Background
Born in Springfield, Missouri, O'Neal was kept on the move by his traveling father, and the youth grew up in Arkansas, California, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Tennessee and Washington, D.C.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
Frank O'Neal
Edit ProfileEducation
He graduated from high school at the age of 15, but his parents decided he was too young for college or art school.
Career
Employed as an advertising collector for a Washington newspaper when Pearl Harbor was attacked, he enlisted within 30 days. In 1974 O'Neal joined the Carmel Pine Cone, a weekly newspaper in Carmel, CA, as the Advertising Manager, a position he held for 18 months. Following World War II, he worked in the flour and feed business.
In 1948, he began studying in Santa Monica, California at the Jefferson Machamer School of Art, working such odd jobs as a janitor, bellhop and busboy during his three years at the art school. While a student, he began to do advertising art and sell to magazines. In 1950, he sold his first cartoon to The Saturday Evening Post.
After working as a freelance artist from 1950 to 1956, he spent a year-and-a-half doing television storyboards. His feature "How to Bring Up Parents" ran in Redbook for three years. He submitted to NEA, and in November 1958, the syndicate offered as a daily strip, with the Sunday strip launched eight months later in June 1959.
The Sunday and daily were soon carried in 400 newspapers. Success meant deadlines, but O'Neal still found time for his hobbies, cars and sailing.
Achievements
-
Born
-
Died
October 10, 1986 (aged 65) -
Nationality
American -
Ethnicity