August 5, 1924: "Little Orphan Annie" Debuts
August 5, 1924: The comic strip Little Orphan Annie debuts in the New York Daily News . It was created and written by Harold Gray, who continued to write and draw it until his death in 1968. It continued, written and drawn by others, until 2010. Starting in 2013, characters from Little Orphan Annie began to appear as supporting characters in a surviving strip from the same era: Dick Tracy . In the strip, Annie, age 10, with her orange hair, white eyes with no pupils, and red dress -- and her dog, Sandy -- are adopted by millionaire Oliver Warbucks, or "Daddy Warbucks" as she calls him. Unfortunately, the racial stereotypes of the time prevailed: Warbucks' mansion was run by an Indian butler named Punjab, and opponents included the Egyptian villain The Asp. Little Orphan Annie inspired a radio show in 1930, as mentioned in the 1983 film A Christmas Story . Films were made in 1932, starring Mitzi Green; and in 1938, with Ann Gillis. Both were panned by the critic...