[Ads-l] "Who was Kilroy?" June 26, 1945 (in-print antedating?)

Thu Apr 1 15:30:04 UTC 2021

FWIW, I find no other newspaper or book refs. to "Nate the Fox" or
"Che-Chee."

JL

On Thu, Apr 1, 2021 at 10:01 AM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Smoe and mo':
>
> Pittsburgh Post Gazette (Dec. 31, 1945), p. 9:
>
> He's Here, He's There, Smoe Is Watching, So  Look Out!
> And He Has Some Friends and Helpers, You Can Rest Assured
> Nate the Fox, Kilroy, Che-Chee Are on Job, Too
>
> By Constance Humphrey, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
>
> Remember the little men who run up and down the counterpane the morning
> after? The ones who bong you on the bean with their little hammers?
>
> Well, they're here to stay.
>
> No longer will the little men confine their visits to New Year's Day at 9
> a. m. or the morning after your twenty-fifth wedding anniversary
> celebration. The little critters have not only-taken on substance they now
> have the nerve to scrawl their names and draw their pictures in the most
> amazing places.
>
> Have you met "Smoe"? No? You will.
>
> He's Everywhere
> You're likely to find Smoe's countenance scrawled on a piece of paper in
> your coat pocket his lone and bulbous nose draped over  the edge of a
> horizontal line. His half-shut eyes will peer accusingly at you. His motto,
> "Smoe Is Watching" will send a shiver up vour spine.
>
> Some folks say Smoe came into being in the foxholes or Europe. Some
> declare he originated in war- weary minds in the South Pacific. It's even
> rumored that ne was born in the bottom of a beer mug, but lots of people
> have tagged him a visible sign of "conscience."
>
> Smoe has an uncanny way of catching his victims red-handed just as they
> snitch the remains of a leg of lamb out of the ice-box at midnight Or as
> they sneak down to the nether regions of the furnace room for a quickie
> when the little woman isn't looking.
>
> Just as you grab for the forbidden fruit the words "Smoe is Watching" are
> apt to appear, his visage leering above them.
>
> Has Helpers, Too
> About all you'll ever see of Smoe is Smoe's nose. And those eyes and ears.
> The ears sometimes take on the character of some of your closest friends:
> Pointed like a wolf's ears or strangely resembling a porker's. Smoe has
> friends and helpers. too. There's "Nate the Fox," who sticks his nose, eyes
> and ears around corners just like Smoe. The sight of Nate is enough to make
> you swear off for life.
>
> Other friends of Smoe are the now-famous Kilroy whose name appeared
> everywhere in advance of United States troops during the war. "Kilroy was
> here," his legend reads, and don't be surprised if you find it scrawled on
> the mirror as you shave tomorrow.
>
> Another crony of Smoe is the mysterious "Che-Chee" who keeps trainmen busy
> scrubbing his name off baggage cars.
>
> All in all, with New Year's Eve just around the corner it seems rather
> futile to sign the pledge. You're bound to see Smoe, Nate, Kilroy or
> Che-Chee just the same. Smoe and his friends are nuisances all right. But
> aren't they fun?
>
> JL
>
> On Thu, Apr 1, 2021 at 8:17 AM ADSGarson O'Toole <
> adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Fred discovered that the phrase "Who is Kilroy?" appeared in the April
>> 21, 1945 issue of the Texacts newspaper of the Sheppard Field Army (as
>> mentioned previously on this thread).
>>
>> The early citations for Kilroy signs and graffiti do not mention any
>> pictures of the character.
>>
>> I wondered: When did a Kilroy-like picture first appear? What name was
>> first assigned to the Kilroy-like picture?
>>
>> JL helpfully pointed out that a picture of Kilroy (together with the
>> name Kilroy) appeared on a button which is being sold on eBay. The
>> year 1943 appeared on the edge of the button, but it is not clear when
>> the button was actually created.
>>
>> JL also pointed to a picture of Kilroy (together with the name Kilroy)
>> that appeared on a plane; however, it is not clear when the image was
>> painted.
>>
>> Dave Wilton has posted a wonderful piece of evidence on his Word
>> Origins website. A "Useless Eustace" cartoon by artist Jack Greenall
>> published in London’s "Daily Mirror" on December 11, 1937 included a
>> Kilroy-like image on the wall behind a bank teller. No name was
>> specified for the image.
>>
>> The 1937 artwork by Jack Greenall displayed two question marks above
>> the figure. They probably signaled an interrogative mental state for
>> the unnamed 1937 figure. (The later Mr. Chad figure sometimes has a
>> strand of hair shaped like a question mark.) I double-checked this
