'Hazel,' 'Mr. Peabody' creator Ted Key

TED KEY was most famous for creating the bossy but lovable maid Hazel, in cartoons and a TV series, but he was equally known for the funny animals he developed for children's books, TV and films.

There was Mr. Peabody, the time-traveling dog who was a character in the popular TV cartoon, "Rocky and His Friends," featuring the flying squirrel Rocky and a moose named Bullwinkle.

There was So'm I, a knock-kneed, bow-legged colt; The Biggest Dog in the World; and, best known to local baseball fans, Phyllis, a sparrow that built a nest in the outfield of the Phillies' ball park.

Ted was drawing in his home studio in Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, one day when he was surprised to hear then-Phillies announcer Gene Kelly filling in time during a dreary Phillies loss by reading the book about Phyllis.

Ted Key, who seemed rarely to stop drawing or coming up with ideas for movies, books and motivational pamphlets before his retirement in 1993, died Saturday of complications of cancer and a stroke. He was 95 and had lived in Tredyffrin since 1951.

Philadelphia readers were well-acquainted with Hazel. She began life in the pages of the former Saturday Evening Post, published here, and she appeared in the old Evening Bulletin until it closed in 1982, then was picked up by the Daily News, which eventually dropped it.

The TV series, "Hazel," starring Shirley Booth, began in 1961 and ran four years on NBC and a year on CBS. Booth won outstanding-actress Emmys in 1962 and '63 for her performance.

Ted was born Theodore Keyser in Fresno, Calif. His father, Simon, was a Latvian immigrant. Ted graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, moving to New York City to peddle his cartoons.

He wrote for radio, including a play called "The Clinic," which was aired on NBC.

He first sold the cartoon about Hazel to the Saturday Evening Post, published by the Philadelphia-based Curtis Publishing Co., in 1943. It was an almost-instant hit.

King Features still distributes Hazel, using cartoons drawn by Ted before he retired.

In addition to Hazel, Ted created Diz and Liz for Curtis. The brother and sister characters appeared in a multipanel cartoon in the company's monthly children's magazine, "Jack and Jill."

Four movies were made using Ted's animal characters, including "Digby, the Biggest Dog in the World," "The Million Dollar Duck," "Gus," and "The Cat From Outer Space." He wrote the screenplay for the latter story and turned it into a novel.

He and a neighbor, Milton Fox-Martin, developed a series of motivational posters for Economics Press Inc., called "Positive Attitude Posters."

They also created "Sales Bullets," a series of motivational pamphlets featuring Ted's cartoons for salespeople.

Ted is survived by his second wife, Bonnie; three sons, Stephen, David and Peter; and three grandchildren. His first wife, Anne, died in 1984.

Services: Will be private.

Donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, 1626 Locust St., Philadelphia 19103. *