Clip From “Raggedy”: Gruelle’s Early Career

Gruelle's mentor James Whitcomb Riley

Here’s another new clip from our upcoming documentary “Raggedy.” Just like what was stated in the video, Johnny’s father Richard was none too pleased about him becoming a cartoonist. However, family friend James Whitcomb Riley new that Johnny would be successful in something he had his heart fully invested in, which is exactly what happened.

During his first job as a cartoonist at the Indianapolis Star newspaper, Johnny simply signed his name as “GRUE” or in the phonetic manner “GRUE*L. His comedic sensibilities showed in his caricatures of people and events. Gruelle was also known to be a quick worker, especially during fishing season. He would often show up to work dressed in his fishing gear during the summer. However, his exceptional talent allowed for him to complete his work in brief periods with no impact on quality.

During his stint at the Indianapolis Star Gruelle created his first continuous cartoon character: Jim Crow (not related to Jim Crow Laws). Jim Crow was a weather bird that was specifically dressed in accordance to the weather. If it was warm, Crow would wear a straw hat and fishing pole, while if it were cold he would adorn a hat, coat and boots. In fact the Star still uses Crow as their funny weather bird to this day, although he has been renamed “Joe” Crow for obvious purposes.

Gruelle took his success to Cleveland and then on to New York, where he drew for the Herald. It was there that he created a new and award winning character, named Mr. Twee Deedle. The creation of this character further cemented his talents as an inventive mind. Mr. Twee Deedle was actually created by Gruelle family friend Solon Borglum, who described him as an “elf who lived in a gnarled tree and had the ability to make himself invisible.” Gruelle actually approached Borglum about making Mr. Twee Deedle into a cartoon character. Borglum happily agreed.

Mr. Twee Deedle

Interestingly enough, Mr. Twee-Deedle was Gruelle’s first foray into the doll-making world. The lovable creature was made into a doll by A. Steinhardt & Bro. in New York City. The price of the doll at the time was between $1.00 and $1.70. Although the doll wasn’t a massive hit, it gave Gruelle exposure and confidence in the doll and toy world. Surely without Mr. Twee Deedle their would be no Raggedy Ann, who made her debut in the elf’s cartoon.

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An Early Look at Johnny’s Life

Just like I promised, here’s a new clip of our upcoming documentary “Raggedy.” This short segment highlights the humble beginnings of Johnny Gruelle’s life and his journey to become a great artist. Johnny’s first great inspiration was his father, Richard Gruelle, a landscape painter.

Johnny’s first teacher was in fact his father, who taught him the fundamentals of drawing. He studied his father’s work as a toddler until becoming a teenager. By the age of 16, he was carrying a pad and pen everywhere he ventured, drawing everything he found interesting. However Johnny was drawing in a much different style from his father. He was drawing the likeness of friends as well as strangers in a fun and cartoonish style, much to their amazement and joy.

A major event in Johnny’s young life was when the circus came to town. He would always take his younger siblings to this fantastic event. The circus for Johnny was like his imagination springing to life right in front of him. He particularly enjoyed the behavior of the clowns and paid close attention to their painted faces and costumes. It is now obvious that he was absorbing their fashion for his own characters, particularly Raggedy Ann and Andy. You can easily draw relations between the painted faces of the Raggedy dolls and a normal clown, as well as connect their similar style of dress.

Another interesting fact pointed out in the clip is that Richard Gruelle was dear friends with the famous poet and writer James Whitcomb Riley, whose most famous poems included “Little Orphant Annie” and “The Raggedy Man.” Johhny Gruelle is famously noted for naming Raggedy Ann after these two poems.

These are just some of the facts about Johnny Gruelle and the Raggedy Dolls found in our film “Raggedy.” I will posting another clip this weekend, so stay tuned. In the meantime, please visit our IndieGoGo page where you can donate and help us finish our documentary.

What’s To Come

Hello Raggedy fans! It’s been a while since our last post…but now we’re here to make up for it! The Indie Go-Go project is halfway done and it’s crunch time. We are happy to report that we have raised a good bit of money, but like always, we need more.

The team has decided that we should overhaul the blog updates on this site and that is what we’re doing. We will be frequently adding to this blog site to attract new and old fans to the project. There will be preview clips from the film that you, dear reader, can watch and comment on our YouTube page.

The videos will give you insight into what our documentary, “Raggedy,” is all about. In addition to the video previews, we will be revealing interesting details about the life of  Raggedy Ann and Andy creator Johnny Gruelle to keep fans satisfied until the project is completed. We truly appreciate all of the great support we are getting. We just need a little more to keep the ball rolling until it crosses the finish line, but I know we can get this done.

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