We lost Del Connell this past weekend. He was 93. Del was a major figure in the history of animation, comic books and comic strips. He was an artist and later a storyman for Disney Studios during what some would call its Golden Era. He was a very productive writer and later an editor for Western Publishing on its Dell and Gold Key comics during what some would call its Golden Era. He wrote, without credit, the Mickey Mouse newspaper strip for several decades. And all that doesn't begin to describe his lifetime output. It was all largely anonymous, though last month at the Comic-Con International in San Diego, he did receive the Bill Finger Award for Achievement in Comic Book Writing. It was one of the few times in his amazing career he ever had his name on anything.
I really wanted to get Del down to the ceremony to receive it and an ovation in person. His doctor advised against it but Del's son Brady was toying with the idea of ignoring that advice and bringing the old man down anyway. The morning of the event though, when he visited Del in the nursing facility, he decided against it. I'm sure I would have, too. Brady — who by the way, produces the popular TV series Extreme Home Makeover — came as his father's representative and gave an eloquent, expertly appropriate speech. I'm glad we were able to send him home with that trophy to show Dad. (I spoke briefly to Del on the phone that evening and he was his usual humble self, telling me that others probably deserved the honor as much if not more. If he'd been there and able to make a speech, that's probably all he would have said.)
This posting and this recent newspaper article will tell you more about Del's amazing career. He was not only one of the most prolific writers ever in comics, his creations including Space Family Robinson, Super Goof, Daisy Duck's nieces, Wacky Witch and so many more. During the fifties, he routinely wrote comics with sales figures well into the millions.
I do need to add a personal note. When I was in college, I began writing comic books for Western Publishing. My main editor there was Chase Craig but Del's office was about five yards from Chase's and we talked often, and later when Chase retired, Del became my editor for a brief time. He was a man to be admired. He was clever. He was compassionate towards his freelancers — not the case with everyone in comics who ever held the job of editor. He worked very, very hard. And like I said, he was genuinely, almost maddeningly humble. I liked him a lot, even before I realized he'd written an awful lot of the best comics I'd read as a child…comics that inspired me to take up writing.
I will leave the last word for now to Mr. Disney. This framed cel was one of Del's most precious keepsakes…
It's from The Cold-Blooded Penguin, a 1945 Disney short that was incorporated into The Three Caballeros. Del wrote it while he was in the Army and away from the studio in 1944, mailing it in from Panama. Walt bought it for $500…and Walter Lantz later "borrowed" the premise for his popular character, Chilly Willy. Ironically, Del wound up writing and/or editing a lot of the Chilly Willy comic books.
In case you can't read it, the inscription from Walt on the cel says, "To Del — Thanks for a swell story." I'd like to say thanks to Del Connell for hundreds of swell stories. He was a very important and creative man and I treasure that I got to know and work with him.