Ernest Bushmiller

Ernest Paul (Ernie) Busmiller was born in the Bronx as the son of immigrant parents. At the age of fourteen, he started working as a copy-boy at the New York World newspaper. In the evenings, he studied at the Academy of Drawing. The first comic strip he worked on was 'Fritzi Ritz', starting in 1925.

The 'Fritzi Ritz' series was created by Larry Whittington in 1922, but the artist had moved on to another feature. It was Bushmiller who gave the series fame and success. In 1933, he introduced the character of 'Nancy', Fritzi's niece.

Nancy became so prominent in the 'Fritzi Ritz' strip, that the feature was renamed to 'Nancy' in 1938. It was 'Nancy' that made Bushmiller a famous cartoonist, although the 'Fritzi Ritz' comics were funnier and better drawn. It is due to this strip that Harold Lloyd invited Bushmiller to invent gags and narratives for his films during the 1920s.

Between 1932 and 1938, Bushmiller also made a strip called 'Phil Fumble'. In 1971, he produced a shortlived feature called 'Norman'. Bushmiller died in 1982, at the age of 77.