1950s Comic Strip Detective Joe Friday Dragnet

What you are about to read is true

1950s Dragnet Comic Strip

"Realizing the lack of a completely authentic comic strip story of a metropolitan

Dragnet newspaper comic strip
began October 1953

police force in action, the producers of the famous Dragnet program including creator Jack Webb, have arranged for the presentation of their stories in picture form. 

"The series will go behind the scenes with Detective Sgt. Joe Friday and his partner."

A reader of this blog reminded me of yet another aspect of the Dragnet show. 

There was a comic strip that ran in newspapers. As with the TV show, they advertised the comic strip after some of the radio shows. There was also a Mad Magazine parody.

They built interest and excitement with a series of illustrated ads such as the one above. They were published in a countdown type fashion. Each featured the comic likeness of the Joe Friday character. Finally we saw, "Starts Today!"

Running only on weekdays, I found it in one newspaper, The Miami Daily News 1953-1954. 

The Miami Daily News at least implied that they published the Dragnet comic exclusively though the ad that followed the radio show didn't suggest that. The comics would, in return, have ads for the times and local stations where people could see or listen to the show.

Announcement of the Dragnet comic October 19, 1953

The comic-strip is said to have run 1953-1955 and could be found in multiple newspapers. 

On a brief search of other available US papers, I couldn't find it during that time period.  That definitely doesn't mean it didn't run elsewhere.

The radio version of Dragnet began in 1949, the TV show started in 1951, with its color revival in 1967.

When movies or TV shows get this pervasive you start hearing the inevitable joke asking for a Dragnet on Ice version. 

"It was Thursday, July 16th. It was warm in the city. We were working General Assignment out of Hollywood Division. My partner is Frank Smith. The boss is Captain Bert Jones. My names' Friday. We'd gotten a call from a real estate agent that some property had been stolen from a bungalow in the Hollywood area. We had to check it out." 

"What you are about to read is true"
October 19, 1953 premiere of the
Dragnet Comic Strip

"Every relevant and interesting phase of police procedure will be shown in the Dragnet strip. The correct procedure for fingerprinting, ballistics and testing, as well as investigations, line-ups and interrogations will be covered. 

"The stories in Dragnet are true complete and authentic in every sense. Every incident in the comic strip is carefully checked and receives police approval for authenticity."

-- Miami Daily News, October 13, 1953

Other comic strips of the time period included Alley Oop, Joe Palooka, Major Hoople, Pogo, Myrtle, Mutt and Jeff, Dottie Dripple, Disney's Donald Duck, Dixie Dugan, Snuffy Smith, Mickey Finn, Captain Easy, Mary Worth, Kerry Drake, Marlin Keel, Roy Rogers, Secret Agent X9, Hopalong Cassidy, Orphan Annie and There Ought Be A Law.

Like George M. Cohan, Orson Welles and others, Jack Webb was intent on getting his name and his brand name out there wherever he could. Director William Castle learned this same lesson when he worked with Orson Welles. 

"Realizing the lack of a completely authentic comic strip story of a metropolitan police force in action," what a great line for marketers and creative types. There is something the world lacks that only you can provide.

Dragnet Comic Strip 1954, "All right Crawford, what have you got for us?"

I am no expert on the show, this comic or comics in general.  If you have interest in comic art, artists, illustrators, illustrated books, you should check out a publication ImageS created by Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. He is very knowledgeable on the subject, having written a book and been a consultant for others.

Most very reasonably priced these days, the show had its share of paperback tie-ins and included Dragnet "Case Histories from the Popular TV Series."

Dragnet: The Case of the Courteous Killer even has a Kindle version In this book, Joe Friday has been promoted to Lieutenant. He had that rank briefly during the run of the show but had the character made a Sergeant again, deciding that sergeants saw more action.


Related pages of interest:

Dragnet Early Television Cop Series 1950s

Jack Webb's early radio shows, pre-Dragnet

Orson Welles, Citizen Kane and the Oscars

William Castle, Scream for Relief

James Cagney is George M. Cohan the Yankee Doodle Dandy, Where were you in '42?

