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Barney Google and Snuffy Smith is one of the longest-running comic strips in history. Created by Billy DeBeck in 1919, it first appeared in the sports section of the Chicago Herald and Examiner as “Take Barney Google, F'rinstance.” It starred the cigar-smoking, sports-loving, poker-playing, girl-chasing ne'er-do-well Barney Google. By October of that year, the strip was distributed by King Features to newspapers all across the country.
In 1934, Barney Google met Snuffy Smith, a hillbilly who soon eclipsed him in popularity. Not long after this meeting, the strip became known as Barney Google and Snuffy Smith. In 1942, the comic strip was inherited by DeBeck’s long-time assistant, Fred Lasswell, who continued to draw the strip until his death in March 2001. Lasswell, a master of the sight gag, really developed the hillbilly characters of Hootin’ Holler. John Rose, who inked the strip for Lasswell, has been carrying on the bodacious tradition of being the strip’s cartoonist since 2001.
This tremendously popular feature boasts clients in 21 countries and 11 languages. It has added several phrases to the American vernacular, including “sweet mama,” “horsefeathers,” “heebie-jeebies” and “hotsie-totsie.” It has been the inspiration for a hit song, “Barney Google (With Your Goo-Goo-Googly Eyes),” and is one of a few historical comic strips to be honored on a special set of U.S. postage stamps.
Awards and Distinctions:
In 1946, the National Cartoonist Society named its first outstanding cartoonist of the year award The Billy DeBeck Award. It was given out every year until 1953, when it was replaced with the Reuben Award.
In 1946, Fred Lasswell was presented with the prestigious Silver Lady Award from the Banshees Society in New York City for his work on the Barney Google and Snuffy Smith comic strip.
In 1963, Fred Lasswell won the coveted National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award as “Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year,” as well as the award for “Best Humor Strip Cartoonist.”
In 1984, Lasswell was presented the NCS Elzie Segar Award for his unique and outstanding contributions to the profession of cartooning.
The book Barney Google and Snuffy Smith: 75 Years of An American Legend by Brian Walker was published in 1994.
In 1995, Barney Google and Snuffy Smith became one of a few historical comic strips to be honored on a special set of U.S. postage stamps.
John Rose was honored with the 2004 Outstanding Professional Achievement in the Media Award from the Public Relations Council of the Shenandoah Valley for his work on the Barney Google and Snuffy Smith comic strip.
John Rose was honored with the Jamboree 2010 Contingent Leadership Award by the Stonewall Jackson Area Council of Boy Scouts (VA/WV) for creating a commemorative Snuffy Smith 100th Anniversary of Boy Scouting patch for the National Jamboree.
John Rose
Being the cartoonist for King Features' Barney Google and Snuffy Smith comic strip has been the greatest joy of John Rose's professional career.
John Rose always wanted to be a cartoonist. He started drawing on his parents' living room walls and continued throughout his school years in the margins of his test papers (hoping for extra credit).
The Virginia-born Rose graduated from James Madison University in 1986 with a bachelor of fine arts degree, double-majoring in art and art history. After graduation, he drew freelance sports cartoons for newspapers in Manassas, Va. He joined Byrd Newspapers of Virginia in 1988, starting at the Warren Sentinel and then moving to the Harrisonburg Daily News-Record. His cartoons have won awards from the National Newspaper Association and the Virginia Press Association. Besides appearing in the Byrd Newspaper chain, his editorial cartoons are distributed by the Scripps Howard News Service. He has had two editorial cartoon collections of his work published. The titles are Cartoons That Fit the Bill and Now This Is Where I Draw The Line! His cartoons have also been featured in the Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year collections (Pelican Publishing) each year since 1994.
Since 1991, Rose has been creating Kids' Home Newspaper, a weekly children's cartoon/activity page that is syndicated with Creators Syndicate. This feature has spawned three activity books: Fun With Pup!, More Fun With Pup! and Christmas Fun With Pup! (Pelican Publishing Company). His cartoon illustrations have also appeared in books and magazines published by Scholastic and Magination Press. He is also a writer and inker for Archie Comic Publications.
Since mid-1998, Rose has been working on the Barney Google and Snuffy Smith comic strip. He began as an inking assistant to cartooning legend Fred Lasswell. Rose became the strip's full-time cartoonist after Lasswell's death in March 2001. "Working for Fred Lasswell was a dream come true for me. He was more than a boss…he was a wonderful mentor and friend. Definitely the greatest cartoonist I have ever known.”
Rose enjoys meeting Snuffy Smith readers and frequently does Snuffy Smith Cartooning Chalk Talks for civic organizations, corporate groups, schools and festivals. Rose is a member of both the National Cartoonists Society and the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists.
He lives with his wife, Karen, and daughters, Meredith and Sarah, in the mountains of Harrisonburg, Va. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, freshwater fishing and following James Madison University sports.
Fred Lasswell
Cartoonist Fred Lasswell, who wrote and drew the Barney Google and Snuffy Smith comic strip without interruption for nearly 60 years, died of a heart attack at his home on March 4, 2001. He was 84 years old.
Begun in 1919 by cartoonist Billy DeBeck, the comic strip had an interesting development period. Originally, it starred only Google, a pint-sized ne'er-do-well in a derby hat who never missed a chance to play cards or bet on horses. The character proved so popular that he was the subject of the 1923 hit song "Barney Google," whose lyrics were written by Billy Rose. The song sparked a popular vaudeville routine.
