Johnny Hart; cartoonist found humor in dinosaurs, dungeons

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Johnny Hart, one of the most popular cartoonists of his era and creator of the "B.C." and "Wizard of Id" strips, died Saturday while working at his home in Endicott. He was 76.

"He had a stroke," Mr. Hart's wife, Bobby, said yesterday. "He died at his storyboard."

"B.C.," populated by prehistoric cavemen and dinosaurs, was launched in 1958 and eventually appeared in more than 1,300 newspapers with an audience of 100 million, according to Creators Syndicate Inc., which distributes it.

"He was generally regarded as one of the best cartoonists we've ever had," Mell Lazarus, creator of the "Momma" and "Miss Peach" comic strips, said from his California home. "He was totally original. 'B.C' broke ground and led the way for a number of imitators, none of which ever came close."

While a student at Union-Endicott High School, Mr. Hart entered a regional contest with a cartoon that caught the attention of one of the judges, Brant Parker, who arranged for a meeting with the youth. Parker would become a prime influence; together, they created the "Wizard of Id" comic strip. Created in 1964, the strip has been syndicated to more than 1,000 newspapers worldwide.

Mr. Hart enlisted in the Air Force and began producing cartoons for Pacific Stars and Stripes. He sold his first freelance cartoon to the Saturday Evening Post after his discharge from the military in 1954.

In "B.C." and "The Wizard of Id," he used wisecracking cave men and henpecked sorcerers to comment on modern life. "B.C." refers to the age "Before Christ" and also is the name of Mr. Hart's naive cave-dwelling protagonist. Among the characters were the one-legged cave man poet, Wiley, and a menagerie of talking animals, including an ant, a clam, and a lovelorn dinosaur named Gronk. The female characters were Cute Chick and Fat Broad, names that were anatomically, if not politically, correct.

For a strip whose tone was lighthearted, "B.C." suddenly became controversial in the 1990s when Mr. Hart included themes influenced by his fundamental Christianity and literal interpretation of the Bible. He did so sparingly, often around holy days, but its inclusion was perceived by many readers as making him far more frank about Christianity than any of his mainstream contemporaries.

Some newspapers canceled the strip. Others, including the Washington Post, pulled it selectively. On at least one occasion, the Los Angeles Times relocated it to the religion page.

Among the recurring characters in "Wizard of Id" were a despotic king and a drunken court jester.

In a 1999 profile of Mr. Hart, the Washington Post reported that the artist's drinking "got out of hand" over the years before he found solace in religion.

Mr. Hart said he was not from a devout family and "got mad at God" after his mother died of cancer at 52.

He said he struggled with varieties of faith, including a belief in reincarnation, all the while enjoying the material success of his strips.

He settled on a 150-acre property with a big lake and a private road.

One day, a father-and-son team of workers came to install cable television.

They were born-again Christians and kept the television tuned to religious broadcasts, which Mr. Hart said "hooked" him.

He has won numerous awards for his work, including the National Cartoonist Society's prestigious Reuben Award twice for Cartoonist of the Year.

"He had such an emphasis on kindness, generosity, and patience," said Richard Newcombe, founder and president of Creators Syndicate in Los Angeles.

Newcombe said Mr. Hart was the first cartoonist to sign with the syndicate when it was created 20 years ago. "Traditionally, comic strips were owned by syndicates," Newcombe said. "We were different because we allowed cartoonists to own their own work. It was because of Johnny's commitment to this idea that made us a success."

Newcombe credits Mr. Hart with the fact that most cartoonists today own their work.

"I don't think the young cartoonists realize that they have Johnny Hart to thank for that," he said.

Newcombe said both "B.C." and "Wizard of Id" will continue. Family members have been helping produce the strips for many years, he said, and they have an extensive computer archive of Mr. Hart's drawings to work with.

"After Charles Schultz (creator of "Peanuts") died, Johnny and I had a long conversation and he said he definitely wanted his strip to continue after he was gone," Newcombe said.

Besides his wife, Mr. Hart leaves two daughters, Patti and Perri.

Material from the Washington Post was used in this obituary.