Dirty Business Movie Censorship in the Early Days

Early movie censorship 1900s-1920s
Coverups, Arrests, Ballots and Scorecards, States and Cities

Notice! No Movie May
Show the following....
...................

NY Judge slams system, cops spending more time w/censors on raids instead of fighting crime
"'The policy of the Police Department under the present administration,' said Magistrate Hylan, 'is to make raids without evidence, to coerce and overwhelm, to make demonstrations of power.

"In short to pervert their authority to unlawful purposes and then appear in court before a magistrate without evidence of a violation of the law as far as the person in custody is concerned and thereupon criticize the magistrate because the latter is obliged for want of evidence to discharge the accused. ....

"Under the rule of a demoralized and disorganized police force this borough is rapidly becoming the paradise and favorite hunting grounds of burglars, pickpockets, highwaymen and thugs. 

"Instead of protecting people from criminals so that they may go to bed at night with a feeling of security that they will at least have the opportunity of awakening again, the public is in a state of constant jeopardy both as to their life, limb and property."

A New York City police captain would be tried on a charge of oppression, the complainants being several moving picture show proprietors in his district. 

Those police who'd raided them swore their theaters were badly crowded. The magistrate complained that while police officers were being called out to movie theaters, other crime was running rampant. Were these early versions of panty raids? Some parts of film history could hardly be taken seriously by audiences were they made into movies.

Quotes above from December 26, 1908 published issue of Moving Picture World. The trade periodical did its best to keep up with not only the ever changing issues in the motion picture industry. Many countries were already dealing with censorship issues. In America, states were trying to regulate censorship with different groups springing up in cities and counties as well as state-wide. 

-- Please see video documentary at end of article -- 

Georges Lafosse’s Censure (Anastasie)

NY Mayor revokes all movie theater licenses
The following completely unexpected present was handed out to every exhibitor [establishment showing motion pictures] in Greater New York on Christmas Eve, December 23, 1908, from George B. McClellan, Mayor and son of the famed Civil War general. 

The mayor cited simultaneous issues with fire safety as well as the morality of the movies being shown and his not wanting theaters to be open at all on Sundays. Exhibitors had no chance to make a case for themselves individually or collectively.

"Because of the serious opposition presented by the rectors and pastors of practically all the Christian denominations in the city, and because of the further objections of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Children and the Society for the Prevention of Crime, I have decided that licenses for moving picture shows shall only be issued hereafter on the written agreement that the licensee will not operate on Sundays. 

"And I do further declare that I will revoke any of these moving picture show licenses on evidence that pictures have been exhibited by the license which tend

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to degrade or injure the morals of the community." 

"As these licenses for moving picture shows are issued by me personally I feel responsible for the safety and lives of the patrons and take this action on personal knowledge of existing conditions and the firm conviction that I am averting a public calamity.  I do therefore order each and every license issued by me for a moving picture show be and the same hereby is annulled."
-- New York Times, December 24, 1908 

His decision was reversed in court but exhibitors got a strong message about censorship and what they should show, how they should behave including "a few dollars planted here and there would bring them ample protection." Similar situations would happen in small and large towns across America.

 

Film production companies loudly heralded the educational and scientific achievements of motion pictures. There were films of medical procedures. You could film tiny insects, different weather conditions. How do you fix a car, bake bread or escape a fire? In 1910 The Elgin State Hospital in Illinois announced they would begin showing motion pictures regularly for their mentally ill patients.

By 1917 Anti-Censorship Slides were sold to be shown in movie theaters between films. 

"Keep the pictures clean and keep them out of politics. We do not believe the American people want censorship. We will not show objectionable films at this theatre."



Arrested for showing free movies to WWI soldiers 
In 1918 the proprietor of a movie theatre along with his collaborator the editor of the local paper were arrested for showing free movies to soldiers. 

Since Camp Shelby was near Hattiesburg "the question of furnishing wholesome entertainment for the soldiers who periodically visit the city has been one of importance."

"I believe either educational or religious pictures which tend to foster patriotism or to show the gigantic task the country has before it and clean vaudeville of motion pictures, concerts, etc will assist in promoting the moral welfare of the men. 

