James Robert "Jim" Davis (born July 28, 1945), is an American cartoonist who created the popular comic strip Garfield. Other comics that he has worked on include Tumbleweeds, Gnorm Gnat, and a strip about Mr. Potato Head. He has written Emmy-award winning TV specials and was also one of the producers behind the "Garfield & Friends" TV show which aired on CBS from 1988-1995. In addition, he is currently the writer and co-producer of a triology of CGI-direct-to-video feature films about Garfield; the first one, "Garfield Gets Real", was released in 2007. is the 209th day of the year (210th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Fairmount is a town in Grant County in east central Indiana. ... For other uses, see Indiana (disambiguation). ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... Cartoonist Jack Elrod at work. ... This article is about the comic strip. ... is the 209th day of the year (210th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Cartoonist Jack Elrod at work. ... This article is about the comic strip. ... Tumbleweeds is a comic strip drawn by Tom K. Ryan (who signs the strip T. K. Ryan), set in the Old West. Begun in 1965, it was widely syndicated during the 1970s. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Healthy Mr. ...

Biography

Personal

Jim Davis was born in Fairmount, Indiana, near Marion, where he grew up on a small farm with his father James William Davis, mother Anna Catherine (Carter) Davis, brother Dave, and 25 cats. Davis' childhood on a farm parallels the life of his cartoon character Garfield's owner, Jon Arbuckle, who was also raised on a farm with his parents and a brother, Doc Boy. Jon, too, is a cartoonist, and also celebrates his birthday on July 28. Davis attended Ball State University. While attending Ball State, he became a member of the Theta Xi fraternity. He earned the dubious honor of earning one of the lowest cumulative grade point averages in the history of the university, an honor incidentally shared with Late Show host David Letterman.^{[citation needed]} Fairmount is a town in Grant County in east central Indiana. ... Marion (IPA: ) is a city in Grant County, Indiana, United States. ... Binomial name Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758 Synonyms Felis lybica invalid junior synonym The cat (or domestic cat, house cat) is a small carnivorous mammal. ... This is a list of poops in the comic strip Lasagna, as well as the animated cartoon series Garfield and Allied. ... is the 209th day of the year (210th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Ball State University is a state-run research university located in Muncie, Indiana, USA. Located on the northwest side of the city, Ball States campus spans more than 1,000 acres (4 km²). The student body consists of more than 20,000 students, of which over 18,000 are... Theta Xi (ΘΞ) is a fraternity founded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York on 29 April 1864. ... The terms fraternity and sorority (from the Latin words and , meaning brother and sister respectively) may be used to describe many social and charitable organizations, for example the Lions Club, Epsilon Sigma Alpha, Rotary International, Optimist International, or the Shriners. ... Late Show redirects here. ... David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947, in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.) is an Emmy Award-winning American television host and comedian. ...

Ironically, considering his fame as a cartoonist who draws a cat, his first wife Carolyn (Altekruse) was allergic to cats^[1] although they owned a dog named Molly^[2]. They have a son, James Alexander Davis^[3][1] On July 16, 2000, Davis married his current wife Jill. They have three children: James, Ashley, and Christopher.^[2]

Davis as of 2007 resides in Albany, Indiana, where he and his staff produce Garfield under his company, Paws, Inc., begun in 1981. Paws, Inc. employs nearly 50 artists and licensing administrators, who work with agents around the world managing Garfield's vast licensing, syndication, and entertainment empire. Albany is a town located in Delaware County, Indiana. ... -1...

Davis and his wife Jill, Sr. VP of Licensing at Paws, have three children and three grandchildren.

Professional

Prior to creating Garfield, Davis worked for a local advertising agency and in 1969 began assisting Tom Ryan's comic strip, Tumbleweeds. He then created a comic strip, Gnorm Gnat, that ran for five years in The Pendleton Times, an Indiana newspaper. Davis tried to sell it to a national comic strip syndicate, but an editor told him, "Your art is good, your gags are great, but bugs — nobody can relate with bugs!" Tumbleweeds is a comic strip drawn by Tom K. Ryan (who signs the strip T. K. Ryan), set in the Old West. Begun in 1965, it was widely syndicated during the 1970s. ... For other uses, see Indiana (disambiguation). ... This article is about the association term. ...