>> citation, and it is accurate. The cartoon is accessible via
>> britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
>>
>> Website: Word Origins
>> Title: Kilroy was here / Mr. Chad
>> Author: Dave Wilton
>> Date: 22 March 2021
>> https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/kilroy-was-here
>>
>> The name "Mr. Chad" was attached to the figure in a "Daily Mirror"
>> article dated September 10, 1945. The article included several
>> illustrations of Mr. Chad. Some illustrations of Mr. Chad depicted a
>> single strand of hair shaped like a question mark.
>>
>> The following questions accompanied the Mr. Chad figure according to
>> the "Daily Mirror".
>> "What, no dialling tone?"
>> "What, no cigarettes?"
>> "What, no more doodle-bugs?"
>> Later newspapers employed "Wot" instead of "What".
>>
>> Date: September 10, 1945
>> Newspaper: Daily Mirror
>> Newspaper Location: London, England
>> Article: How Mr. CHAD was born
>> Quote Page 7, Column 2
>> Database: Newspapers.com
>> Database: British Newspaper Archive
>>
>> The name "Smoe" was specified for a Kilroy-like image in a Tucson,
>> Arizona newspaper on October 21, 1945. The article did not include a
>> picture, but the journalist did describe the image.
>>
>> Date: October 21, 1945
>> Newspaper: The Arizona Daily Star
>> Newspaper Location: Tucson, Arizona
>> Article: Tucson In Particular
>> Author: Nancy Lunsford
>> Section 2, Quote Page 3, Column 1
>> Database: Newspapers.com
>>
>> https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74587960/smoe-and-kilroy/
>>
>> [Begin excerpt]
>> This week the front of the Post contains a small article entitled "Who
>> is Kilroy?" Seems he is the little man who has just been there and who
>> haunts the ferry command all around the world. I heard the other day
>> about a character named "Smoe," who invaded England along with the
>> Yanks and brought along his sister Lena. Smoe is just about as
>> mythical and as ever-present as the ferry command Kilroy, only Smoe
>> leaves his picture wherever he goes--his nose, his eyes, and a pair of
>> hands, peeking over a wall. Smoe is a sterling character, who does
>> everything right--he may appear beside a door saying "Smoe closes the
>> door, why don't you?"
>> [End excerpt]
>>
>> Garson
>>
>> On Sat, Mar 27, 2021 at 11:31 AM ADSGarson O'Toole
>> <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>> >
>> > Here are three letters from Newsweek. Sorry, I cannot share the
>> > accompanying illustration. Smoe looks like a more detailed version of
>> > Kilroy with a spit-curl. The Newsweek illustration was made by someone
>> > who clearly enjoyed making cartoons; hence, the image of Smoe was more
>> > sophisticated than the basic Kilroy image.
>> >
>> > Date: December 17, 1945
>> > Periodical : Newsweek
>> > Section: Letters
>> > Title: Smoe Was There, Too
>> > Quote Page 18
>> > Publisher: Newsweek Publishing, New York
>> > Database: ProQuest
>> >
>> > [Begin excerpt - check for typos]
>> > Smoe Was There, Too
>> >
>> > In your issue of Dec. 3 you mention the fabulous Kilroy as the most
>> > famous man in the Army Air Forces. I dispute Kilroy’s right to this
>> > title and think that thousands of men in the Fifth, Eighth, Ninth,
>> > Fifteenth, Twentieth, and Continental Air Forces will back me in
>> > nominating “Smoe” to the office. Smoe has been publicized on the walls
>> > of barracks, mess halls, and latrines all over the world. The last I
>> > heard of Smoe he was seeking a discharge at Sioux Falls Army Air Field
>> > in South Dakota.
>> > JOSEPH F. DIEMER
>> > Leonia, N. J.
>> >
>> > NEWSWEEK wired Sioux Falls Army Air Field about Smoe and received the
>> > following telegram in reply:
>> >
>> > KILROY IS A PIKER. SMOE ORIGINATED IN RADIO SCHOOL HERE IN 1943 FROM A
>> > MEANINGLESS LETTER SCRAMBLE USED IN CODE PRACTICE, AND SPREAD OVER
>> > EARTH AS AAF MEN SHIPPED ABROAD. SMOE IS SNIDE CHARACTER GIVEN TO
>> > SCRIBBLING NAME ON BARS, DUSTY WINDOWS, BARE WALLS, TOMBSTONES. A
>> > PORTRAIT USUALLY ACCOMPANIES HIS SIGNATURE CONSISTING OF HANDS, A
>> > NOSE, AND SPIT CURL PEEPING OVER A FENCE.
>> >
>> > THE RUMOR THAT SMOE DISCHARGING IS VILE CANARD. SMOE  RE-ENLISTED.
>> > SUGGEST YOU CHECK REPORT THAT EXPLORERS OPENED TUTANKHAMEN TOMB TO
>> > FIND THE LEGEND "SMOE WAS HERE."
>> >
>> > CAPT. G.M. ZITER
>> > PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
>> > ARMY AIR FIELD
>> > SIOUX FALLS, S.D.
>> >
>> > I used to be stationed at Sioux Falls Army Air Base, where the Smoe
>> > myth got its start, and did quite a bit of cartooning while I was
>> > there. I thought you might be interested in these two versions of
