An appreciation of Johnny Hart (1931-2007)

The house where Johnny Hart drew some of his earliest caveman caricatures is no longer there.

It was an upstairs apartment in a house on Georgia Avenue in 1955. It rested along the back slope of College Hill, where the Wesleyan Conservatory used to be before it burned (now Macon’s main post office). It was up from the old Pig and Whistle Drive-In – it, too, now just a memory.

Guess there must have been something in the ink. A block up the hill on Arlington Place, playwright Tennessee Williams wrote part of his famous play, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” during his stay in Macon during the summer of 1942.

I’ve thought about that these past few sad days. Hart died Saturday at his home in New York. His comic strip, “B.C.” is syndicated in 1,300 newspapers, making it the most widely read comic strip in the world.

And part of it was born right here in Macon. Hart lived here with his wife, Bobby, when they were newlyweds. He was a graphic artist who worked at Robins Air Force Base. She was a lab technician at the old Macon Hospital.

I had the opportunity to interview Hart in 2003. I was writing a column on his brother-in-law, Wiley Baxter, who lives in Macon. Wiley lost his leg in France during World War II, and Hart created the character “Wiley,’’ the peg-legged caveman poet and coach, in honor of Wiley Baxter.

Wiley’s wife, Fran Baxter, and Bobby Hart are sisters.
I’m writing a column about Hart’s connections in Macon and Warner Robins for Wednesday’s Telegraph and macon.com

Here is what others are saying about Hart:
Johnny Hart and his wham wham world (New York Times).

Johnny Hart: Not Caving In (Christianity Today)

Johnny Hart: 1931 - 2007(Chicago Tribune, Washington Post)

Johnny Hart: In Memorium: 1931-2007 (Creators Syndicate)