Giving young fans a hand

The creator of Frank and his Friend may not have liked the limelight, but he sure brightened the lives of others.

Clarence ‘Otis’ Dooley was a very modest guy and disliked attending formal events, even if – or especially if – they were given in his honor. He actively tried to discourage awards – going so far as to campaign for other artists to awards committees – and once said, “I’ve never been to a humanitarian banquet, but I’ve known a few vegetarians, so the idea is frightening.”

However, Dooley would always happily oblige when he could participate in something, rather than be the star attraction. So while charity fund-raisers couldn’t count on him to give a speech at the carnival for a new hospital wing, they could rely on him to work a shift in the carnival’s dunk tank – which always made for better stories afterwards anyway.

What’s more, Dooley was always very eager to give his time to younger fans, and would happily host Boy Scout visits to his studio or talk to school kids about cartooning.

So while he often shied away from lending his name to things, he was always happy to lend his talent.