CREATOR OF BEETLE BAILEY REFLECTS ON HALF A CENTURY

As a youngster, Mort Walker spent a lot of time sitting around the kitchen table with his mother and father.

"We'd draw," said Walker. "I'd draw cartoons. We didn't have television, and we didn't listen to the radio that much."

Walker's dad, an architect, would work on his drawings. His mother, a newspaper illustrator, would sketch out her illustrations.

"We were a creative family," said Walker.

Walker, who sold his first cartoon at the age of 11, is observing a major anniversary this month: Beetle Bailey, the world laziest, most lovable, work-shirking U.S. Army private, turns 50 Monday.

Beetle, the creation of Walker, made his first appearance on Sept. 4, 1950, when King Features picked up the comic strip for syndication.

"Beetle was originally called Spider," said Walker.

He started as a college cutup, and when he stumbled into an Army recruiting post in 1951 during the Korean War, his circulation started to climb.

Today, Beetle appears in more than 1,800 newspapers, including the Southeast Missourian, and his creator has reaped many cartoonist awards, including Cartoonist of the Year in 1954. He was elected to the Museum of Cartoon Art Hall of Fame in 1989.

Walker was a veteran cartoonist by the time Beetle came along. Born in 1923 in El Dorado, Kan., Walker published his first comic when he was 11 and sold his first cartoon at age 12. At 14, he was selling cartoons regularly to Child Life, Inside Detective, and Flying Aces. At 14, he was comic-strip artist for a daily metropolitan newspaper, and at 18 he became chief editorial designer at Hall Brothers in Kansas City, Mo., ushering in a light, playful style for the company's Hallmark Cards Inc.

Walker was drafted into the Army during World War II. Following discharge, he entered the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he served as editor of the school magazine and eventually came up with Spider.

Following graduation from MU, he headed for New York City to pursue his cartooning career.

In order to survive, he worked as editor of three Dell Publishing Co. magazines. Over the next two years he became the top-selling magazine cartoonist.

His first big break came in 1950 when he submitted Beetle Bailey to King Features.

"It was Spider at the time," recalled Walker last week.

"King Features said they liked the strip but would have to change the main character's name," said Walker. "They already had a character named Spider. This was no problem for Walker.

Spider became Beetle.

"They wanted a last name," said Walker.

Walker remembered a magazine editor named Bailey, "who helped me when I first started." So Spider became Beetle Bailey, and the rest is history.

Walker, who also attended Washington University in St. Louis, now works out of his studio at Stamford, Conn., and has never missed a deadline, keeping King Feature Syndicate happy and comic fans in stitches.

Beetle is just one of Walker's characters.

Walker and Dick Browne created Hi and Lois in 1954 as a spinoff of Beetle Bailey when Beetle went home on furlough to visit his sister Lois and brother-in-law Hi. Walker also created Boner's Ark in 1968 under the name Addison and Sam & Silo with Jerry Dumas in 1977.

Walker and his wife, Catherine, have 10 children between them from previous marriages. Six of the children contribute to the cartoon business.

Walker has written a number of books on the art and history of comics as well as some children's books.

As a youngster, Walker collected some of the era's top cartoon magazines -- Judge and Life.

"My wife and I still collect American illustrators," said Walker. "These include Pyle, Rockwell, Leyendecker and others. Walker's No. 1 character, Beetle, is a typical American boy from Kansas City who, although he never deliberately does anything bad, is always in the middle of trouble. And when he's not searching for an out-of-the-way place to take a nap, he's daydreaming about getting out of the Army.

In general, Beetle makes life miserable for his Sarge, Sgt. Orville Snorkle, who is depicted as shy and awkward with the Army as his only love.

Beetle fans may have been stunned recently when Sarge announced his retirement from the Army. So, what happens now? Will Beetle get a new NCO to pester? Or will Sarge tire of civilian life? Walker wouldn't say but said fans will get the idea by early next week.

50 years of Beetle Bailey

* Beetle Bailey made his appearance in syndication on Sept. 4, 1950.

* The Beetle Bailey strip was the last to be personally approved by William Randolph Hearst.

* Beetle Bailey was originally called Spider.

* The comic strip started as a light look at college life until the main character, Beetle, decided to enter the Army.

* The strip appears in more than 1,800 newspapers, including the Southeast Missourian, and is read by more than 200 million people.

* Mort Walker, creator of Beetle Bailey, had his first work published when he was 11 years old.

* Walker has nine comic strips to his credit, making him the most widely syndicated cartoonist in history. He also has more than 100 books published with more than 10 million copies sold.

* Walker was named Cartoonist of the Year in 1953, and was elected to the Museum of Cartoon Art Hall of Fame in 1989.

* Walker had his own TV special, syndicated TV series, videos and stage musical.

* Beetle Bailey has his own section in the new Islands of Adventure Toon Lagoon at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla.

* Beetle became the first established comic strip to integrate a black character into a white case when it introduced Lt. Jack Flap in 1970.

* Walker served as both an enlisted man and an officer in the U.S. Army during World War II. Many of his characters are based on people he met and served with during the war.

* The Army awarded Walker the Decoration of Distinguished Civilian Service, the highest award the secretary of Army can bestow on a civilian.

* Walker founded and has been a driving force behind the international Museum of Cartoon art in Boca Raton, Fla..

* In 50 years, Walker's studio in Stamford, Conn., has never missed a deadline, keeping King Feature Syndicate happy and comic fans in stitches.

* Walker has received many honors for his cartoons.