Pat Sullivan b. 7 February 1887

Also known as Patrick O'Sullivan, Patrick Sullivan, Pat O'Sullivan, Pos
  • Artist (Graphic Designer),
  • Artist (Screen Artist),
  • Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
Successful and influential Sydney born American cartoonist and animator, creator (or, with Otto Messmer, co-creator) of Felix the cat.
You are viewing the version of bio from Nov. 27, 2012, 11:02 a.m. (moderator approved).
Revert to this revision Go to current record

cartoonist, was born in Sydney on 7 February 1887, son of a Darlinghurst cab-driver. He studied at evening art classes while working as a brewery clerk, sold caricatures of boxing and turf celebrities to barbers’ shops as a student and had occasional cartoons published in the Bulletin and other illustrated papers. He apparently used 'PO’S’ as his signature initially but because it was constantly confused with 'PAS’ ( Pasquin ) changed to 'Pat Sullivan’.

In 1904, aged 18, Sullivan was employed as a cartoonist by the Worker and remained there for three years. Then he illustrated for the Gadfly , e.g. 'Consoling’ 1907, a poorly-drawn shipboard joke about there being no danger of drowning because of the sharks (ill. Lindesay 1979, 141). Canemaker claims it’s the only signed cartoon by Sullivan in the paper. (Nobody seems to have investigated the Worker , though Gibbney and Smith cite 19 August 1905, p.6, as well as 22 February 1933, p.19. The latter is evidently an obituary, even though Canemaker says none was published in Australia.)

Sullivan left for England in 1908 where he did drawings for children’s penny weeklies at two shillings each. Then he sailed to America in a cattle-boat in 1909. He worked in the boxing ring and on the vaudeville stage before he began selling comic postcards and cinema posters. Finally, he made big money with Felix the Cat , created in 1917 (ill. Lindesay 1979, 164, and Canemaker). It became a comic strip in 1923. He drew other film animals and 'a little coon, “Sambs”’ ( Home , 1926). According to Inkspot 24 (Summer 1994, p.13): 'Historians [presumably Canemaker] now state that Felix was actually created by Otto Messmer in Sullivan’s New York studio in 1919 [ sic ], although Sullivan took all the credit.’

[In October 2004 the ABC Television programme Rewind broadcast a segment on this question, in which Judy Nelson of the State Library of New South Wales revealed a USA Library of Congress copyright record crediting Pat Sullivan with the film 'The Tail of Thomas Kat’, 3 March 1917 (Thomas Kat being an earlier name for Felix or the character on which Felix was based, depending on one’s stand in this dispute). This discovery formed the basis of an exhibition at SLNSW the following year]

He revisited Sydney in 1920 (according to Gibbney and Smith) and in 1925 and was reportedly given a civic reception on the latter occasion. A drawing of Felix inscribed 'With Best of the Best to my old Pal Perrier’, and annotated: 'His last visit to Australia early 1930s’, is in ML (SSV*CART 40: filed under 'Pat O’Sullivan’ though signed 'from Pat Sullivan’).

Sullivan died in New York on 15 February 1933.

Writers:
Kerr, Joan
Date written:
1996
Last updated:
2007

Difference between this version and previous

Field This Version Previous Version
References [<ExternalResource: Nelson, Judy (May 2005), 'Reclaiming Felix the Cat', Sydney, NSW : State Library of New South Wales, .>, <ExternalResource: Canemaker, John (1991), 'Felix : the twisted tale of the world's most famous cat', New York, NY, USA : Pantheon Books (Da Capo Press paperback, 1996).>, <ExternalResource: Gibbney, H. J.; & Smith, Ann G. (eds.) (1987), 'A Biographical register 1788-1939 : notes from the name index of the Australian dictionary of biography', Canberra, ACT : Australian Dictionary of Biography.>, <ExternalResource: Lindesay, Vane (1979), 'The inked-in image : a social and historical survey of Australian comic art', Richmond, Vic : Hutchinson of Australia (new edition), pp 52-53.>, <ExternalResource: Moore, William (1934), 'Story of Australian Art', Sydney, NSW : Angus & Robertson (facsimile 1980).>, <ExternalResource: Rafty, Tony; with Mack, Brodie (1964), 'Fifty Years of Australian Cartooning', Sydney, NSW : Blaxland Gallery.>, <ExternalResource: Rolfe, Patricia (1979), 'The journalistic javelin : an illustrated history of the Bulletin', Sydney, NSW : Wildcat Press ; Gladesville, NSW : distributed by Golden Press, p 269.>, <ExternalResource: Ryan, John (1979), 'Panel by panel : a history of Australian comics', Stanmore, NSW : Cassell Australia.>, <ExternalResource: Stone, Mick (1900), 'Checklist', in Shiell Annette (ed.), Bonzer : Australian comics 1900-1990s, Redhill South, Vic : Elgua Media, 1998.>, <ExternalResource: (1 January 1926), '"Felix" the cat : A world famous cartoon creation by an Australian', Sydney, NSW : Home, p 74.>, <ExternalResource: (2 April 1988), Sydney, NSW : Sydney Morning Herald, pp 30-34.>, <ExternalResource: (19 August 1997), Sydney, NSW : Sydney Morning Herald : Good Weekend, p 24.>, <ExternalResource: (5 July 1924), Melbourne, Vic : Australasian, p 48.>, <ExternalResource: (3 December 1925), Sydney, NSW : Freeman's Journal, p 18.>, <ExternalResource: (19 August 1905), Worker, p.6.>, <ExternalResource: (22 February 1933), '[obituary]', Worker.>, <ExternalResource: Zinn, Christopher; & Reisinger, Daniel; & Hall, Alan (31 October 2004), 'Felix the Cat', ABC Television, Rewind.>, <ExternalResource: (1994), Inkspot 24, (Summer), p.13.>] [<ExternalResource: Nelson, Judy (May 2005), 'Reclaiming Felix the Cat', Sydney, NSW : State Library of New South Wales, .>]