Guide to the Stuart Hample Collection

Biography of Stuart Hample

Stuart Ertz Hample, also known as Stoo Hample, was an American children's book author, performer, playwright and cartoonist. He was born January 6, 1926 in Binghamton, New York. He entered the U.S. Navy directly from high school during World War II as a member of the Submarine Service. After the war, he attended the University of Buffalo, graduating in 1950 with a degree in English Literature and Drama. He also performed as a musical cartoonist, creating drawings onstage accompanying symphony orchestras. Stuart Hample then was a writer and star on a pair of television shows in Buffalo, New York. He substituted on the NBC network show Birthday House when they needed an artist, and would go on to fulfill that role on the CBS television show Captain Kangaroo in the 1950s. He also worked as an assistant to cartoonist Al Capp. He was the author and illustrator of multiple children's books. Writing under the name Stoo Hample, he created The Silly Book (1961) and the collection Children's Letters to God (1966). In 1974, Stuart Hample married his wife Naomi. From 1976 through 1984, Stuart Hample wrote and illustrated Inside Woody Allen, although he originally used the pseudonym Joe Marthen. Stuart Hample died September 19, 2010.

Scope and Content

The collection contains 1676 original Inside Woody Allen daily comic strips and 158 Inside Woody Allen Sunday comic strips with color guides. There are also assorted sketches and gags, Inside Woody Allen syndicate proofs, clippings, photographs, notes and related materials, including written jokes with Woody Allen's notes/ approval marks and a binder listing invoices for each joke used.

Original art works in this collection may be found by searching the library's
art database.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

All copyright laws pertain to any use or reproduction of published materials in the collection.

Restrictions on Access

There are no access restrictions for materials in this collection.

Original art has also been separated and cataloged in the museum’s
art database.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Persons:

Titles:

Provenance

The records were assembled, owned and maintained by Stuart Hample.

Preferred Citation

[Box Number/Folder Number], Stuart Hample Collection, The Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum

Acquisition Information

Gift of Stuart Hample, 1995; Gift of Naomi Hample, 2019

Other Finding Aid

A paper finding aid is available for use in the library.

Detailed Description of The Collection

The collection is arranged in four series. Series I contains original artwork. Series II contains the Sunday syndicate proofs for the comic strip, Inside Woody Allen. Series III contains the daily syndicate proofs for the comic strip, Inside Woody Allen. Series IV contains related materials such as photographs and meeting notes.