"With the greater part of 25,000 or 30,000 soldiers idle on Sunday it is too much to expect men of red blood not to seek some form of recreation on Sunday the only day they have wholly to themselves." 



Chicago Censor Under Arrest 

Chicago Censor is found Guilty and Ousted
 1918

Also in 1918, Major LC Funkhouser, a censor in Chicago was deposed. He was said to have retained 'cadets, thieves, pick-pockets, former convicts, shakedown artists and others of ill repute and character as inspectors of moral conditions. 

'He allowed large sums of money to be expended in shadowing well-known men and women of unimpeachable character for purposes unconnected with the duties of his office.' 

He was charged with waste of funds such as failure to report gasoline and tire consumption, payment to persons who did no work, failure to check on subordinates' padded expense accounts. There was money extortion, accepting or demanding money from civilians to prevent police raids or to allow the showing of certain films. This is just a partial list which contained things more and less severe.

During his trial it was proved that he'd ordered his men to follow at least one of the women. The Chicago censor denied that his purpose was to lure her into some questionable place, insisting that it was for the purpose of enlarging the scope of his own investigations.

His attorneys admitted the charges but said they could present evidence that in two instances while it was not part of any morals inspection work there were causes justifying his actions. As was a problem across the country the full scope of the censors' duties (from what I've read) were vague, often changing and secret.

"The removal of Major Funkhouser is not hailed as a victory by the Chicago film men. His successor, William H. Luthardt has shown a tendency to follow the same lines of censoring as that used under the former regime. In fact he has already issued a notice that he will revoke the licenses of theaters showing films from which cutouts ordered by the censor board have not been made following conviction in court." 

Former Postmaster General,
Will Hays puts OK stamps on Bathing Beauties
He arrives 1922

Will H. Hays became president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) in 1922. He worked with individual state censor boards and studios who made the movies.


National Board of Review
The Ballots, National Board of Review of Motion Pictures...
The People's Institute was based in New York. The Institute would change its name to National Board of Review of Motion Pictures to avoid sounding as though they were associated with censorship. In 1909, the Institute talked about the need for a national censorship board. 

National Board of Review 1927

They noted that their representatives were from the following organizations: The City Vigilance League, the Ethical-Social League for Education, the Public Schools, The Society for the Prevention of Crime, the Women's Municipal League, Association of Moving Picture Exhibitors New York State. 

All of the members of all of these groups, regardless of their motivation at the start or throughout were given ballots, forms and in some cases, phone numbers. They were on a mission to report and evaluate what they saw and felt. So they'd better see and feel and report something. 

National Board of Review Ballot 1920

Did you ever notice "Passed by the National Board of Review" in on the screen when watching your favorite films (1916 into the 1950s)?

Here's some content of their film review ballot, circa 1920:
Name of picture, maker, number of reels

Choose One:

• Passed without change
• Passed subject to elimination (note eliminations on the reverse of ballot)
• Condemned in toto (note reasons on the reverse of ballot)

If a member is disqualified with the verdict of the majority and believes that the picture should receive consideration, the ballot may be marked as follows
Referred to a second review committee
Appealed to the Grand Committee

Type of Picture
Percentage value

For the following mark: Excellent, Good, Fair or Poor

Instructional Value
Art of production
Entertainment value
Moral effect

Fill in the blank/Check one or more

• This picture is satisfactory for audiences: (age groups)
  This picture is recommended for use by: institutions: colleges, schools, ethical and religions, libraries
  This picture is valuable for: civic work, social work ...
• Current information about:
• Propaganda for:
• Americanization as it teaches:

"Please mark ballot in full."

There was a National Board of Review Magazine for many years.  In 1926 an editorial about Gross Exaggerations discussed how movie characters lived in homes like palaces. It also talked about the technology of film vs the human eye. The extreme close up and how fast things could move on film, how did that register in the mind of the viewer? The writer was happy to see that filmmakers were beginning to slow down and have fewer close-ups, etc.  

