View source for Kin Platt

{{short description|American cartoonist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox comics creator
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| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1911|12|8}}<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/p/platt_kin.htm|title=Kin Platt|website=lambiek.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://strippersguide.blogspot.com/2015/02/ink-slinger-profiles-by-alex-jay-kin.html|title=Stripper's Guide: Ink-Slinger Profiles by Alex Jay: Kin Platt}}</ref>
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| death_date    = {{Death date and age|2003|11|30|1911|12|8}}
| death_place   = New York City, U.S.
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| awards        = [[Edgar Award]] (1967)
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'''Kin Platt''' (December 8, 1911 – November 30, 2003) was an American writer, artist, painter, sculptor, caricaturist,<ref name="auto"/> and comics artist, best known for penning radio comedy and animated TV series, as well as [[children's literature|children's]] [[Mystery fiction|mystery]] novels, one of which earned him the [[Mystery Writers of America]] [[Edgar Award]].
He additionally wrote and drew [[comic books]] (creating an early [[talking animals in fiction|talking animal]] [[superhero]], Supermouse) and [[comic strips]].<!--COULD FIND NO REFERENCE OR CONFIRMATION FOR THE FOLLOWING on Disney reference sites, IMDb, elsewhere: and did artwork for the [[Disney]] animated feature ''[[Fantasia]]''.-->
==Biography==
===Early life and career===
Kin Platt was born to Etta (née Hochberg) and Daniel Platt. In the mid-1930s he wrote radio comedy for [[George Burns]], [[Jack Benny]], the comedy team of [[Stoopnagle and Budd]], and ''The National Biscuit Comedy Hour of 1936''. Later in the 1930s, he wrote for Disney and [[Walter Lantz]] theatrical cartoons, and he scripted the [[Robert Benchley]] film ''How to Read'' (1938).
===Comic books===
[[Image:StartlingComics2.jpg|thumb|right|''Startling Comics'' #2 (Aug. 1940). Captain Future cover art by Platt.<!--confirmed: both pencils and inks per GCD-->]]
He broke into comic books with humor stories featuring the character "Happy" in the [[Nedor|Better Comics]] omnibus  ''Best Comics'' #1 (Nov. 1939). Platt went on to write and draw many features in the next few issues and to draw such features as [[Captain Future (Nedor Comics)|"Captain Future"]] in Better's ''Startling Comics''; "The Mask" (no relation to the 1990s [[Dark Horse Comics]] character), featuring a [[district attorney]] turned costumed crimefighter, in ''Exciting Comics''; and writer Richard Hughes' [[Doc Savage]]-like "[[Doc Strange]]" (no relation to [[Marvel Comics]]' [[Doctor Strange|Dr. Strange]]), in ''[[Thrilling Comics]]''.
After doing WWII [[military service]] with the [[U.S. Air Force|U.S. Army Air Force]]'s Air Transport Command from 1943–46, Platt began working for such comic-book companies as [[Timely Comics]] (the 1940s predecessor of [[Marvel Comics]]), for which his features included "Widjet Witch" in ''Comedy Comics''); and [[Nedor|Better/Nedor/Standard]], where he created Supermouse in 1948.<!--Note: Both Super Rabbit and Mighty Mouse were earlier--> Additionally, Platt wrote for the [[Bob Hope]] and [[Jerry Lewis]] comics at DC. For two years he drew the adventures of Pepsi and Pete for the advertising strip, ''Pepsi Cola Cops''.
[[Al Jaffee]], then an editor of Timely's humor comics, recalled in 2004,
{{blockquote|I knew Kin. [[Dave Gantz]] said that Kin created [the print-advertising comic strip] the ''Pepsi Cola Cops''. I didn't know Kin had done that, but it was his style. That may have been what brought him to [[Stan Lee]]. Kin sort of looked like [[Groucho Marx]] and had both Groucho's sense of humor and delivery; a very funny guy. He wrote very well and did so in a lot of mediums. He was one of the truly gifted guys in our business, very smart and very talented. Whenever he came into the office, things got lively. I also remember getting together with Kin and his wife in Long Island after the war. I don't doubt that Kin created ''Squat Car Squad'', since it'd been something he was familiar with.<ref>Al Jaffee interview, ''[[Alter Ego (magazine)|Alter Ego]]'' #35, April 2004</ref>}}
For the [[New York Herald Tribune Syndicate]], Platt wrote and drew the comic strip ''Mr. and Mrs.''(originally by [[Clare Briggs]]) from 1947–1963,<ref>Markstein, Don. [http://www.toonopedia.com/mr-n-mrs.htm "Mr. and Mrs.,"] ''Toonpedia''. Accessed Dec. 23, 2017.</ref> and ''The Duke and the Duchess'' from 1950–1954. Additionally, he drew [[theatre|theatrical]] [[caricature]]s for such newspapers and magazines as ''[[The Village Voice]]'' and the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''.