>> > Smoe. The one showing him as a gunner is more popular with
>> > radio-operator gunners than the spit-curl version.
>> > SGT. ROBERT Z. SIMMONS
>> > New York, N.Y.
>> > [End excerpt]
>> >
>> > On Sat, Mar 27, 2021 at 10:54 AM ADSGarson O'Toole
>> > <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > >
>> > > The December 17, 1945 issue of Newsweek has a picture of Smoe that is
>> > > a closer match to Kilroy. Smoe is peering over a fence. Smoe has a
>> > > Kilroy-like nose and hands. The Newsweek Smoe is more elaborate than
>> > > the simple Kilroy figure because the Newsweek illustration is by a
>> > > skilled artist. I will follow this message with a post containing the
>> > > text of two accompanying letters about Smoe.
>> > >
>> > > Garson
>> > >
>> > > On Sat, Mar 27, 2021 at 10:18 AM ADSGarson O'Toole
>> > > <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > > >
>> > > > I meant to say: "Smoe" does not have hands, but he does have a
>> > > > Kilroy-like nose.
>> > > >
>> > > > My word processing software repeatedly changed "smoe" to "some".
>> > > > Garson
>> > > >
>> > > > On Sat, Mar 27, 2021 at 10:14 AM ADSGarson O'Toole
>> > > > <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > > > >
>> > > > > What is the earliest solid citation for a picture of Kilroy? Here
>> is a
>> > > > > December 1945 citation that includes a picture of the character
>> "Smoe"
>> > > > > which is similar to Kilroy. Follow the link to see a clipping with
>> > > > > illustrations.
>> > > > >
>> > > > > "Some" does not have hands, but he does have a Kilroy-like nose
>> > > > >
>> > > > > Date: December 31, 1945
>> > > > > Newspaper: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
>> > > > > Newspaper Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
>> > > > > Article: Smoe Is Watching, So Look Out!
>> > > > > Author: Constance Humphrey (Post-Gazette Staff Writer)
>> > > > > Quote Page 9, Column 2 to 4
>> > > > > Clipped by: sslunsford6 on 29 Jun 2019
>> > > > > Database: Newspapers.com
>> > > > >
>> > > > >
>> https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33355395/smoe-is-watching-so-look-out/
>> > > > >
>> > > > > [Begin excerpt]
>> > > > > You're likely to find Smoe's countenance scrawled on a piece of
>> paper
>> > > > > in your coat pocket, his long and bulbous nose draped over the
>> edge of
>> > > > > a horizontal line. His half-shut eyes will peer accusingly at
>> you. His
>> > > > > motto, "Smoe Is Watching" will send 'a shiver up your spine.
>> > > > > . . .
>> > > > > Smoe has friends and helpers, too. There's "Nate the Fox," who
>> sticks
>> > > > > his nose, eyes and ears around corners just like Smoe. The sight
>> of
>> > > > > Nate is enough to make you swear off for life.
>> > > > >
>> > > > > Other friends of Smoe are the now-famous Kilroy whose name
>> appeared
>> > > > > everywhere in advance of United States troops during the war.
>> "Kilroy
>> > > > > was here," his legend reads, and don't be surprised if you find it
>> > > > > scrawled on the mirror as you shave tomorrow.
>> > > > > [End excerpt]
>> > > > >
>> > > > > Garson
>> > > > >
>> > > > > On Sat, Mar 27, 2021 at 9:32 AM <dave at wilton.net> wrote:
>> > > > > >
>> > > > > > While I have no problem believing a 1943 or 1944 date for
>> "Kilroy," the restored aircraft is not good evidence. For one thing, it has
>> invasion stripes, but the aircraft in question was manufactured in 1945,
>> some nine months after D-Day, and never left the United States, used for
>> training. Clearly the restorers took some liberties and produced a
>> "representative" paint scheme rather than an accurate one.
>> > > > > >
>> > > > > > Similarly, the buttons aren't great evidence. All sorts of
>> after-the-fact memorabilia are produced for sale (sometimes honestly sold
>> as replicas, sometimes not). Or, they could genuinely be WWII-era, but the
>> exact date an estimate. Without documentation of provenance, I wouldn't
>> trust it.
>> > > > > >
>> > > > > > From my own experience recently researching Kilroy for my site,
>> I had to give up finding a WWII-era photo to illustrate the entry. The only
>> genuine ones I could find were a couple of poor-quality scans from
>> newspaper archives—all from 1945. Virtually all those on the web are
>> photoshopped or stills from WWII video games that look good at low
>> resolution but are obviously CGI when examined closely. (My fave was a
>> Sherman tank in Normandy that bore the words "Kilroy was here" and directly
>> below that "Epstein was murdered.")
>> > > > > >
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>

-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org