Bil Keane at work, circa 1990.

It’s one of the longest running comics on the pages, and it shows no signs of slowing down, even without the man behind the magic.  Bil Keane, creator of The Family Circus, has passed away at age 89.  Keane died of congestive heart failure.  I have no doubt that Family Circus will run a heart-warming, throat-tightening tribute to the man who was the inspiration for The Family Circus’s Daddy character.

“I never thought about a philosophy for the strip; it developed gradually,” creator Keane told the East Valley Tribune in 1998.  “I was portraying the family through my eyes.  Everything that’s happened in the strip has happened to me.”  Keane’s goal for the comic was a simple one, and it wasn’t constant laughter:  “I would rather have the readers react with a warm smile, a tug at the heart or a lump in the throat as they recall doing the same things in their own families.”

“Family Circus” has been appearing in newspapers daily since 1960, and the strip runs in 1500 papers across the country as we speak.  It details the adventures of Scottsdale, Arizona-based family of Billy, Jeffy, Dolly, P.J. and their parents.  There are 89 collections of Family Circus comics; in addition to the funny pages, the family has been in commercials, animated television specials, and were optioned for a live-action movie in 2010.

Bil’s son, Jeff Keane, has been drawing the strip in recent years and it is expected to continue without interruption.  You know what you’re getting with Family Circus, and it’s nothing like the real circus with its disturbing, violent carnies.

Tags: Bil Keane, Family Circus, Family Circus creator Bil Keane dead at 89, obituaries, cartoonists, daily cartoons, Bil Keane dead, congestive heart failure, Jeff Keane, Scottsdale, Arizona, comics, newspaper cartoon

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