Keith Chatto

Keith Chatto was born at Kogarah, New South Wales in 1924,{{Cite book|title=Bonzer: Australian Comics 1900s–1990s|last=Shiell|first=Annette|publisher=Eluga Media|place=Redhill, South Australia|year=1998|page=115|isbn=1-876308-12-5}} the son of an accountancy clerk.{{Cite book|title=Panel by Panel – An Illustrated history of Australian Comics|author1=Ryan, John|pages=190–192|year=1979 |publisher=Cassell Australia |isbn=0726973769 }} Chatto was educated at Kogarah Primary School, Canterbury High School and Sydney Grammar School.{{Cite web|url=http://www.daao.org.au/bio/ronald-keith-chatto/#artist_biography|title=Ronald Keith Chatto|publisher=Design & Art Australia Online|last=Kerr|first=Joan|year=1996|accessdate=19 October 2011}} His father, an accountant for Smith's Weekly, showed his son's sketches to the art staff at the magazine, where he was invited by Jim Russell to attend weekly art classes.{{Cite web|url=http://www.collectingbooksandmagazines.com/chatto.html|title=Keith Chatto 1924–1992|publisher=Collecting Books & Magazines|last=Ray|first=Greg|year=2007|accessdate=18 October 2011}} On leaving school Chatto found work with the art department of Greater Union Theatres{{Cite web|url=http://members.iinet.net.au/~jez/keith/keith.html|title=Keith Chatto – Tribute|publisher=The Black and White Artists Club|accessdate=18 October 2011}} then drawing aircraft recognition charts for the Australian Air Training Corps before enlisting with the RAAF.

Following his demobilisation in 1946 he had his first comic strip published, Destiny Scott, in the mid-week children's section of the Sydney Morning Herald on 26 June 1946.{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19460626&id=jedjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=x5MDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5656,7247163|title=New Australian Comic Strips in the 'Herald'|publisher=Sydney Morning Herald|date=26 June 1946|accessdate=13 December 2011}} Also, in 1947, Chatto produced two comic strips for a nudist magazine, The Australian Sunbather, which was published by Ashworth Publications. When Destiny Scott ended he contributed to the All-Australian Comics group on Bunny Allen,{{Cite book|title=Comics in Australia & New Zealand: The Collections, The Collectors, The Creators |author1=Burrow, Tony|author2=Stone, Grant|publisher=Haworth Press|page=38|year=1994|isbn=978-1-56024-664-0}} The Glamour Girl and The Buccaneer.{{Quote|He had an eye for a good line and a very good talent at drawing women. Some of his strips, like Glamour Girl and Wanda Dare, were good examples of his art. I don't mean to say he was a 'perv', or anything like that, but he captured women well.|Jim Russell}}In 1949 Chatto created The Lone Wolf for Atlas Publications,{{Cite web|url=http://comicsdownunder.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html |title=El Lobo – The Man from Nowhere | publisher=Comicsdownunder.com | last=Patrick |first=Kevin|date=19 April 2008|accessdate=19 October 2011}} which was later drawn by Yaroslav Horak,{{Cite web|url=http://www.ausreprints.com/content/articles/?apg=713|title=Atlas|publisher=AusReprints|accessdate=13 December 2011}} and in 1954 created Steven Carlisle for Larry Cleland Publishing Company.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ausreprints.com/content/main/?series=3637|title=Steven Carlisle Illustrated Adventures|publisher=AusReprints|accessdate=13 December 2011}} By 1955 Chatto branched out to other forms of commercial art including magazine illustrations, record sleeves and cover illustrations for pulp fiction novels, where in the 1950s he was produced upwards of six covers a week.{{Cite web|url=http://www.library.otago.ac.nz/exhibitions/pulp_fiction/image41.html|title=Cabinet 13: Science Fiction & Fantasy|publisher=Otago University|work=The Pulp Fiction Exhibition – Special Collections|accessdate=12 December 2012}}{{Dead link|date=April 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{Cite book|title=Pulp: A Collector's Book on Australian Pulp Fiction Covers|author1=Johnson-Woods, Toni|publisher=National Library of Australia |year=2004|isbn=978-0-642-10766-4}} He also worked on The Twilight Ranger{{Cite web|url=http://comicsdownunder.blogspot.com/2008/04/comics-of-airwaves-twilight-ranger.html|title=Comics of the Airwaves: The Twilight Ranger|publisher=Comicsdownunder.com|last=Patrick|first=Kevin|date=19 April 2008|accessdate=19 October 2011}} and El Lobo at Cleveland Publishing.{{Quote|I began working exclusively for Cleveland Publishing Company, at first illustrating and designing pocket book covers. At one period about this time, I was producing an average of six full colour covers each and every week for various publishers. [Jack Atkins] commissioned me to illustrate a radio serial written by Michael Noonan, called The Twilight Ranger. I had to adapt for the comic book Michael's scripts and illustrate them.|Keith Chatto}} With the introduction of television Chatto left the comic book industry to become a freelance film producer and cine cameraman.{{Cite book|title=Australian Films|publisher=National Library of Australia|work=Film Division|year=1969}} He continued to work in the comics field on a part-time basis drawing comic book covers for Page Publications and a series of Skippy comics in 1967.{{Cite web|url=http://www.grandpacifictours.com/news.asp?id=377&category=418|title=Skippy, Australia's most famous kangaroo|publisher=Grand Pacific Tours|last=Morris|first=Frank|accessdate=19 October 2011|archive-date=25 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425081858/http://www.grandpacifictours.com/news.asp?id=377&category=418|url-status=dead}} Unfortunately the comic book was produced after the television series had peaked in popularity. In mid 1977 he began drawing the Sunday version of Air Hawk and the Flying Doctors, having previously ghosted the strip for a short period in 1972.

In 1990 saw the publication of the first Australian-written and drawn full-length Phantom story, Rumble in the Jungle, with Chatto providing the illustrations{{Cite web|url=http://www.mirroroftheworld.com.au/imagination/pop_culture/comics/phantom.php |title=The Phantom No. 951A |work=Mirror of the World |publisher=State Library of Victoria |accessdate=19 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822044956/http://www.mirroroftheworld.com.au/imagination/pop_culture/comics/phantom.php |archivedate=22 August 2011 }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.comicbookdb.com/creator_chron.php?ID=21577|title=Keith Chatto – Chronological Listing|publisher=ComicBookDatabase|accessdate=13 December 2011|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303220854/http://www.comicbookdb.com/creator_chron.php?ID=21577|url-status=dead}} and Jim Shepherd the storyline.{{Cite web|url=http://www.deepwoods.org/frew1.html|title=The Phantom in Australia|last=Shedden|first=Brian|date=7 August 1999|accessdate=12 December 2011}} Chatto followed this by illustrating two more Phantom stories, Return of the Singh Brotherhood and The Kings Cross Connection in 1992, again collaborations with Shepherd.

Chatto died of cancer on 22 October 1992 at the age of 67.

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|title=Comics in Australia and New Zealand: The Collections, the Collectors, the Creators|author=Toby Burrows, Grant Stone|publisher=Haworth Press|year=1994|isbn=1-56024-664-2}}
• {{cite book|title=Panel By Panel: an Illustrated History of Australian Comics|author=John Ryan|publisher=Cassell|year=1979|isbn=0-7269-7376-9}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatto, Keith}}

Category:Australian comic strip cartoonists

Category:Australian comics artists

Category:Pulp fiction artists

Category:People from Newcastle, New South Wales

Category:1924 births

Category:1992 deaths

Category:Australian comics writers

Category:Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II

Category:Australian illustrators

Category:Australian album-cover and concert-poster artists