The late Chester Gould, originator of the world-renowned Dick Tracy comic strip, will be featured in a special documentary called Chester Gould: An American Original. The program will air at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, on WTTW-Channel 11.
The documentary is the result of years of research and production by Woodstock resident Tom Firak and his sons, Steve and John. In 2007, when Steve and John were film students at Columbia College in Chicago, the family approached the Chester Gould-Dick Tracy Museum about their idea for a feature-length documentary exploring the life of Chester Gould. The Museum Board offered its blessings and the Firaks worked on Gould’s story.
The documentary takes the viewer on a fantastic journey from Chester Gould’s roots in Oklahoma through every stage of his dynamic career to his successors creating the Dick Tracy comic strip and the legacy he left. Gould, born in Pawnee, Okla. in November 1900, moved to Chicago in 1921 in an effort to start a career as a cartoonist. After 10 years of his cartoon ideas being rejected by the Chicago Tribune, Gould finally found success with his idea for Dick Tracy in 1931.
The syndicated strip became so popular that it appeared on the front page of the New York Daily News for 45 consecutive years and was eventually seen in 27 foreign papers. It is the sixth oldest comic strip in America today. Gould and his family moved to Woodstock in 1936 and settled on a farm in Bull Valley. He created the concept of Crime Stoppers in his strip on April 30, 1947 leading to a highly popular Crime Stoppers club for Woodstock boys in the 1950s. Years later, a policeman in New Mexico received Gould’s permission to use the term Crimestoppers (as one word).
The program soon spread to hundreds of communities and eventually became one of the most effective citizen-law enforcement anti-crime programs in existence. He continued to work on his strip until his retirement in 1977. Gould passed away at age 84 in 1985. He is buried in Woodstock’s Oakland Cemetery. Etched on his gravestone is a likeness of Dick Tracy. Feb. 22 has been designated as “Chester Gould Day” in Woodstock.
