Strange as It Seems
Strange as It Seems appeared as a syndicated cartoon feature published from 1928 to 1970, and became a familiar brand to millions around the globe for its comic strips, books, radio shows and film shorts. Created by John Hix, Strange as It Seems was distinguished for its adherence to Hix's standard that every published fact be verified by a minimum of three sources. In Hix's words, Strange as It Seems is a library of "the curious, in nature and humankind, set adrift on the vast sea of public opinion with the hope that it will fulfill its mission to entertain and acquaint its viewers with some of the marvels of the world in which we live."
Syndicated comic strip
The Strange as It Seems syndicated comic strips were printed daily in newspapers from 1928 to 1970. They were originally created by John Hix. Strange as It Seems was distinguished for its adherence to Hix's standard that every published fact be verified by a minimum of three sources.It was syndicated domestically by McClure Newspaper Syndicate and internationally by United Press International. At its peak, the strip was printed in 1,300 newspapers. The cartoons competed in newspapers with Ripley's Believe It or Not! cartoons. Other similar strips at the time included Ralph Graczak's Our Own Oddities and It Happened in Canada by Gordon Johnston.
By 1953, the strip's syndication was down to 175 newspapers. The demise of multiple newspapers in cities and the changing taste of readers led to the strip ending in 1970.
The cartoon strip was written and drawn by John Hix from 1928 until his health began to deteriorate in the early 1940s and Dick Kirby began drawing the strip, although Hix continued to oversee and approve all content.
John Hix died of myocarditis on June 6, 1944. His brother, Ernest Hix, took over producing the feature. The cartoons were drawn by Dick Kirby from 1944 to 1946, then by Doug Heyes from 1946 to 1948. After Ernest Hix's death in the crash of a private plane on September 18, 1948, in Los Angeles, the writing of the strip was taken over by his wife Elsie Huber Hix. Ms. Hix had two young children at the time, Ernest Harmon Hix Jr. and Dixie Ann Hix. Dick Kirby returned to draw the strip from 1948 until 1949, then George Jahns took over and continued as the feature's artist until 1970 when the strip was discontinued. Ms. Hix continued to write the stories for the comics until 1963, when she turned the work over to her son, Ernest Hix, Jr. He wrote and produced the strip with his wife Phyllis until 1970 when the feature went out of syndication.
Radio show
Strange as It Seems was a radio program of strange and unusual tales about fantastic people and events, based on the daily syndicated newspaper cartoon panels of John Hix of the same name. Strange as It Seems began as a 15-minute radio program on March 22, 1935. It was broadcast over the Columbia – Don Lee Coast radio network. The schedule was 3 nights a week - Sunday, Wednesday and Friday at 7:45 PM. The sponsor was Ex‐Lax. In late September 1935 the show changed to two shows per week, dropping the Sunday show. In late September 1936 the schedule changed again to Tuesday and Friday nights. A 1936 booklet of the Strange as It Seems stories was sponsored by Ex-Lax and given away as a free promotion of the radio program by writing to the station. The show was hosted by Gayne Whitman, produced and directed by Cyril Armbrister and the music was composed and directed by Felix Mills. Whitman had been the announcer on the Strange as It Seems movie shorts from 1930–1934. The programs included two or three segments of dramatized events in mini plays with dramatic, fanfare music interspersed in the show between segments. After the opening line, an Ex-Lax commercial would follow. Then two or three strange stories would be presented. The show would conclude with a preview of the next show's stories, an Ex-Lax commercial, a strange fact of trivia, such as "butterflies smell with their feet" and finally a short musical ending. There were occasionally live interviews with unusual personalities, such as the World's Fastest Talker. Many of the programs were distributed on 16" 33 RPM records with one 15 minute show on each side. Many sources list at least 39 of these records with a total of 78 programs recorded. This run of the shows concluded at the end of January 1937, after over 210 shows. The show began again in January 1938 as a 15-minute once a week program, airing on Sunday afternoons at 3:00. The show ended at the end of December 1938, with 53 shows in this run.The Strange as It Seems radio program was picked up as a 30-minute network program on the Columbia Broadcasting System from August 17, 1939, to December 26, 1940, on Thursdays at 8:30 P.M.. There were 72 of these half-hour broadcasts. The sponsor was Palmolive Shave Cream and the host was Alois Havrilla. Havrilla was the announcer on the Stranger Than Fiction movie shorts beginning in 1934 and continuing in that role until the shorts were ended in 1942. Stranger Than Fiction was the successor to the Strange as It Seems movie shorts that ran from 1930 until 1934.
The program had one final run in its original 15 minute format from Nov. 10, 1946 to April 13, 1947, airing at 7:30 PM on Sunday nights. There were 22 episodes aired in this run. In the newspaper story about the death of John Hix on June 6, 1944, Ernest Hix stated there were over 600 radio programs produced, indicating there were other shows than those so far identified.
Gayne Whitman (announcer, 1935–1939)
Alfred Vosburgh was born March 19, 1890, in Chicago, Illinois. He first used the stage name of Alfred Whitman when he began acting in silent films in 1917. He later used the stage name Gayne Whitman, beginning in 1925. He was an American radio and film actor. On radio, he played the title role in Chandu the Magician and was an announcer on other programs. He appeared in 213 films between 1904 and 1957. His wife was the former Estelle Allen. Whitman died on August 31, 1958, in Los Angeles, California, of a heart attack.Gordon "Felix" Mills (musical director, 1935–1939)
Gordon 'Felix' Mills was born on July 28, 1901, in Fort Collins, Colorado. He was a highly successful composer-arranger-conductor during the Golden Age of Radio in the 1930s and 1940s. He was the musical director for The Mickey Mouse Theater of the Air, a Disney radio show of the 1930s. Mills created a "gadget band" with wild instruments for Donald Duck to direct on some episodes.He was also the musical director for CBS Radio's Silver Theater from 1937 to 1947. Choosing to retire rather than fire a few band members during the Red Inquisition, he built a home in Morro Bay, California to pursue his favorite hobbies, sailing and slide photography. Mills died on April 5, 1987, at Morro Bay, California.