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Home of Percy Crosby's Lovable "Skippy" Character

PUBLIC  NOTICE

There seems to be no way to convince the Unilever Goliath to stop its arrogant, and unauthorized use of the SKIPPY name that Percy Crosby created, and made famous, other than to announce that Unilever has been placed in SKIPPY’S Hall of Shame for its corrupt and fraudulent marketing.  It has often been said that “there’s no honor among thieves”, and this applies to Unilever’s willful blindness in stealing the SKIPPY name, goodwill and business from Skippy, Inc. to build its peanut butter racket, claiming to “own” the name since 1933.

When Unilever announced on January 3, 2013 that it was selling its SKIPPY business in Little Rock, Arkansas and China to Hormel Foods for $700 Million dollars, Percy Crosby’s heirs, SKIPPY’S many fans and namesakes were not smiling.  Despite the fact that Skippy, Inc.,  repeatedly warned that “SKIPPY is NOT for sale”, Unilever continued to ignore our prior, superior rights as owner-licensor of SKIPPY, knowing that it had no marketable title to sell to Hormel.

Unilever was aware that it would be risky to admit that Skippy, Inc. in 1933 sued their predecessor (Rosefield Packing Co., then bankrupt in California), and prevailed in 1934 when the U.S. Patent Office prohibited the registration of SKIPPY peanut butter as a matter of statutory law. Skippy, Inc. v. Rosefield Packing Co., Ltd., Opposition No. 13,134.  That 1934 decision became final when Rosefield filed no answer or appeal, whereby Rosefield, aided and abetted by its corrupt Chicago counsel, conspired to ignore the decision and to steal by secretive means Percy Crosby’s multi-million dollar SKIPPY licensing business.

The timeline of the “History of SKIPPY” on Unilever’s website is revealing by its major omissions, www.peanutbutter.com.  There is no reference to the years of Skippy litigation history (1933 et seq,) or the illegal confinement of Percy Crosby in a New York State mental hospital in 1949 where he would remain until his tragic death in 1964.   Rosefield et al., instrumental in Crosby’s confinement, was able to build the SKIPPY peanut butter racket with illicit SKIPPY profits.  This is the true story that Unilever don’t want the public to know.

On January 15, 2013, Skippy, Inc. filed a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department Antitrust Division, seeking an investigation of Unilever’s invalid SKIPPY title and sale to Hormel.  Our request was denied and no action was taken.  It appears that was because Unilever and/or Hormel asked for “early termination” to avoid an investigation, which was granted on January 22, 2013.  Thus, once again Unilever has succeeded in avoiding any Government scrutiny of its dark cloud on the title of SKIPPY, and its fraudulent marketing under Skippy’s trade name, mark and goodwill.

Skippy, Inc. has no intent to remain silent while letting Unilever receive $700 Million in cash from Hormel, without making restitution to Skippy, Inc.   Our government of laws were never intended by Congress or the courts to allow a willful infringer to become unjustly enriched by its own misconduct.  To do so is contrary to public policy.

©2013 SKIPPY, Inc

“HE CAUGHT LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE AND LEARNED HOW TO DRAW WITH IT”

San Diego, CA (December 7, 2011)—IDW Publishing and the Library of American Comics are proud to announce a new archival hardcover series that will reprint, for the first time, the complete legendary Skippy comic strips by Percy Crosby. THE COMPLETE SKIPPY will be co-edited by Jared Gardner and Dean Mullaney, with an ongoing biography by Gardner, and designed by Lorraine Turner. The premiere volume, containing the daily comics from 1925 through 1927, will be released in summer 2012.

“Percy Crosby caught lightning in a bottle and learned how to draw with it,” wrote Jules Feiffer in a 1978 appreciation. Milton Caniff marveled, “Boy, there's nothing faster than watching Skippy run the way Crosby drew him.” Debuting in 1923 in Life magazine, Skippy moved to the comics pages in 1925 and soon became a sensation, published in twenty-eight countries and fourteen languages. In 1931, Skippy became the first comic strip to see its film version win an Academy Award. Crosby continued writing and drawing the feature until 1945.