In the 1960s, Platt scripted TV animation, including for the [[Hanna-Barbera]] series ''[[The Jetsons]]'', ''[[The Flintstones]]'', ''[[Yogi Bear]]'', ''[[Top Cat]]'' and ''[[Jonny Quest]]'' (for which at one point he held the title of "story director"), as well as for Hal Seeger Productions' ''[[Milton the Monster]]''.
===Young-readers' literature===
Plat began writing [[children's literature|children's books]] and young-adult mysteries in 1961. He eventually published more than 30 books, including general-reader mysteries. His [[pseudonyms]] included Guy West, Alan West, Wesley Simon York, Nick Tall, Nick West, Noah Zark and Kirby Carr.<ref>Contemporary Collections holdings of the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at [[Boston University]]</ref> Platt wrote several novels in the "Hitman" series under the name Kirby Carr.
Platt also returned to comics around this time, writing occasional stories for the [[DC Comics]] titles ''[[G.I. Combat]]'', ''[[Our Army at War]]'' and ''[[Star Spangled War Stories]]'' in 1964. His final known comics credit is a 48-page adaptation of [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]'s ''[[Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]]'' in ''[[Marvel Classics Comics]]'' #1 (1976).
===Later career===
The 1973 film ''[[Baxter!]]'', a psychological drama starring [[Patricia Neal]], was based on a book by Platt, ''The Boy Who Could Make Himself Disappear''.
He continued writing books throughout the 1980s, though some novels remained unpublished. This material, as well as unpublished caricatures submitted to magazines and newspapers, was donated to the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at [[Boston University]]. ''Big Max and the Missing Giraffe'' was published posthumously by HarperTrophy in 2005.
==Awards==
* 1967 Edgar Award for juvenile mystery, for ''Sinbad and Me''
* 1970 Edgar Award nomination, for ''The Mystery of the Witch Who Wouldn't''
==Bibliography==
===Children's books===
*''Big Max'', illustrated by [[Robert Lopshire]] (1965)
*''Walt Disney's Snow White and Donald Duck'' (Whitman, 1967; as Nick Tall)
*''Walt Disney's Donald Duck Buried Treasure'', illustrated by [[Anthony Strobl]] (Whitman, 1968; as Nick Tall)
*''Woody Woodpecker and the Busy Beavers'' (Whitman, 1968; as Nick Tall)
*''Mystery of the Coughing Dragon'' ([[Alfred Hitchcock]] and the Three Investigators series, Book 14) (1970; as Nick West)
*''Mystery of the Nervous Lion''  (Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators series, Book 16) (1971; as Nick West)
* ''The Call of the Wild'' (comic book adaptation by Platt, illustrated by [[Fred Carrillo]] ([[Pendulum Press]], 1973)
* ''Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' (comic book adaptation by Platt, illustrated by [[Nestor Redondo]]) (Pendulum Press, 1973)
*''Robert Louis Stevenson: Kidnapped'' (comic book adaptation as Nick Tall, illustrated by [[Frank Redondo]]) (Pendulum Press, 1974)
*''Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: The Great Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' (comic book adaptation as Nick Tall, illustrated by [[Nestor Redondo]]) (Pendulum Press, 1974)
*''Big Max and the Mystery of the Missing Moose'' (HarperCollins, 1977)
*''Darwin and the Great Beasts'' (Self-illustrated) (Greenwillow, 1992)
*''Big Max and the Mystery of the Missing Giraffe'', illustrated by [[Lynne Cravath]] (HarperCollins, 2005)
===Young adult books===
*''The Boy Who Could Make Himself Disappear'' (Chilton, 1968)
*''Hey, Dummy'' (Chilton, 1971)
*''Chloris and the Creeps'' (Chilton, 1973)
*''Chloris and the Freaks'' (Bradbury, 1975)
*''Headman'' (Greenwillow, 1975)
*''The Terrible Love Life of Dudley Cornflower'' (Bradbury, 1976)
*''Run for Your Life'' (F. Watts, 1977)
*''Chloris and the Weirdos'' (Bradbury, 1978)
*''The Doomsday Gang'' (Greenwillow, 1978)
*''Dracula, Go Home'' (F. Watts, 1979)
*''The Ape Inside Me'' (Crowell, 1980)
*''Flames Going Out'' (Methuen, 1980)
*''Brogg's Brain'' (Crowell, 1981)
