Dirks was born in Heide, Germany, to Johannes and Margaretha Dirks. When he was seven years old, his father, a woodcarver, moved the family to Chicago, Illinois. After having sold various cartoons to local magazines Rudolph moved to New York City and found work as a cartoonist. His younger brother Gus soon followed his example. He held several jobs as an illustrator, which culminated in a position with William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal.
Dirks made substantial contributions to the graphic language of comic strips. Although not the first to use sequential panels or speech balloons, he was influential in their wider adoption. He also popularized such icons as speed lines, "seeing stars" for pain, and "sawing wood" for snoring.
As a pastime, Dirks produced serious paintings associated with the Ashcan School. Like many of his cartoonist colleagues, he was an avid golfer. Dirks incrementally passed his cartooning duties on to his son John Dirks, who took over The Captain and the Kids around 1955.
See Wikipedia for further information on Rudolph Dirks. See also IMDB for list of his work.
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Per: Cook County, Illinois, Marriages Index, 1871-1920
Name: Rudolph Dirks
Age: 22
Gender: Male
Birth Year: 1877
Marriage Type: Marriage
Marriage Date: 4 Oct 1899
Marriage Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois
Spouse Name: Rose A. Zugler
Spouse Age: 19
Dirks was born in Heide, Germany, to Johannes and Margaretha Dirks. When he was seven years old, his father, a woodcarver, moved the family to Chicago, Illinois. After having sold various cartoons to local magazines Rudolph moved to New York City and found work as a cartoonist. His younger brother Gus soon followed his example. He held several jobs as an illustrator, which culminated in a position with William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal.
Dirks made substantial contributions to the graphic language of comic strips. Although not the first to use sequential panels or speech balloons, he was influential in their wider adoption. He also popularized such icons as speed lines, "seeing stars" for pain, and "sawing wood" for snoring.
As a pastime, Dirks produced serious paintings associated with the Ashcan School. Like many of his cartoonist colleagues, he was an avid golfer. Dirks incrementally passed his cartooning duties on to his son John Dirks, who took over The Captain and the Kids around 1955.
See Wikipedia for further information on Rudolph Dirks. See also IMDB for list of his work.
------------------
Per: Cook County, Illinois, Marriages Index, 1871-1920
Name: Rudolph Dirks
Age: 22
Gender: Male
Birth Year: 1877
Marriage Type: Marriage
Marriage Date: 4 Oct 1899
Marriage Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois
Spouse Name: Rose A. Zugler
Spouse Age: 19
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