Fifty Before '50: GERTIE THE DINOSAUR
by JBBefore Mickey Mouse... Before Oswald the Lucky Rabbit... Before Krazy Kat... There was Gertie. In 1913, Winsor McKay was one of the most famous cartoonists in the country, drawing the enormously successful Little Nemo in Slumberland for the Hearst newspaper syndicate. Looking to expand his fame and income, he embarked on a vaudeville tour wherein he did a “chalk talk,” drawing on a large blackboard while engaging the audience with jokes and banter. Soon, he expanded his act with an animated cartoon he drew himself; he would stand next to the screen and interact with a cartoon dinosaur…
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