[Three Little Pigs (film)|Three Little Pigs]]'' (1933). Taliaferro was the first artist to adapt [[Big Bad Wolf]] and the Three Little Pigs into comics, as characters of serial fiction. While in animation the characters soon faded away, in comics they had staying power. The Big Bad Wolf series would be continued by other artists, long after Taliaferro stopped producing new stories for it.<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

==''Donald Duck''==
In 1934, Taliaferro and Osborne adapted the short film ''[[The Wise Little Hen]]'' (1934) into comic strip form. Their adaptation was published in newspapers between 16 September and 16 December 1934. The most prominent character introduced in the film was [[Donald Duck]], and Taliaferro was the first artist to depict him in comics.<ref name="lambiek.net"/> Taliaferro's depiction of Donald preceded Donald's appearances as a supporting character in the ''[[Mickey Mouse (comic strip)|Mickey Mouse]]'' newspaper comic (under Floyd Gottfredson and Ted Osborne), the adaptation into a British comic strip by William A. Ward (in 1937), and the adaptation of Donald into a full-length Italian comic book by Federico Pedrocchi (in 1937).<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

Between August 30, 1936, and December 5, 1937, Taliaferro and Osborne depicted Donald in gag-a-week comic strips for the ''Silly Symphony'' series. The strips were in [[American pantomime|pantomime]] style. Taliaferro came up with the idea of a solo comic strip for Donald Duck, but had trouble convincing his bosses to support his idea. He initially pitched the idea to [[Roy O. Disney]], who rejected it. Taliaferro then produced three weeks-worth of episodes for a Donald Duck comic strip, brought them to Roy Disney, and asked him to offer the strip to [[King Features Syndicate]] for publication. King Features had syndicated all Disney comic strips up to this point. Roy Disney was not particularly interested in the project, but his brother [[Walt Disney]] could see potential in the project. Taliaferro's original sample stories were rejected due to having "weak gags". Taliaferro co-operated with writer [[Merrill De Maris]] to create new sample stories, but these were also rejected. Taliaferro then co-operated with writer [[Homer Brightman]], and this time the sample stories were approved. Taliaferro's idea was greenlighted and the new Donald Duck comic strip was about to begin.<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

On February 2, 1938, ''[[Donald Duck (comic strip)|Donald Duck]]'' started appearing in daily newspapers. A Sunday version was added on December 10, 1939. Taliaferro's was the strip's main penciller, while Homer Brightman was its writer and came up with the gags. But Brightman was mostly a [[screenwriter]], and soon quit the comic strip and returned to writing plots for animated short films. Brightman was replaced by [[Bob Karp]], who would serve as Taliaferro's main creative partner for the rest of his career.<ref name="lambiek.net"/> The inkers for the comic strip included Karl Karpé, [[Dick Moores]], George Waiss, and Bill Wright. Taliaferro also relied on a number of assistant artists, including Ellis Eringer, Frank Grundeen, Al Hubbard, and Kay Wright.<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

While the ''Mickey Mouse'' comic strip was an adventure series, the ''Donald Duck'' comic strip continued to be a daily comedy series. Each episode featured Donald dealing with problems and humorous situations. Most of the strips featured stand-alone gags, although some ongoing plots were introduced. The strips often lacked [[dialogue]].<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

==Supporting cast==
Taliaferro and Karp started introducing supporting characters from the ''Donald Duck'' cartoons, where the duo became the first to portray a number of [[Donald Duck universe]] characters [[Donald Duck in comics|in the comics]]. These comic strip debuts often even preceded the new characters' first film appearances, as the [[production schedule]] for animated films was extended over a much longer period than for comic strips. On March 17, 1938, they introduced [[List of Donald Duck universe characters#Bolivar|Bolivar]], Donald's pet [[St. Bernard (dog)|St. Bernard]]. The strip found humor in the fact that Bolivar rarely listens to his owner. Taliaferro's design was based on the St. Bernard in the 1936 [[Mickey Mouse]] film, ''[[Alpine Climbers]]''.<ref name="lambiek.net"/> On October 17, 1937, Taliaferro and Osborne introduced [[Huey, Dewey, and Louie]], based on a film that was in production at the time, ''[[Donald's Nephews]]''. Taliaferro actually proposed the initial idea for the film, so that the studio would have duck counterparts to [[Mickey Mouse universe#Mickey Mouse family|Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse]], the nephews of Mickey Mouse.<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

[[Duck family (Disney)#Gus Goose|Gus Goose]], the "lazy and gluttonous" cousin of Donald, was introduced on May 9, 1938, almost a year before Gus' film debut in ''[[Donald's Cousin Gus]]'', that was still in early stages of production.<ref name="lambiek.net"/> On November 4, 1940, Taliaferro and Karp introduced a comic strip version of [[Daisy Duck]], as Donald's new neighbor and love interest, shortly after her film debut in ''[[Mr. Duck Steps Out]]'' (1940). This was Daisy's first appearance in comics, not counting her prototype, Donna Duck, who appeared earlier in the British comics and was later introduced by Taliaferro and Karp as Daisy's rival.<ref name="lambiek.net"/> [[Duck family (Disney)#Grandma Duck|Grandma Duck]], Donald's grandmother, was introduced on September 27, 1943, and was created for the comic strip by Taliaferro and Karp. Taliaferro based the design of the character on his mother-in-law and her old-fashioned ways. Taliaferro's version of Grandma is a hard-working farmer, but out of touch with the technological progress of the world surrounding her.<ref name="lambiek.net"/> Although not created by him, [[Scrooge McDuck]] joined the cast of the comic strip on February 13, 1951, and [[Ludwig Von Drake]] on September 25, 1961.<ref name="lambiek.net"/> [[Donald Duck in comics#Donald's car|Donald's car]], the '313', or '1934 Belchfire Roustabout', was designed by Taliaferro on July 1, 1938, from a car that Donald drove in his first titular film, ''[[Don Donald]]'' (1937). The car has been associated with [[Donald Duck in comics|the character in comics]] ever since.<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

