# In what art forms is it expected that children will continue when the parent dies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 24, 2011, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981 "2011-05-24T04:25:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/1 "2011-05-24T04:25:27Z")
[[Inspired by the death of _Crock_\* cartoonist Bill Rechin at 80, due to complications of esophageal cancer.]](http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2011/05/23/crock-cartoonist-bill-rechin-passes-at-age-80/) It’s pretty much a guarantee that when a middle-shelf newspaper cartoonist dies, a child will pick up the strip where they left off and the strip will live on much as before. (This doesn’t apply to the true greats, like Schulz or Larson, and the really bottom-of-the-drawer ones don’t get syndicated widely enough for anyone to bother picking up what they leave.) It’s happened to _B.C._, _Blondie_, and _Apartment 3-G_, and it’s going to happen to _Family Circus_ and, apparently, _Crock_. I think I’ve demonstrated it happens in syndicated newspaper comics land well enough to survive a round of nitpicking, so can anyone prove me a fool by listing a dozen or so other media where it’s common enough to not be surprising? 😉 \*(This brings up something else: _Crock_ is one big, decades-old, decades-long reference to _Beau Geste_, a film from either 1966, which was nine years ago when the strip was launched, or from the Holy Year of 1939. You can probably be forgiven for not caring, but can you name another running pop culture reference that’s been preserved in amber to this extent?) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/2 "2011-05-24T15:41:20Z")
The Bach family followed in the footsteps of their father. Snuffy Smith still refers to Barney Google (it’s even in the title), but AFAIK, he hardly ever shows up. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/3 "2011-05-24T16:20:50Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The Bach family followed in the footsteps of their father. All the way down to PDQ Bach, in fact. 😉 > [@](#): > > Snuffy Smith still refers to Barney Google (it’s even in the title), but AFAIK, he hardly ever shows up. Right. I do know that. Also, _The Katzenjammer Kids_ is still being made and syndicated (oldest syndicated newspaper cartoon, originated in 1897, according to Wikipedia) but it doesn’t appear to have been passed down along family lines. So I take it from the paucity of replies that this really is a ‘feature’ mostly unique to syndicated newspaper comics? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/4 "2011-05-24T19:02:34Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > This doesn’t apply to the true greats Yes it does. Walt Kelly’s son and daughter were doing Pogo in the '90s. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/5 "2011-05-24T19:12:20Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > …can you name another running pop culture reference that’s been preserved in amber to this extent? The radio character Senator Claghorn was on the air for less than five years in the '40s, but his derivative Foghorn Leghorn remains an active WB property today. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/6 "2011-05-24T19:15:47Z")
It seems to me that newspaper comics are in somewhat of a special circumstance, as art goes, in that they represent a franchise which can be continually extended. A novel is expected to stand alone, and even if it has sequels, the series can be expected to end sooner or later, usually after only a few books (something like Pratchett’s Discworld might be an exception, but it’s not really a “series” in the usual sense). A comic strip, though, continues indefinitely. If a novel author, or a composer, or a painter, dies, there’s not really much of a mantle for their kids to pick up, but with comics, there is. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/7 "2011-05-24T19:19:11Z")
Jeff Shaara has continued his father Michael’s (_The Killer Angels_) career of military historical writing. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/8 "2011-05-24T19:25:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > A novel is expected to stand alone, and even if it has sequels, the series can be expected to end sooner or later, usually after only a few books (something like Pratchett’s Discworld might be an exception, but it’s not really a “series” in the usual sense). How about the Herberts’ Dune franchise? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/9 "2011-05-24T19:27:04Z")
It happens in business/trade, where a father will hand down the family business to his children. But I can’t think of any other art form that fits. Maybe comic-stripping is an art form that’s uniquely suited to be run like a family business? ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/10 "2011-05-24T19:27:46Z")
Do JRR and Christopher Tolkien count? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/11 "2011-05-24T19:33:56Z")
Shaara and Herbert were who I came in to mention. (Did Heinlein have kids?) Alexandre Dumas, Jr., was also a writer but actually wrote in different genre (more playwright than novelist). I expect Christopher Rice to take over the family horror franchise- possibly the same characters if his own don’t sell- when Anne expires. Stephen King’s son actually used a pseudonym for his novel so as not to be compared to his father. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/12 "2011-05-24T19:40:33Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Stephen King’s son actually used a pseudonym for his novel so as not to be compared to his father. And his mother, novelist Tabitha King. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/13 "2011-05-24T22:03:42Z")
Jim Henson’s kids went into the family business. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/14 "2011-05-24T22:31:10Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Do JRR and Christopher Tolkien count? Not in my opinion. CJRT is a pretty thorough editor of his father’s writings, but it’s always quite clear which writing is JRRT’s and which are CJRT’s editorial comments. Though it could plausibly be argued otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/15 "2011-05-24T22:44:46Z")
Todd McCaffrey is evidently taking over the Dragonriders of Pern series from mother Anne McCaffrey. I gave up on the series long ago, but the titles seem to keep coming out. I think that newspaper comic strips are unique in that after a point it is possible to just crank them out, re-using the same handful of jokes over and over. For some reason people get irate when the comics page drops Family Circus or Marmaduke. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/16 "2011-05-24T22:50:22Z")
Ernest Hemingway’s sons tried to finish some of his writings, I recall reading (and hearing, on the Mr. Show commentary track - apparently the hilarious [Roar of the Lion](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa2umu1vILI) sketch was inspired by a passage from Hemingway’s son, describing how one “feels the roar of the lion in his scrotum.”) ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/17 "2011-05-24T23:27:14Z")
On **Frasier** Eddie was played by two dog actors; Moose for the first 7 seasons and after he retired his son, Enzo, took over for the last 4 seasons. Enzo was bred for the specific purpose of taking over his father’s role in the event the show became a long runner. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/18 "2011-05-25T00:49:52Z")
Another example (if you’re willing to loosely define “art forms”) is the Dear Abby column, started by Pauline Phillips and continued by her daughter. And the daughter of Ann Landers (Eppie Lederer) was also an advice columnist, although under the name Dear Prudence. (I remember seeing a mention from Dan Savage about how lucrative the advice column business is, and how he plans to continue in it to his grave. So perhaps that explains why the daughters of Dear Abby and Ann Landers continued in the business.) ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/19 "2011-05-25T01:02:20Z")
**Dewey Finn** : There’s something about newspapers, isn’t there? I suppose they have the right mix of income, friendliness to small operations, and nearly psychotic aversion to change of any form to keep the same thing going for generations. Interesting examples from non-newspaper media, but they all seem like isolated specific examples as opposed to general rules. **Biffy the Elephant Shrew** : I suppose now’s my chance to say something terrible about _Pogo_, but I do think it was great and I must simply admit ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981/20 "2011-05-25T01:38:59Z")
Brian Henson is really a good example. He took over for his Dad and did a really good job. I thought he even voiced Kermit at one point, but apparently I’m wrong about that(Wiki says different). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-what-art-forms-is-it-expected-that-children-will-continue-when-the-parent-dies/582981.md?page=2)