After 86 years, the adventures of Little Orphan Annie are coming to an end.
Tribune Media has canceled the comic strip. The last strip will run Sunday, June 13.
“It’s kind of painful,” said cartoonist Ted Slampyak, who started drawing Annie, Sandy and Daddy Warbucks six years ago. “It’s almost like mourning the loss of a friend.”
The strip’s debut came on Aug. 5, 1924, exclusively in the Daily News. Cartoonist Harold Gray, who created the character, drew her until his death in 1968. Daddy Warbucks’ adopted daughter starred in a radio series in 1930, a Broadway smash in 1977 and a $35 million movie in 1982.
There was a time when whole families fought over the newspaper to find out what happened to Annie... Yes, REALLY! ... then World War 2 happened...