Ted Key

Ted Key was born Theodore Keyser on August 25, 1912, in Fresno, California, and died on May 3, 2008, in Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania. He is best remembered as the creator of the long-running single-panel cartoon *Hazel*, which ran in *The Saturday Evening Post* from 1943 to 1969 and later inspired a popular television sitcom. Key also created the animated *Peabody's Improbable History* segments for *The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends*.

Key began his career as a freelance cartoonist, selling his first work to *The New Yorker* while still in college. His clean, expressive linework and gentle humor made his cartoons a staple of general-interest magazines. Over a career spanning decades, he contributed to *The Saturday Evening Post*, *Sports Illustrated*, and *Walt Disney Showcase*, among others. His signature style combined sharp observation with a warm, family-centered wit.

Key’s collaborations were primarily with editors and publishers rather than fellow artists; his most enduring partnership was with the *Post* itself. He co-created *Hazel* as a solo venture, but the character’s transition to television brought him into the orbit of producers and writers. Later in life, Key continued to draw and write, and his work was collected in several books, including *Here's Hazel* and *The Hazel Jubilee*. He received no major industry awards, but his legacy endures through the enduring popularity of Hazel and the inventive time-traveling dog from *Peabody's Improbable History*.