Winsor McCay

• Born 1869-09-26 · Died 1934-07-26

Winsor McCay was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip Little Nemo and the animated film Gertie the Dinosaur. McCay's first popular comic strip was Little Sammy Sneeze. His longest-running strip, Dream of the Rarebit Fiend, first appeared in The Evening Telegram in September 1904. The strip was aimed at an adult audience, and had no recurring characters. McCay signed the Rarebit Fiend strips with the pen name "Silas", as his contract required that he not use his real name for Evening Telegram work. In October 1905 the full-page Sunday strip Little Nemo in Slumberland debuted in the Herald. Considered McCay's masterpiece, its child protagonist had fabulous dreams, interrupted each week with his awakening in the final panel. McCay said he was most proud of his animation work. He completed ten animated films between 1911 and 1921.