Crosby was also heralded as “the greatest apostle of motion in the field of art” by Edward Alden Jewell, art critic of The New York Times. Crosby’s artwork has hung in the Louvre in Paris, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, and the Tate Gallery in London, among other venues, but it is his work as a cartoonist, as the creator of Skippy—the philosopher man-child— for which he's best known.

Today Skippy can be seen as the spiritual ancestor to Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes, among many other kid strips. Crosby influenced cartoonists from Charles Schulz to Walt Kelly to Garry Trudeau, and perhaps more than any other cartoonist before him, brought philosophy and politics to the American newspaper comic strip. In the end, it would be his outspoken political and philosophical beliefs that would place him increasingly outside the mainstream of 1940s American culture, ultimately leading to his exile from comics and his forced incarceration in a mental institution for the last sixteen years of Crosby Family his life. As a result of his tragic end, Crosby’s remarkable contributions to American culture have been largely eclipsed, until now.

The series is produced with the full cooperation of Skippy, Inc. and the Crosby estate. Joan Crosby Tibbetts, Crosby’s daughter, who has waged a 50-year campaign to keep her father's legacy alive, said, “I’m delighted that the complete Skippy will be published at long last. For years, Skippy fans and namesakes have written me, wanting to see more of their favorite character, and now I can tell them their wishes are granted.”

The book is now available at the following retailers:

Amazon Books: click here

Barnes and Noble: click here

Independent Comic shop retailers: click here

ALSO AVAILABLE NEW SKIPPY DOLL

Percy L. Crosby (1891-1964) was an American author, illustrator and cartoonist best known for his popular comic strip "Skippy®." Written and drawn by Crosby, the strip is regarded by comics historians as a classic which innovated a number of sophisticated touches used later by many famous cartoonists from Charles Schulz' 'Peanuts' to Bill Watterson's 'Calvin & Hobbs.'

When it was launched in 1923, nothing like Skippy had ever been seen before in the comic strips. It was not just Crosby's expert draftsmanship or remarkable flair, although that artistry earned him a reputation as "the cartoonist's cartoonist"... The brilliance of Skippy was that here was fantasy with a realistic base, the first 'kid' cartoon with a definable and complex personality grounded in everyday life.

The syndicated strip was enormously popular, at one point guaranteeing Crosby over $2,000 a week, an enormous sum in those harsh economic times. Grosset & Dunlap published Crosby's Skippy novel in 1929 and a radio show was soon developed. In 1931 the strip was adapted as a movie by Paramount Pictures. A success, it won director Norman Taurog the Academy Award for Best Director and boosted the career of young star Jackie Cooper in the title role.

Creator Crosby retained the copyright, a rarity for comic strip artists of the time. In his heyday, there were Skippy toys, comic books, and dolls. The Effanbee Company, New York, was licensed to make Skippy dolls which they produced from 1928-1943. Marketed as the boyfriend of the popular "Patsy" doll, Skippy was 14" tall and made of composition with molded hair with a long forelock on the forehead. His custom head mold was sculpted by famed doll designer Bernard Lipfert based on the artwork of Percy Crosby.

It gives us great pleasure to present the first Skippy doll made entirely of felt! Closely based on the vintage Skippy doll design and the artwork of Percy Crosby, Skippy measures approximately 12 1/2 inches tall and is fully jointed with the RJW ball & socket system with internal wood mechanism. Skippy's hands have individually-sewn fingers and molded details. His impish face is delicately hand painted and for the first time he has a completely handknotted wig of the finest mohair.

This mischievous little boy comes costumed in an authentic outfit made of the finest natural materials. A tailored cotton shirt with large collar and tie, felt shorts, overcoat, and slouch hat are based closely on the original comic illustrations. He wears cotton socks and hand-cobbled shoes made of fine custom-made leather with custom-made miniature shoelaces. On his chest, Skippy sports a special replica pinback button which reads: "R. John Wright Dolls, I AM SKIPPY® - The Real American Boy."

Skippy was produced by special permission from the Estate of Percy L. Crosby in this extremely small edition of just 150 pieces worldwide. Each doll will come beautifully boxed with a signed certificate of authenticity and the forms for owner registration.

Skippy, may be ordered from THE TOY SHOPPE.