# Ohmigod -- is "The Family Circus" going to live on after Bil Keane?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 13, 2004, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohmigod-is-the-family-circus-going-to-live-on-after-bil-keane/254840 "2004-07-13T03:24:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohmigod-is-the-family-circus-going-to-live-on-after-bil-keane/254840/41 "2004-07-14T03:54:34Z")
> [@dantheman](#): > > But isn’t it funny how Jeffy’s the one who gets the promotion to a co-byline? After all, it’s always been Billy who stepped in as a sub for papa Bil in the past. Well, that’s because Jeffy’s got the added advantage of being real. Bil Keane has five kids, Gayle, Neil, Glen, Chris, and Jeff. His wife’s name actually is Thel, though. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohmigod-is-the-family-circus-going-to-live-on-after-bil-keane/254840/42 "2004-07-14T04:53:36Z")
> [@Runestar](#): > > Dennis the Menace? Not funny either, and never has been (and IIRC is another strip that going to be ‘inherited’ when Hank Kesham (??) decides to retire.) [Hank Ketcham died three years ago.](http://www.lambiek.net/ketcham_henry.htm) The cartoon is now drawn by [Marcus Hamilton and Ron Ferdinand](http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/dennis/about.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohmigod-is-the-family-circus-going-to-live-on-after-bil-keane/254840/43 "2004-07-14T05:38:04Z")
[Bob The Angry Flower](http://angryflower.com): Kill them all? Hmm… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohmigod-is-the-family-circus-going-to-live-on-after-bil-keane/254840/44 "2004-07-14T07:44:03Z")
Ah, Dennis the Menace. I recently came across an old multi-panel comic book of DtM, and realized that Dennis isn’t the problem, it’s his _parents_ who need to have some sense smacked into their heads. Preferably with a hardcover edition of Dr. Spock taped to a 2x4. In this comic, Mom goes into a shoe store with Dennis, tells the clerk what style she wants him to have, then leaves him there so she can go to a sale at a department store! Despite the clerk’s best efforts to keep Dennis under control, he of course proceeds to reduce the place to rubble. Mom comes back to pay for Dennis’ shoes and finds the store in ruins: shoes everywhere, display stands broken, handbags pulled inside-out, and the poor clerk looking shell-shocked. Mom doesn’t offer a single word of apology, or even remotely acknowledge that she’s played any role in all this. After they leave, Mom clucks to Dennis “Honestly, can’t I leave you alone for just twenty minutes?” “I dunno, mom, I can’t tell time yet!” The End. I’m sure anyone who’s worked in retail or had to deal with someone else’s spoiled kids will think this is absolutely fucking adorable. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohmigod-is-the-family-circus-going-to-live-on-after-bil-keane/254840/45 "2004-07-14T07:48:02Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > I don’t really know that I can blame him for being upset about that. He’s been drawing the cartoon for almost 45 years, and he’s based the characters and situations on his own family, and their lives. It must be disconcerting when you read something like that, and the character based on your 8 year old son is saying he’s going to go over to a friend’s for anal sex, or whatever. _ **Rough** _ anal sex. And lotsa incest, some bestiality and SM, and partial nudity. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohmigod-is-the-family-circus-going-to-live-on-after-bil-keane/254840/46 "2004-07-14T07:49:48Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Hey! My mother_likes_ that cartoon. And anything that keeps her entertained and off my ass is something to be treasured. 😃 Does she also collect Precious Moments figurines and ‘Love Is’ strips? ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohmigod-is-the-family-circus-going-to-live-on-after-bil-keane/254840/47 "2004-07-14T10:26:19Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > Well, that’s because Jeffy’s got the added advantage of being real. Bil Keane has five kids, Gayle, Neil, Glen, Chris, and Jeff. His wife’s name actually is Thel, though. Wow. I didn’t know that at all - always assumed “Billy” was his eldest’s name. Well, scratch _that_ analogy, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohmigod-is-the-family-circus-going-to-live-on-after-bil-keane/254840/48 "2004-07-14T14:11:01Z")
> [@Mockingbird](#): > > _ **Rough** _ anal sex. > > And lotsa incest, some bestiality and SM, and partial nudity. Don’t forget about that psychic fern whose time would come. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohmigod-is-the-family-circus-going-to-live-on-after-bil-keane/254840.md?page=2)