==Retirement==
Taliaferro retired from the daily comic strip on October 10, 1967. He kept working on the Sunday version of the strip until his death in February, 1969.<ref name="lambiek.net"/> Since 1967, Taliaferro's duties on the comic strip had mostly been handled by Frank Grundeed, who replaced Taliaferro as the main artist upon his retirement and death. Bob Karp remained the strip's main writer until his retirement in 1974. The ''Donald Duck'' comic strip continued with new writers and artists over the following decades: Greg Crosby (writer, 1974–1979), Frank Smith (artist, 1976–1986), Bob Foster (writer, 1980–1989), Jim Franzen (artist, 1986), [[Daan Jippes]] (artist, 1986–1987), Ulrich Schröder (artist, 1986), [[Jorgen Klubien]] (artist, 1986), [[Tony Strobl]] (artist, 1986–1987), Bill Langley (artist, 1987), [[Pete Alvarado]] (artist, 1987–1989), Larry Mayer (artist, 1987–1989), and finally Larry Knighton (artist, 1990–1995). In 1995, King Features decided to end the production of new episodes of the comic strip, and to start publishing reprints of older episodes.<ref name="lambiek.net"/>

==Reprints==
While many of Taliaferro's strips were reprinted in Disney comic books, in only a few instances did he do original artwork for comic books. Among these was the Cheerios Premium Giveaway ''Donald Duck: Counter Spy'' (1947) and the cover of ''[[Walt Disney's Comics and Stories]]'' #107 (August 1949) <ref>{{Cite web |title=GCD :: Cover :: Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #v9#11 (107) |url=https://www.comics.org/issue/7759/cover/4/ |access-date=2023-06-19 |website=www.comics.org}}</ref> plus two [[Bucky Bug]] stories in WDC&S #39 (Dec. 1943) and #60 (Sept. 1945) and a one-page Donald and Goofy gag based on ''[[No Sail]]'' in the latter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Search results (17 items) {{!}} I.N.D.U.C.K.S. |url=https://inducks.org/simp.php?d1=Bucky+Bug&d2=&d4=&creat=Al+Taliaferro&exactpg=&kind=0 |access-date=2023-06-19 |website=inducks.org}}</ref> Two children's books with Disney characters he illustrated are ''Donald and His Cat Troubles'' (1948) and ''Donald Duck and the Hidden Gold'' (1951).

In 2015, [[IDW Publishing]] began three series of hardcover reprints of Taliaferro's Disney comics under their imprint [[The Library of American Comics]]:
* [[Donald Duck: The Complete Daily Newspaper Comics|''Walt Disney's Donald Duck: The Daily Newspaper Comics'']]
* [[Donald Duck: The Complete Sunday Comics|''Walt Disney's Donald Duck: The Sunday Newspaper Comics'']]
* [[Silly Symphonies: The Complete Disney Classics|''Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: The Complete Disney Classics'']]

==Legacy==
Animation historian Jim Korkis noted that Taliaferro designed the mascot Litternaut in 1967 who adorned the public trash receptacles in Glendale into the 1970s and to this day is the official mascot of the ''Committee for a Clean & Beautiful Glendale''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/news/tn-gnp-xpm-2006-04-06-gnp-beautiful06-story.html |title=Keeping Glendale beautiful |website=www.latimes.com |date=April 6, 2006 |access-date=August 3, 2022}}{{title missing|date=September 2022}}</ref>

Taliaferro was [[Posthumous recognition|posthumously honored]] with a [[Disney Legends]] award in 2003.

==References==
<references />

==External links==
*{{Inducks author|AT}}
*[https://www.lambiek.net/artists/t/taliaferro.htm Al Taliaferro] at the [[Lambiek|Lambiek Comiclopedia]]
*[http://bp3.blogger.com/_Sar8IPNlxOY/RkwqBIaBjYI/AAAAAAAAAjc/M6A7bbht6wc/s1600-h/taliaone.jpg Litter-Not drawing for city of Glendale CA  clean and beautiful campaign]
*[https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/alfred-taliaferro/ Disney Legends profile]
*[http://bp0.blogger.com/_XOjDUIzHDXw/Rf4PqhQeBhI/AAAAAAAAAHo/AwkIzhuI9tk/s1600-h/dff+wdcs+gag.JPG  November 8th, 1943 Donald Duck comic strip as reprinted in issue 48 of Walt Disney's Comics and Stories (September 1944)]
* [http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=ww070516ws Just Ducky: Al Taliaferro and Donald Duck]
* [http://loac.idwpublishing.com/product-category/donald-duck/?orderby=date IDW – Library of American comics – Donald Duck Newspaper and Sunday strip collections]
* [http://loac.idwpublishing.com/product-category/silly-symphonies/ IDW – Library of American comics – Silly Symphonies]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Taliaferro, Al}}
[[Category:1905 births]]
[[Category:1969 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American artists]]
[[Category:American comic strip cartoonists]]
[[Category:American people of Italian descent]]
[[Category:Animators from Colorado]]
[[Category:Artists from Colorado]]
[[Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)]]
[[Category:Disney comics artists]]
[[Category:Disney comics writers]]
[[Category:Artists from Glendale, California]]
[[Category:People from Montrose, Colorado]]
[[Category:Taliaferro family of Virginia]]
[[Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios people]]