- Born
- Died
- Birth nameLeon Harrison Gross
- Lee Falk was born on April 28, 1911 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for The Phantom (1996), Defenders of the Earth (1986) and Mandrake the Magician. He was married to Elizabeth Moxley. He died on March 13, 1999 in New York City, New York, USA.
- SpouseElizabeth Moxley(1977 - March 13, 1999) (his death)
- Often used the names of his children in the comic strip
- Wrote The Phantom newspaper comic strip, which he created, from 1936 until his death in 1999.
- His character Mandrake The Magician is often considered the world's first comic book superhero.
- Is one of the most widely read comics-writers ever; having over a hundred million readers every single day in his prime with his comic strips The Phantom and Mandrake.
- Considered calling The Phantom for The Gray Ghost at first, but he quickly found out that he preferred The Phantom instead.
- He mainly wrote comic strips because of the high payment, because Falk's favorite kind of writing was for the theater. He ran 5 theaters, and directed and produced hundreds of plays, starring people like Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, Chico Marx, Ethel Waters, Paul Newman, and Ezio Pinza.
- "Each artist, out of his own interests and imagination, creates his own world in his strip - this is true of Peanuts, Beetle Bailey, Popeye, all good strips. And you accomplish this not by imitating others - you come up with your own idea. To me, The Phantom and Mandrake are very real - much more than the people walking around whom I don't see very much. You have to believe in your own characters.
- (When asked about his age): "Just plain old."
- My only politics is up with democracy and down with dictatorships.
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