Gus Edson was an American cartoonist known for two popular, long running comic strips, The Gumps and Dondi. Born to Max and Emma Edson in Cincinnati, Ohio, Gus Edson dropped out of school at age 17 to join the Army, serving in Australia in 1918. After his discharge, he studied briefly at Pratt Institute and the Art Students League. Edson was a sports cartoonist with the New York Evening Graphic from 1925 to 1928, followed by a year with the Paul Block Chain of Newspapers and a year at the New York Evening Post. Along with his freelance work, he was a standby ghost for King Features Syndicate, eventually arriving at the Daily News as a sports cartoonist. In 1933, while at the Daily News, he created his first daily comic strip, Streaky, which he wrote until 1935. When Sidney Smith, creator of The Gumps, died suddenly in 1935, Edson took over Smith's strip. Two years later, there was a continuity problem, as noted in Editor & Publisher: Edson wrote and drew The Gumps for 24 years. His assistant on The Gumps in the early 1950s was the actor Martin Landau. Cousin Juniper was a topper strip which Edson also drew for his Sunday page. Edson helped sell war bonds during World War II, and he traveled around the world entertaining troops with his amusing chalk talks.
Radio
In March 1948, Edson was heard on ABC's America's Town Meeting of the Air. During the discussion "What's Wrong with Comics?", Edson questioned panelist John Mason Brown, challenging Brown's negative notions about comic strips.
''Dondi''
In the early 1950s, Edson was one of several National Cartoonists Society members who participated in European USO Tours. After a visit to Germany, he created Dondi in 1955 with Irwin Hasen. In 1957, Edson recalled the origin of the strip: In 1961, Edson scripted the Dondifilm adaptation, and he also wrote a proposed sequel, The Carnival Kid. Edson was a member of the Society of Illustrators, the National Cartoonists Society and the Writer’s Guild of America.
Books
Edson's strips were collected in several books, including Andy Gump in Radioland and The Gumps. Whitman Publishing collected his Streaky strips in the 158-page book, Streaky and the Football Signals.
Gus Edson Park is located between Weed Avenue and Holly Pond in Stamford, Connecticut. In recent years, Sharon Slocum and the Cove Neighborhood Association launched a beautification and refurbishing of this park. Edson was honored by a plaque in the park, a reminder of his close ties with the group of poker pals in the Stamford Police department. The plaque reads: Etched into the surface of the plaque is a portrait of Edson with Dondi and Andy Gump. In 1997, Edson's home at 149 Weed Ave. was torn down to make space for a small housing development. Edson's son is the poet-novelist Russell Edson.
