In 1952, John Steinbeck wrote that Al Capp, the cartoonist and Lil’ Abner creator, might well have been the best writer working in the world at the time. In the Times, Andy Webster reviews a new biography of Capp, which reveals that underneath it all lay “a toxic chip on his shoulder.”
Contrarian
“A brazen car”
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“Gundersonia, land of the really free.”
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Go Go Gadget Classical Compositions
Fun Fact: the Inspector Gadget theme song is actually based on Edvard Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” Seriously.
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The Vaguest Designation
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Action!
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The President’s Summer
President Barack Obama shared his official summer reading list, featuring the likes of The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead and H Is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald. For other recommended reading, don’t miss our Great Second-Half Book Preview.
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Although I liked “Li’l Abner” the comic strip and the Broadway show (my parents took me when I was pretty young), anyone who ever saw Al Capp even briefly on TV in the 50s and 60s could see he was not a nice person or even a decent human being.