Cartoonist Ted Key, creator of `Hazel=B4 comic, dies at 95 By BOB LENTZ,
Associated Press Writer
PHILADELPHIA - Cartoonist Ted Key, whose comic strip "Hazel" about a
bossy maid went from magazine page to TV screen, has died. He was 95.
He died Saturday at his home in the Philadelphia suburb of Tredyffrin
Township after a 1 1/2-year battle with cancer, his son Peter Key said
Monday.
"Hazel" was a popular feature in The Saturday Evening Post from the time
it debuted in 1943. It evolved into a prime-time series in 1961 that
starred Shirley Booth and ran for four years on NBC and one year on CBS.
Key also created the characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman for producer Jay
Ward. The time-traveling dog/scientist and his boy made their TV debuts
in 1959 in segments on the animated show "Rocky and His Friends."
He created cartoon panels called "Diz and Liz" for the Jack and Jill
children's magazine and produced a number of other animal characters. He
also wrote a play for radio, authored and illustrated books, and had
freelance cartoons appear in Cosmopolitan, Better Homes and Gardens and
Sports Illustrated.
Key literally dreamed up the concept of his wildly popular maid cartoon.
"Like a lot of creative people, he kept a notepad near his bedside,"
Peter Key said of his father. "He had a dream about a maid who took a
message, but she screwed it up completely. When he looked at the idea
the next day, he thought it was good and sold it to the Post."
Key randomly picked the name for the maid and was flattered that it
later became synonymous with maids, according to his son.
Key acquired the rights to "Hazel" in 1969 and the comic was picked up
for syndication by King Features. King still distributes the cartoon
today, using those drawn by Key before he retired in 1993.
"Hazel" was so popular that when the first collection of cartoons was
published in 1946, E.P. Dutton sold 500,000 copies. In all, Dutton
published eight collections of "Hazel" cartoons.
Later, Key and a neighbor published biweekly motivational posters called
"Positive Attitude Posters," and he created a series of motivational
pamphlets for sales people.
Theodore Keyser was born in Fresno, Calif., on Aug. 25, 1912. His
father, a Latvian immigrant who had changed his last name from Katseff
to Keyser, changed his name to Key during World War I.
Key was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2006 and suffered a stroke in
September.
He is survived by his second wife, Bonnie, three sons and three
grandchildren. His first wife, Anne, died in 1984.
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