It was in 1934 that Google inherited a relative's estate in North Carolina and left for the provincial town of Hootin' Holler, where he met his cousin, Snuffy Smith, and Snuffy's wife, Loweezy. The rest is history.
King Features Syndicate distributes Barney Google and Snuffy Smith to more than 900 newspapers worldwide.
So integral is the strip to the history of the comics medium that the U.S. Postal Service included it among the strips honored on a series of stamps commemorating the 100th anniversary of the comic strip in 1995.
Lasswell began as DeBeck's assistant and letterer in 1934 when he was 17 years old. He took over the strip in 1942 after DeBeck's death.
Lasswell was born in 1916 in Kennett, Mo. When DeBeck discovered him, he was living in Tampa, Fla., working as a cartoonist on the Tampa Daily Times and holding a part-time job at an advertising agency. Lasswell was already something of a cartoonist, having created a strip called Baseball Hits when he was 8 years old.
Lasswell worked for DeBeck through the bombing of Pearl Harbor, when he enlisted in the Marines, serving in Africa as a radio operator and later becoming a staff sergeant at Marine Corps Special Services in Washington. There he created "Sgt. Hashmark," a comic strip for Leatherneck, the Marine Corps magazine.
When Lasswell took over Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, he was able to draw on his farming background to make the characters come to life.
"My family roots are in Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee," he said. "So it was natural for me to draw on the kind of people I knew."
Lasswell received many honors throughout his career. He received the Banshees Award of the Silver Lady in 1962. In 1964, he collected the Best Humor Strip and the coveted Reuben Award from the National Cartoonists Society. It was the first time in the society's history that an individual won both awards the same year.
In 1984, he received the Elzie Segar Award for outstanding contributions to the art of cartooning. Ten years later, he again received the award, a bronze Popeye statuette, celebrating the 75th anniversary of Barney Google and Snuffy Smith.
Lasswell's career was not limited to the print media. He produced five "Draw and Color With Uncle Fred" videos for children, one of them in Spanish. One of his videos, "Draw and Color Far-Out Pets," won the Parents Choice award in 1987.
His interest in computers led him to produce a bilingual laser disc with a bar-coded workbook and a hyper card stack for computers.
Kids around the world enjoy his Web site, www.unclefred.com, where they learn to color and draw.
Inspired by an accident in his youth that left him blind for two weeks, Lasswell created a comic book for the blind based on the Braille system, called "This is Charlie."
When asked about the enduring popularity of Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, Lasswell onced replied, "The heart and soul of a comic strip are the characters." He said he thinks Snuffy, Loweezy and all the rest strike a universal chord.
His goal in the strip was not to provide social commentary, but good, clean humor. He vowed that "if editorial writers would stay off the comic pages, I'll stay off the editorial page."
The lack of social commentary also might account for the strip's seemingly timeless quality. Its humor can be enjoyed and appreciated for generations.
Snuffy Smith
When Barney Google's adventures took him deep into the Kentucky hills to escape the law, he met Snuffy Smith, a bodacious hillbilly who soon eclipsed him in popularity. At one time the premier moonshiner of Hootin' Holler Mountain, this card-playin', hammock-swayin', shotgun-sprayin' varmint made the headlines when he vowed to give up his still forever. We'll just see about that!
Loweezy
Snuffy's adoring wife. The only thing she enjoys more than servin' up tasty vittles to Snuffy and the kids is servin' up a bit of juicy gossip to her best friend, Elviney. She loves her role as chief cook and bottle washer in the Smith household!
Jughaid
Snuffy and Loweezy’s nephew. Always in a coonskin cap and suspenders, Jughaid proves that while you can take the boy out of the country, you can't take the country out of the boy! He loves frogs, slingshots and --uh-- Mary Beth--maybe!
Tater
Little Tater is the spittin’ image of his Paw, only shorter! Tater is the apple of his papa's eye — and the bane of Jughaid's existence!
Sheriff Tait
While Loweezy keeps tabs on Snuffy inside the house, it's Sheriff Tait who watches every step he takes outside the house. He’s rough on checker cheats, chicken stealers and jay walkers!
Parson Tuttle
Likes to visit his flock daily around suppertime. He has tried for years to save ol' Snuffy's soul — to no avail!
Spark Plug
A horse who brings out the best in Barney. Barney hates for Spark Plug to lose a race, but he loves their friendship.
Elviney
Dishes the dirt with Loweezy over the gossip fence! She knows everything that is going on in Hootin’ Holler!
Miss Prunelly
The bodacious school marm. She is sweet on Uriah the Mailman and sour on Jughaid, who gives her plenty of headaches each week!
Mary Beth
Purty, prissy and sweet on Jughaid!
Lukey
Snuffy’s sidekick and long-sufferin’ husband of Elviney!
Ol’ Bullet
Ol’ Bullet loves nothing more than huntin’, fishin’ or relaxin’ with Snuffy. Their relationship proves that dog definitely is man’s best friend!
Barney Google
Barney Google was ridin' Spark Plug when he met Snuffy Smith in them thar hills long, long ago!
Doc Pritchart
The one and only best doctor in Hootin' Holler, with the one and only car!