George Joseph Herriman III was born August 22, 1880, in New Orleans.
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At age 10, his family moved to Los Angeles. Soon after graduating high school, George sold an illustration to the Los Angeles Herald, leading to a job in the engraving department, where he would also draw advertisements and political cartoons.
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In 1900, George snuck onto a freight train headed for New York City. By October 1901, he had two syndicated strips appearing in newspapers nationwide.
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He began his first strip that had a continuing character, Musical Mose in 1902. The strip featured a Black musician who impersonated other ethnicities, only to suffer the consequences when discovered.
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In 1913, George debuted the 'Krazy Kat' comic strip. Krazy Kat allowed George full use of his imagination. The bizarre backgrounds and daring compositions were unlike any other comic of the day. The strip was wildly popular. Apparently, President Wilson refused to miss any installment of Krazy Kat and would take the paper in with him to cabinet meetings.
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While George's birth certificate identifies him as 'colored' and his parents as 'mixed race mulattoes', he spent most of his adult life passing as Greek, French or Turkish. He always wore a hat to hide his hair texture. He married a white woman in 1922 and their house was in a white neighborhood of segregated LA. George's daughter insisted that his death certificate list his race as Caucasian and his father's birthplace as Paris.
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However, issues of racial ambivalence were present in Krazy Kat, such as on two occasions where Krazy's black fur was dyed white. Ignatz falls in love with the whitened Krazy, only to return to hatred and brick-throwing when the truth is revealed.
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George's art and the Krazy Kat strip set the foundation for American comic art. Walt Disney, Will Eisner, Dr. Seuss, Robert Crumb, Charles Schultz, Bill Watterson and Chris Ware all cite Krazy Kat and George Herriman as one of the primary inspirations for their work.
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Charles Schultz wrote: "I always thought if I could do something as as good as Krazy Kat, I would be happy. Krazy Kat was always my goal."
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George Herriman died in LA in 1944.
