Mutt and Jeff's 100th

March 27, 2008

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Profile America — Thursday, March 27th. One of America’s longest-lasting and most popular comic strips — “Mutt and Jeff” — had its debut 100 years ago this week, created by Bud Fisher. Mutt was tall and a racetrack gambler — Jeff was pint-sized, gullible and always willing to try anything. The combination became a sensation and was the first truly popular daily newspaper strip. Later, “Mutt and Jeff” were in movie cartoons and comic books. Their very names came to mean in popular language any couple with one very tall and one very short person. When “Mutt and Jeff” started, there were some 2,600 daily newspapers — today, there are just under 1,450. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau on the Web at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2008, p. 192
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 810
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2008, t. 1102
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2008edition.html