Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Walter R. Allman (1882-1924)



Walter R. Allman, creator of “The Doings of the Duffs” comic strip was born in Toledo Ohio and began his career on a Toledo newspaper while in his twenties. His first strip was in 1912, six-panels titled “They All Fall For It.” This was followed by a single-panel, “The Great American (Canadian in Canada) Home.” The Duffs was about as popular with the public as Mutt and Jeff. He died in Cleveland, Ohio on July 8, 1924 aged 42, survived by his widow.





The strip was extremely popular in the US and Canada and was the subject of a 2 reel movie debuting in in June 1917 which was filmed in Decatur, Illinois by the local Rembrandt Studios. The cast included Charles French as Tom Duff , Denise Newcomb Johnson as Helen Duff, and Aubrey Miller as Olivia.
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6 comments:

  1. Mike RhodeMay 13, 2009 at 5:29 PM

    John, can you give me a bit more info on the movie for an index of them I keep up. Was the title "Doings of the Duffs?" I can't find it at the Library of Congress or IMDB.

    Thanks, Mike

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  2. john adcockMay 13, 2009 at 7:45 PM

    Mike, email me offline and I'll send you some scans - don't think the title was mentioned in the articles though --

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  3. AnonymousFebruary 7, 2011 at 5:03 PM

    Hi, recently I received some old pictures and scrap book that was from the 20's about one of my relatives Walter R Allman he was a cartoonist and I have some of his comic cartoons here.Most of them were Doings of the Duffs believed to be written about some of my family. I would really love to learn more. Where do I go for information on him or his comics. I have letters also that were written to him when he fell ill due to stress on the job. If you could please email me any type of info I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousNovember 27, 2015 at 12:35 PM

      His widow is my fathers aunt. I have a letter written to my Dad dated December 6th 1940. Signed Much Love Aunt Theresa
      Mrs Walter R Allman. I do not have any information on that side of our family. Everyone was much older when I was born. Are we related? Eddie 309 883 5533

      Delete
  4. john adcockFebruary 7, 2011 at 10:07 PM

    Hi, I don't know that there is that much information about Walter Allman. It took a long time to find any old newspaper clippings at all about his life or career. My email is on the right of this page if you would like to contact me personally.

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  5. David MiddlecampFebruary 23, 2011 at 10:17 AM

    I recently posted on the "Doings of the Duffs" strip that used to run in our newspaper. A link to Allman's obituary is included.

    http://sloblogs.thetribunenews.com/slovault/2011/02/20/doings-of-the-duffs/

    ReplyDelete