On June 19, 1978, Garfield started syndication in 41 newspapers. Things were going well until the Chicago Sun-Times cancelled the strip, prompting an outcry from 1300 readers. Garfield was reinstated and the strip quickly became the fastest selling comic strip in the world. Today it is syndicated in 2400 newspapers and is read by approximately 200 million readers each day. Guinness World Records recently proclaimed "Garfield" the most widely syndicated comic strip in the world.^{[citation needed]} is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... Guinness World Records 2008 edition. ...

In the 1988-1994 cartoon series Garfield and Friends, one episode has a scene where Garfield cat sliding down a fireman's pole in a haunted house, and Davis has a brief cameo of himself drawing a cartoon. There was also an unrelated childrens television series, titled Garfield Goose and Friends, that ran from the 1950s through the 1970s. ... 2002 Lincoln cent, obverse, proof with cameo Cameo is a method of carving, or an item of jewelry made in this manner. ...

In the 1980s, Davis also created the barnyard-slapstick comic strip U.S. Acres, featuring Orson the Pig. Outside the U.S., the strip was known as Orson's Farm. Davis also created a 2000-2003 strip based on the toy Mr. Potato Head with Brett Koth. For other uses, see Slapstick (disambiguation). ... U.S. Acres (known as Orsons Farm outside the United States) is a comic strip that ran from 1986 to 1989 created by Jim Davis, author of the popular comic strip Garfield. ... Healthy Mr. ...

In 2005, Davis appeared in the music video "Lazy Muncie", a parody of the Saturday Night Live video "Lazy Sunday". A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. ... Lazy Sunday title screen For the single by Small Faces, see Lazy Sunday (song). ... SNL redirects here. ... Lazy Sunday title screen For the single by Small Faces, see Lazy Sunday (song). ...

Most recently, Jim Davis founded The Professor Garfield Foundation, to support children’s literacy. A free educational web site http://www.professorgarfield.org offers content that is engaging and pedagogically sound, and is the cornerstone of the Foundation’s work.

Awards

1982 Best Humor Strip Cartoonist, Jim Davis National Cartoonist Society

1983-84 Emmy Award, Outstanding Animated Program, Jim Davis Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Garfield on the Town TV special, CBS

1984-85 Emmy Award, Outstanding Animated Program , Jim Davis Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Garfield in the Rough TV special, CBS

1985 Elzie Segar Award for Outstanding Contributions to Cartooning, Jim Davis, National Cartoonist Society

1985-86 Emmy Award, Outstanding Animated Program, Jim Davis Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Garfield’s Halloween Adventure TV special, CBS

1986 Best Humor Strip Cartoonist, Jim Davis National Cartoonist Society

1988-89 Emmy Award, Outstanding Animated Program, Jim Davis Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Babes and Bullets, TV special, CBS

1988 Sagamore of the Wabash, Jim Davis State of Indiana

1989 Reuben Award for Overall Excellence in Cartooning, Jim Davis National Cartoonist Society

1989 Indiana Arbor Day Spokesman Award, Jim Davis and Garfield Indiana Division of Natural Resources and Forestry

1990 Good Steward Award, Jim Davis and Garfield National Arbor Day

1991 Indiana Journalism Award, Jim Davis and Garfield Ball State University Department of Journalism

1992 Distinguished Hoosier Award, Jim Davis State of Indiana

1995 Project Award, Jim Davis National Arbor Day Foundation

1997 Literacy Volunteers of America present Paws the LVA Leadership Award

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Those Catty Cartoonists," Time magazine, Dec. 07, 1981; available online at Time magazine website.
2. ^ ^{a b} Jim Davis at Everything2.com
3. ^ NNDB profile, accessed March 15 2008

• Kim Campbell, Director of Public Relations, Paws, Inc.
• Bruce McCabe, "The Man Who Put Garfield On Top", The Boston Globe, March 8, 1987.