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Arthur William Nugent (1891 - March 25, 1975), better known as Art Nugent, was an American cartoonist notable for his long-running syndicated puzzle feature, Funland (aka Uncle Art's Funland), which he drew for four decades. He sometimes used the signature A. W. Nugent.
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Born in Wallingford, Connecticut, he began his career as an acrobat. From 1911 to 1918, he was the National AAU Tumbling Champion. In 1916, he made the Olympic team, but the event was canceled.
World War I
He joined the Navy during World War I and began doing artwork while in the Navy. Returning after World War I, he worked as the New York World's puzzle cartoonist for eight years.
Uncle Art's Funland
He created Funland in 1933. Along with the games, riddles, connect-the-dots art, crossword puzzles and anagrams, it introduced his autobiographical character, Uncle Nugent (aka Uncle Art). It was distributed by United Feature Syndicate to more than 100 newspapers. In the 1940s, he created funny animal stories for Popular Comics and other comic books, which also carried Funland reprints. In "Pint-Size Pete" for The Big All-American Comics (1944), Pete heads into town to seek fame and fortune in hopes of saving his father's farm.
He continued doing the syndicated feature until 1974. Living in Newark, New Jersey, he was a member of the Society of Illustrators. He was 84 when he died at St. Mary's Hospital in Orange, New Jersey.
The puzzle feature was continued by his son, Art Nugent, Jr., who studied at Syracuse University and the Newark School of Art. Beginning as his father's assistant, he took over Funland in the early 1970s with occasional contributions by the elder Nugent.
Today, Uncle Art's Funland by N.A. Nugent, is carried by GoComics, which offers this description: "This comic provides educational entertainment for kids of all ages. Jokes, word and math games, connect the dots, optical illusions and crosswords are just some of the puzzles found in this weekly feature."
Books
Funland: Super-packed with Puzzles, Jokes, Amazing Facts and Lots more Exciting Fun!, by Art Nugent and Leo White, is a 132-page paperback collection published by Playmore in 1982.