Who Am I? GUESS THE MYSTERY person Here are some clues:
I grew up in New York City.
page 1 Singing is something I enjoy.
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I knew President Franklin D. Roosevelt quite well.
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In my youth, I was especially skilled at advertising.
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I had a very long run in syndication.
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Many consider me an optimistic person.
page 6 I am in a Hall of Fame.
page 7 People admire me for my perseverance.
page 8 I love adventure.
page 9 My eyes are large and round.
page 10 I once helped people decipher codes.
page 11 My life has been marked by many close calls.
page 12 I have spent some time with Dick Tracy.
page 13 My creator believes in self-reliance.
page 14 Because of my own loneliness, I have always been nurturing toward others.
page 15 My face has appeared on postage stamps.
page 16 I am known around the world, appearing in newspapers everywhere.
page 17 My Broadway run was long and magical; plus, I met Tony.
page 18 I encouraged others to support the war effort.
page 19 My life has been filled with many hard knocks.
page 20 Ovaltine is my favorite beverage.
page 21 My dog’s name is Sandy.
page 22 I believe in tomorrow.
page 23 My curly hair matches my red dress.
page 24 I am an orphan who is fortunate to live with a wealthy benefactor.
page 25 Have you guessed who I am?
page 26 Leapin’ lizards! I am Little Orphan Annie.
page 27 Introduction Little Orphan Annie is a spunky, optimistic pre-teen featured in the Harold Gray comic strip and radio show of the same name. Her adventures have been recounted in two Broadway musicals and five feature films to adoring fans from around the world.
page 28 Throughout her decades-long presence in American culture, Little Orphan Annie has promoted the virtues of hard work and determination as well as product merchandising and support for the war effort. Not only did she overcome countless obstacles with wit and charm but she reminded everyone about the promise of tomorrow.
page 29 Female Comic Book Hero Little Orphan Annie made her comic strip debut on August 5, 1924, in the New York Daily News. The plucky 11-year-old ragamuffin—dressed in a red dress to match her curly locks and accompanied by her faithful dog, Sandy— met every challenge with courage and undeniable grit.
page 30 Based on the 1885 poem “Little Orphant Annie” by James Whitcomb Riley, the comic strip was conceived by American cartoonist Harold Gray, who used the platform to promote his outspoken political views against communism, organized labor, and the New Deal. Annie’s adventures took her around the world battling crooks and criminals at every turn until she could be reunited with her benefactor and protector, a self-made millionaire named Oliver Warbucks—or “Daddy Warbucks” as she liked to call him.
page 31 While the comic was originally intended for an adult audience, Annie’s lighthearted spunk and individualism appealed to readers of all ages. For a nation reeling from the challenges of the Great Depression, Little Orphan Annie was a delightful diversion.
page 32 She encouraged kids to join Junior Commando units across the country to collect scrap metal, the proceeds from which were used for war bonds in support of the war. Little Orphan Annie ran in syndication for 86 years, putting it on the list of the 10 longest-running American comic strips of all time.
page 33 Discussion Starters • What comic strips did you enjoy reading as a child? What did you find most entertaining about reading the comics? • In your opinion, what aspects of Little Orphan Annie made it unique? Do you think this formula would be as successful today? Why or why not?
page 34 Radio Star and Marketing Marvel In 1930, Little Orphan Annie took to the airwaves as a 15-minute radio show debuting on WGN Chicago. Less than a year later, it could be heard from coast-to-coast on NBC Radio. Not only was it among the first comic strips to be adapted for radio but it was also the first nationally broadcast children’s program featuring a child in the lead role.
page 35 Another novelty was its female heroine in a genre dominated by male characters like Dick Tracy, Green Hornet, and Lone Ranger. Wildly popular among young children and families alike, the radio show attracted millions of listeners who followed Annie’s adventures.
page 36 Unlike the comic strip, the Little Orphan Annie radio show did not overtly promote a political agenda. Instead, it capitalized on subtle advertising and product promotion that seamlessly integrated a sponsor’s product into the storyline. Ovaltine, producers of a malted powder used to flavor milk, saw their sales soar when they offered special premiums to listeners who became part of Annie’s Mystery Radio Club. page 37 To join, children mailed in proof-of- purchase labels from Ovaltine products in exchange for official decoder pins or rings to help them decipher secret messages about Annie’s next adventure. Every year, Ovaltine issued new collectible decoders and badges, further fueling fan engagement.
