Richard Ellers

…in the fall of 1986 to take a trip over to Ohio State University's Festival of Cartooning. It was there that writer, Richard Ellers, of The Plain Dealer caught up with Bill Watterson and his wife. 

Ellers was hesitant to approach the couple at first, but managed to convince the usually reticent cartoonist to do a casual interview over lunch at a local diner while his wife looked on. The trio had a relaxed meal, and Ellers recalls. Watterson's wife is “very nice and very funny,” who at one point referred to Watterson as “my Calvin.” 

After the meal was eaten, it came time to take a picture for the article, and Watterson balked. Since his picture had appeared in the Plain Dealer in March, he had been besieged by well-wishers and autograph seekers whenever he went out. He had no desire to be a celebrity and had decided not to have any further pictures circulated in the public domain. 

Thinking quickly, Ellers suggested a novel workaround. Grabbing a pen and paper, he had Watterson quickly sketch a picture of Calvin. The artist then held it up in front of his face, leaving only his bespeckled eyes and the crew cut top of his head exposed. The results are the clever masking of a man by his creation, a metaphor that the publicity-shy Watterson couldn't have missed. After the shot was snapped, he signed the drawing and gave it to Ellers. Today, that sketch is lost in his attic, and he sounded shocked to learn that it was worth thousands of dollars. 

The resulting article, “Calvin has cartoonist by the tail,” ran in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on 5 October 1986. In what might be his most relaxed and candid interview, Watterson talks about his desire for anonymity, candidly, “We’re very private people.” He told Ellers between bites. “I like our isolated experience.” He also claimed that he answered every piece of fan mail he received. “I need the letters to keep in touch,” he asserted. “The mail lets me know what works and what doesn't.” 

Watterson also touched on where he might take his comic strip in the future. “As outrageous as Calvin is, I have to keep his character consistent.” He told Ellers. “Calvin may be outrageous, but I couldn't go to an extreme, say, and make him a mass murderer. I get an idea for a situation. Then I sit back and see how Calvin and Hobbes work it out. I never know what's going to happen. Sometimes it's even a surprise to me.” 

Though he retired years ago, Ellers retained very fond memories of his interviewee. “He was such an interesting character.” He told me by phone from his home in Warren, OH. “In retrospect, he was probably the one guy I would have liked to have hung out with after work the most. Just man-to-man, not reporter-to-writer. Just two guys fishing or something.” 

Press Photo of Richard Ellers at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in 1974