Alfred Gerald Caplin was born in Connecticut on September 28, 1909 to Otto and Matilda Caplin. The family was far from rich, existing on the earnings of Otto's unsuccessful sales jobs. The young Al was an avid sketcher and reader, devouring books years beyond his age group. Sadly, he lost his right leg under the wheels of a streetcar, giving him a mission for the rest of his life to show others how well they, too, could survive such a loss. *(2)
After graduating from high school, Al attended several art schools, including the Boston Museum School of Fine Art and Designers Art School. Al changed his name to Capp (making it official in 1949) and struck out for New York City. Drawing advertising cartoons to earn a living, he showed his work to an editor at Associated Press. The editor was unimpressed with the new cartoonist's undeveloped style, but saw the spark. "Never have I seen anything alike the Capp line. It was vital, alive," the editor said at the time. He called Al a month later to take over the "Colonel Gilfeather" cartoon. *(3)
Unhappy with the "Colonel Gilfeather" comic, Al changed the focus and the title to "Mr. Gilfeather." Struggling and overworking the details of the cartoon, he gave the strip up about six months later, returning to art school in Boston for further studies. Al met Catherine Cameron at art school and they were wed in 1932.
Returning to New York City in 1933, Al took a position as an assistant on the "Joe Palooka" comic strip under cartoonist Ham Fisher. Though Al's work was unannounced, his good friend Milt Caniff spotted his pen work. Al Capp's unique style was becoming recognizable.
While working on "Joe Palooka," the young cartoonist began drawing his own comic strip featuring a hillbilly family with a not-too-bright teenager, Abner Yokum, as the unlikely star. The 1930s was a time of fascination for the American public with the boondocks and poor white people. On its debut on August 13, 1934, Li'l Abner cartoon soared in popularity. Al gave Li'l Abner a satirical voice, taunting bigots, the greedy and governments of the day and producing a united laugh from his fans.