page 38 During the show’s final two years, Ovaltine took its advertising dollars elsewhere, leaving Little Orphan Annie to court a new sponsor. Quaker stepped in to promote its Puffed Wheat Sparkies and introduced a new lead character named Captain Sparks, relegating Annie to a supporting role.
page 39 With declining ratings, the show’s final episode aired on April 26, 1942. Little Orphan Annie lives on in the hearts and homes of fans everywhere thanks to its most coveted collectibles, from whistles and periscopes to the iconic Ovaltine Shake-Up Mug, which is bought and sold to this day. The franchise’s successful marketing model has been copied and enhanced ever since.
page 40 Discussion Starters • What radio shows have you ever listened to? Name some of the product sponsors. If you can, sing a jingle or two. • In your opinion, are podcasts the modern-day equivalent of radio shows? Why or why not?
page 41 Broadway and Film Productions The adventures of Little Orphan Annie have been told both on stage and in film to the delight of fans around the world. The first two movie adaptions released in the 1930s were widely panned by both critics and patrons. In 1976, a creative team led by writer Thomas Meehan, musician Charles Strouse, and lyricist Martin Charnin adapted Annie for the Broadway stage. Not only did they make significant alterations to the characters and plot but they also wrote original songs and choreographed elaborate musical numbers.
page 42 Opening at the Alvin Theatre on April 21, 1977, the original Broadway production of Annie won seven of the 11 Tony Awards for which it was nominated. It spawned four national touring companies and an original three-year run in London’s West End theater district.
page 43 The Broadway show closed on January 2, 1983, after a total of 2,377 performances but was revived in 1997 and 2012 to mark key anniversaries of the original. Since that time, there have been national and local productions as well as a few attempted sequels, none of which captured the magic of the original.
page 44 The feature film Annie was released on May 21, 1982. Directed by John Houston, the movie musical starred Broadway understudy Aileen Quinn in the title role and beloved comedienne Carol Burnett as the evil Miss Hannigan. Departing from the stage production, it introduced characters from the comic strip as well as new songs to replace some fan favorites from the original Broadway production. Despite mixed reviews, Annie delighted fans, becoming the tenth-highest-grossing film of 1982 and earning two Academy Award nominations. page 45 It spawned two direct-to-video features: Little Orphan Annie’s A Very Animated Christmas (1995) and Annie: A Royal Adventure! (1996). The 2014 Annie reboot provided a contemporary take on the classic story. In this version, critically acclaimed actress Quvenzhané Wallis plays Annie, a foster kid taken in by New York City mayoral candidate Will Stacks, played by Oscar winner Jamie Foxx (pictured), to earn political points. It was not as widely praised as the original.
page 46 Discussion Starters • In your opinion, in which medium—comic strip, radio, stage, or film—does Little Orphan Annie shine the most brightly? Why? • If you were to write a musical about your life, what would it be about? Who would play the leading roles, and what type of music would it feature?
page 47 Annie Creator Harold Lincoln Gray was born on January 20, 1894, in Kankakee, Illinois. He grew up on the family farm in Illinois and Indiana. Like his comic strip heroine, Gray was orphaned in his youth and approached life with an independent spirit rooted in self-reliance. Shortly after his 1912 high school graduation, he landed his first job, with a newspaper in West Lafayette, Indiana.
page 48 Gray later worked construction jobs to pay for his education at Purdue University (pictured), where he graduated in 1917 with a degree in engineering. While he had a desire to become a cartoonist, Harold settled for a reporter job at the Chicago Tribune, from which he took a brief hiatus to serve in the military during World War I.
page 49 In 1919, Gray became a freelance commercial artist before joining the New York Daily News as an assistant to Sidney Smith, who created The Gumps, a long- running comic strip about a middle-class family. This experience helped Harold learn the finer points of cartooning and empowered him to develop a comic strip about the adventures of an orphan without any family connections or a place to call home. page 50 Given that Gray related to this experience so intimately, his storytelling was both authentic and riveting, and this made up for his deficiencies as an artist. Making his protagonist a girl was not only novel at the time but it appealed to a much wider audience.
