Cartoonist Ted Key died Saturday at his home in Tredyffrin Township, PA, just outside Philadelphia. He was 95 and had been in failing health after a diagnosis of bladder cancer in late 2006 and a stroke last September.
Key was famous for his character Hazel, the sassy maid who first appeared in cartoons he drew for The Saturday Evening Post in 1943. She became a regular feature of that magazine and later appeared in books collecting those cartoons, a syndicated newspaper strip and a popular TV series that ran on NBC and CBS for four seasons beginning in 1961. The above photo shows Key with the acclaimed actress, Shirley Booth, who played Hazel and won two Emmy awards for so doing.
But Hazel was hardly Key's only notable creation. In the late fifties, he worked with animation producer Jay Ward (a childhood friend of Ted's brother, Leonard) and created Mr. Peabody and Sherman, the improbable time travellers who were featured on Rocky and His Friends, aka The Bullwinkle Show. Peabody and Sherman quickly joined the ranks of immortal cartoon characters and a major motion picture of their adventures is presently in the works.
Key authored numerous books and was responsible for the storylines of three motion pictures made by the Disney company in the seventies — Million Dollar Duck, Gus and The Cat from Outer Space. He was also responsible for the comic feature Diz and Liz that ran from 1961 through 1972 in the popular children's magazine, Jack and Jill.
Ted Key was born Theodore Keyser in Fresno, CA on Aug. 25, 1912. In 1933, he graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and relocated to New York where he freelanced cartoons for magazine and occasionally wrote for radio. He eventually relocated to Philadelphia where he continued to write stories and draw cartoons. Key retired in 1993 but King Features still syndicates the Hazel strip using material he prepared for his retirement. He is survived by his second wife, three sons and three grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made to the American Cancer Society.