Said to be the nation’s longest running comic strip, the devilish duo of Hans and Fritz were born in 1897 and were laid to rest 109 years later in 2006.
Five artists, starting with creator, Rudolph Dirks, drew the two masters of mischief over those decades but the cartoonist often considered the best was Harold Knerr of Philly. Knerr drew the Katzenjammer panel longer than any others – for 35 years from 1914 until his death in 1949.
Born in Bryn Mawr, Knerr was an alumnus of Episcopal Academy and Philadelphia University of the Arts. In the years prior to the Katzenjammers, he drew cartoons for Philly’s three largest newspapers: The Record, Inquirer and Public Ledger.
When Dirks got into a battle with the Hearst news group, Knerr was offered the comic strip and gladly accepted.
Maybe one reason the Kazenjammers are gone is political correctness. The Kids and other characters all spoke with a comical German accent. A fat, bearded character call “der Captain” might say, Vos dot yer read’ink (What is that you are reading.) The word 'just' comes out 'chust' and 'giant' is 'chiant'. Every character in the comic strip spoke mit un hacksent.
The strip was all about Fritz and Hans pulling pranks on the adults. One writer called the pair, “the world’s most durable delinquents.”
The Sunday comic strip was done in pen and ink and the color happened in the printing plant.
The Katzenjammer cast appeared in film cartoons, comic books and a 1995 United States Postage stamp. Original artist drawings of the strip from the early days sell for several hundred dollars.