page 51 Gray never wasted an opportunity to use the comic strip to promote his conservative political beliefs of small government, personal responsibility, and free enterprise. At the same time, he lauded the character traits of individualism, perseverance, and a strong work ethic. His life’s work, Little Orphan Annie, continued in syndication even after Gray’s death in 1968, with several ghost cartoonists trying to capture the essence of the original.
page 52 For several years during the late 1970s, newspapers reprinted old installments until the strip was relaunched in 1979 with new cartoonist Leonard Starr at the helm. Given the success of the Broadway musical Annie, the strip found a new audience and flourished until Starr’s retirement in 2000. Little Orphan Annie underwent one final makeover before being retired in June 2010.
page 53 Discussion Starters • In your opinion, how important is it for writers to have a deep understanding of their characters’ life experiences? Describe a time when a book or movie character did not ring true. • When is the optimal time to bring a popular series (comic strip, television, or movie) to a close? Can you cite examples where it might have been beneficial to end the run earlier than they actually did? page 54 A Bit of Trivia • Harold Gray named his cartoon protagonist Annie after a street urchin he had once known in Chicago. • According to a 1937 Fortune magazine poll, Little Orphan Annie was ranked the most popular comic strip in the United States. • In 1995, Little Orphan Annie was featured on a series of commemorative U.S. postage stamps celebrating 20 classic comic strips.
page 55 A Bit of Trivia (continued) • Neither of the two proposed sequels—Annie 2: Miss Hannigan’s Revenge (1989) and Annie Warbucks (1992–93)—ever opened on Broadway. • When it was canceled in 2010, Little Orphan Annie ran in only 20 newspapers across the country. The characters and remaining storyline occasionally appear in the Dick Tracy comic strip. • In 1990, the Little Orphan Annie show was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. page 56 Can You Guess? 1. Listeners of the Little Orphan Annie radio drama used their Ovaltine decoder pin to reveal a secret code during the broadcast. Can you guess the 1983 film whose lead character Ralph is frustrated when the code instructs him to drink more Ovaltine?
page 57 Answer: A Christmas Story
page 58 Can You Guess? 2. Six actresses played the title role of Annie during the show’s original Broadway run from August 1976 to January 1983. After leaving the show, each actress found subsequent roles in stage, film, and television projects. Can you guess which Annie became a worldwide sensation for playing a successful newspaper columnist with a keen sense of fashion?
page 59 Answer: Sarah Jessica Parker. She played Annie from 1979 to 1980 and Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw from 1998 to 2004.
page 60 Can You Guess? 3. In 1956, several newspapers across the country refused to run Little Orphan Annie in their pages because of disturbing storylines involving juvenile delinquents. Can you guess the offensive content that got the comic strip pulled? page 61 Answer: Stories of muggings, street gangs, and knife fights
page 62 Can You Guess? 4. During the height of the Great Depression, Harold Gray provided an escape for readers by creating overseas adventures filled with wise and magical characters that helped rescue Annie from danger. Can you guess the names of these exotic characters?
page 63 Answer: Punjab, Asp, and Mr. Am
page 64 Can You Guess? 5. To appeal to a wider audience, Gray introduced a male sidekick to the comic strip, Annie’s neighbor Joe Corntassel. Can you guess what famous singer portrayed Joe on the radio show?
page 65 Answer: Mel Tormé
page 66 Can You Guess? 6. When Franklin D. Roosevelt announced his plans for a fourth presidential run in 1944, Harold Gray expressed his disapproval by killing off his beloved character “Daddy” Warbucks. Can you guess what real-life event brought Warbucks back to life a year later?
page 67 Answer: FDR’s death
page 68 Discussion Starters • In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of being a child star? Do you think early success leads to mostly good or mostly bad outcomes in adulthood? Explain. • Do you believe that we are too desensitized to the violence that appears in our entertainment today? Would there ever be a hunger to lessen or remove it? • What type of entertainment do you use as an escape from reality? Please elaborate. page 69 brought to you by