~ Biographical Sketch ~

     Robert Sidney Smith was born on Tuesday, February 13, 1877 in Bloomington, Mc Lean County, Illinios, son of Thomas H. Smith and Francis A. Shafer.^2,1,3 Robert Sidney Smith also went by the name of Sidney Smith.¹

Robert Sidney Smith was the creator of the great American family epic 'The Gumps'. Smith was already almost forty years old when the first panel of this strip was published, in 1917. In 1908, he published his first comic, 'Buck Nix'. When he was hired by the Chicago Tribune the strip's name changed to 'Old Doc Yak'. In 1919, Smith was forced to abandon this strip due to the immense popularity of 'The Gumps', which had greatly boosted the Tribune's circulation.

The Gump family brought Smith fame and riches, which he spent on several houses and cars. The depression of the 1930s did not affect him, for he was able to sign a new contract with the Tribune that paid him a million dollars over the next three years, plus a brand new Rolls Royce as a bonus. Driving home after having closed the deal, Sidney Smith collided with another car and was killed instantly. After that 'The Gumps' were taken over by Gus Edson.¹

Robert died on Sunday, October 20, 1935 at age 58.^2,1 He was laid to rest on Wednesday, October 23, 1935 in the Rose Hill Cemetery in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.²

10/21/35
Creator of 'Gumps' Is Killed in Crash
Sidney Smith Had Been on Outing Celebrating New Contract

Chicago, Ill., Oct. 20 - Sidney Smith, 58, creator of "The Gumps," one of the most popular of all newspaper cartoons, was killed at 3:45 a.m. today in an automobile collision near Harvard, Ill., a few miles from the Wisconsin boundary.

Smith, at the time of the accident, was alone. The previous afternoon he had been on a gay outing at Lake Geneva, Wisc., in celebration of a three-year extension of his $150,000-a-year newspaper syndicate contract.

He had gone from his home in Chicago to the Wisconsin resort to meet with syndicate officials and sign the contract extension. He then invited the syndicate men to spend Sunday at his nearby 2,200 acre Shirland farm.

When they preferred to return to Chicago Smith drove them to the city, then started back toward the farm. It was late at night. To break the long, solitary drive, the cartoonist stopped at the Bubbling-Over Tavern, 6 miles south of the point where he met his death.

At the roadhouse Smith entertained the patrons by drawing pictures of the cartoon characters he made famous throughout the world. About 3:30 a.m. he started on the last lap of his journey.

He was driving a small sedan. Another sedan, headed south and driven by Wendell Martin, of Waukesha, Ill., collided with Smith's car. Although there were no witnesses it is believed the two machines met almost on the center line of the highway. Smith's car was whirled around, thrown off the road and against a telephone pole. The top of the cartoonist's head was crushed in. Marlin suffered a broken hip, fractured jaw, and other injuries.

Smith's body was brought to a Chicago undertaking parlor and from there will be taken to his Chicago residence, 1500 Lake Shore Drive. Funeral services will be held at his home Wednesday. Internment will be in Rose Hill Cemetary here.

Survivors are his wife, a son, Robert Sidney Smith, 25, of Phoenix, Ariz., and a daughter, Mrs. Gladys Lucknow, of Lauderdale, Wis.

Smith's first wife, Gentraude Craddock, of Pittsburgh, died in 1924. His second marriage took place in 1926.

Preferred To Draw
Sidney Smith was born in Bloomington, Ill., on February 13, 1877, the son of Dr. T.H. and Mrs. Francis A. Shafer Smith. His father was a dentist and wanted the son to follow him in his profession. But Sidney, from boyhood, showed an inclination to spend most of his time bending over a drawing board. When he was 18 he was drawing for the Bloomington Sunday Eye.

From Bloomington he went to Indianapolis, where he joined the staff, first of the News, then of the Press. Later he went to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pittsburgh Post, the Pittsburgh Press, the Indianapolis Sentinel and the Toledo News Bee. But his drawings for all these papers were centered around a human goat called "Old Doc Yak."

Not until 1917, when he was on the art staff of the Chicago Tribune, did Smith conceive the now-famous Gump family. Between the birth of Andy and the burial of Old Doc Yak, several other series, including "The Bunk of a Busy Brain," "Self-Made Heroes" and "Light Occupations" wandered across the cartoonist's drawing board.

Won World Recognition
But it was with the Gumps -- Andy, Min, Chester, Uncle Bim -- that Sidney Smith won world recognition. The strip has been published throughout the United States, in Canada, Europe, Hawaii and Australia.

In keeping up the daily and Sunday production the cartoonist was forced to build up a staff of artists and idea men.

It was on March 15, 1922, that Smith signed the first $1,000,000 contract ever given a comic strip artist. The agreement was to cover a 10-year period and as a bonus, the creator of the Gump strip was given a Rolls Royce.

At the time of the artist's death the comic was drawn three months in advance. His staff hopes to continue the adventures of the Gump household.²