Additional Information about the Theatrical Cartoon Old Smokey

The first appearance of the Katzenjammer Kids in animation.

The Katzenjammer Kids debuted on December 12, 1897 in the American Humorist, the Sunday comic supplement of the Hearst-owned New York Journal.

After cartoonist Rudolph Dirks drew the Katzenjammer Kids for about 15 years, he went on a brief hiatus. Other artists took over his strip. Dirks sued, feeling that he owned the rights to the Katzenjammer Kids.

The court let Dirks continue drawing his characters- as long as they weren't called the Katzenjammer Kids! That's why he drew the strip at the rival Pulitzer newspapers under the title "The Captain and the Kids" (the name of the MGM cartoon series) while the Hearst papers ran "The Katzenjammer Kids" with other artists.

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