*''Frank and Stein and Me'' (F. Watts, 1982)
*''Crocker'' (Lippincott, 1983)
*''A Mystery for Thoreau'' ([[Farrar, Straus and Giroux]], 2008)<ref>[http://us.macmillan.com/QuickSearchResults.aspx?search=kin+platt&ctl00%24ctl00%24cphContent%24ucAdvSearch%24imgGo.x=0&ctl00%24ctl00%24cphContent%24ucAdvSearch%24imgGo.y=0 ''A Mystery for Thoreau''] at [[Farrar, Straus and Giroux]]</ref>
==="Steve Forrester" young-adult mysteries===
*''[[The Blue Man]]'' (Harper, 1961)
*''Sinbad and Me'' (Chilton, 1966)
*''The Mystery of the Witch Who Wouldn't'' (Chilton, 1969)
*''The Ghost of Hellsfire Street'' (Delacorte, 1980)
===Mysteries===
*''Dead as They Come'' ([[Random House]], 1972)
*''A Pride of Women'' (Robert Hale, 1974)
*''Murder in Rosslare'' (Walker, 1986)
==="Max Roper" mysteries===
*''The Pushbutton Butterfly'' (Random House, 1970)
*''The Kissing Gourami'' (Random House, 1970)
*''The Princess Stakes Murder'' (Random House, 1973)
*''The Giant Kill'' (Random House, 1974)
*''Match Point for Murder'' (Random House, 1975)
*''The Body Beautiful Murder'' (Random House, 1976)
*''The Screwball King Murder'' (Random House, 1978)
==="Hitman" Series (as Kirby Carr)===
*''Who Killed You, Cindy Castle'' (Canyon Books, 1974)
*''Let Me Kill You, Sweetheart'' (Canyon Books, 1974)
*''The Girls Who Came To Murder'' (Canyon Books, 1974)
*''They're Coming to Kill You, Jane'' (Canyon Books, 1975)
*''You Die Next, Jill Baby'' (Major Books, 1975)
*''You're Hired, You're Dead'' (Major Books, 1975)
*''Don't Bet on Living Alice'' (Major Books, 1975)
*''The Impossible Spy'' (Major Books, 1976)
===Adult books (various pseudonyms)===
*''Sex Heel'' as Guy West
*''Group Grope'' as Alan West
*''Pandora'' as Guy York
*''Lovers & Exorcists'' as Wesley Simon York
==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
*[http://www.threeinvestigatorsbooks.com/KinPlatt.html Three Investigators Books] (publishing-company site with Platt bio)
*[http://www.lambiek.net/artists/p/platt_kin.htm Lambiek Comiclopedia: Kin Platt]
*Al Jaffee interview, ''Alter Ego'' Vol. 3, #35 (April 2004)
*[http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=84536 ''The New York Times'' review of ''Baxter!'']
*{{cite web|last=Vassallo |first=Michael J. |url=http://www.comicartville.com/vincefago.htm |title=Vincent Fago and the Timely Funny Animal Dept. |publisher=Comicartville.com |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208161111/http://www.comicartville.com/vincefago.htm |archivedate=December 8, 2008 |url-status=dead }}
*[http://www.davemackey.com/animation/seeger/milton/milteps.html ''Milton the Monster'' Episode Guide]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150405190958/http://lantz.goldenagecartoons.com/1939.html The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia: 1939]
==External links==
{{Portal|Children and Young Adult Literature}}
*{{IMDb name|0686882}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051212151709/http://members.fortunecity.com/srca1941/AAC9-3-1.html ''All-Amazing Comics'' #9 (May 2001)] &nbsp;Reprint of seven-page story "The Mask" from ''Exciting Comics'' #20 (July 1942), art by Kin Platt
*[https://cbi-theater.com/hump_express/broad_views.html Broad Views] Compilation of "Broad Views" cartoons by Kin Platt from the World War II soldier newspaper [https://cbi-theater.com/hump_express/humpexpress.html Hump Express]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Platt, Kin}}
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:American children's writers]]
[[Category:American radio writers]]
[[Category:American comics artists]]
[[Category:American television writers]]
[[Category:American caricaturists]]
[[Category:American humorists]]
[[Category:20th-century American sculptors]]
[[Category:20th-century American painters]]
[[Category:Edgar Award winners]]
[[Category:Golden Age comics creators]]
[[Category:American male writers]]
[[Category:The Village Voice people]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Times people]]
[[Category:20th-century American screenwriters]]