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Commercial Grade, Side-Handles

Would Mildred Pierce use this?
Read description and use size that's right for you. How about a quiche?

Comments from Film Producers:

"Some thoughts on decent pictures by the men who make them"

"The right of free speech has cost untold agonies and rivers of blood. It is not to be thrown away. And after all, pictures have a very effective censorship in the persons Pa and Ma who will soon regulate any person who offends decencies." -- David Wark Griffith, World Famous Director

"The best commercial word in our slogan is the word Clean" -- Adolph Zukor, President Paramount-Artcraft
 
"The Pennsylvania censor board, one of the strictest in the Unites States, has not turned down one Metro picture in three years." -- Richard A. Rowland, President Metro Pictures Corporation

"We kow-tow only to Public Opinion - the one infallible censor." -- Carl Laemmle, President Universal Film Manufacturing Company

"First National was organized to encourage great artists to give their very best in wholesome and inspiring amusement." -- J.D. Williams, President First National Exhibitors' Circuit

"I pledge myself to make clean pictures just as naturally as I would pledge myself not to drink Prussic acid, leap into a blast furnace or throw myself in front of a railroad train." -- -- Lewis J. Selznick, President Select Pictures

"Motion Pictures in general have done more to improve the morals of American cities than any other factor in ten years." -- Samuel Goldwyn, President Goldwyn Pictures
-- Photoplay 1919

Score card Federal Motion Picture Council, 1926. "One of Canon Chase's motion picture score cards by which the canon's followers are able to make up their minds about the morality or immorality of a photoplay." Specific breeches of morality are offered to look out for. The cards are sold at forty cents for a hundred. This organization did not believe that Hays and the National Board of Review were going far enough.
 
If film contained any of the following mark with a cross: (examples)

• Gun play or hold ups
• Vulgar display of figure, indecent dress
• Tense nerve-racking scenes
• Sensual leering looks, suggestive bed or bathroom scenes
• Ridicule of clergy, police, the law

Does the picture not only entertain but teach important moral truths and inspire moral ideals?
Is it propaganda? 
Does it promote business interests of securing divorces? 
Commercial attempt to break the American holy day, the Sabbath? 
Prizefighting?

There were more jokes and cartoons such as If I were Will Hays, which thought up other things that Hays might do with his time.

"I would force stars to write every word
of their travels and memoirs themselves"

The Production Code was adopted in 1930. It spelled out acceptable and unacceptable content for motion pictures in the US. The Code was enforced in 1934. It is also called also called the Hays Code after Will H. Hays, President of The Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) as of 1922. Pre-Code cinema is the era before 1930 in Hollywood.

There is so much talked about, documentaries, college courses, books have been devoted the topic or portions of it. Sadly this sort of thing does repeat itself. 

Other Events, Media of the Era

Loose Talk Can Cost Lives T Shirt

It was noted that what could be read in books, including in so-called juvenile novels was very salacious and rarely censored. Things could be heard on the radio and read and seen on stage. 

The big radio networks came into existence beginning in the 1920s. The Jazz Age is frequently referred to as being the Roaring Twenties. It was ushered in thanks to radio, the images seen in movies and music heard on phonograph records and in clubs.

World War One, also called the Great War is having its centenary in 2014. WW1 lasted July 1914-November 1918. In 1920 women earned the right to vote.

Action Comics would introduce a Superman comic book in 1938 but they weren't the first comics. The Comics Code Authority wasn't formed until 1954. Television would arrive in the late 1940s, early 1950s.

For some reason the movies with their scary new environment, technology and availability to the masses seemed to make it all worse.

Maybe it can help put things in context. Evaluating a movie, a producer, writer, actor's behavior helps by putting it into context.

Why Be Good? aka That's a Bad Girl is a First National Pictures silent comedy film from 1929. It starred Colleen Moore and Neil Hamilton.


Why Be Good? Sexuality and Censorship in Early Cinema is an interesting documentary. Some parts, about Mary Pickford for instance are curious.

This is not meant to be a thorough chronology or history of film censorship. It has been researched to the best of my ability but I'm not an expert and welcome input. These are just some of the interesting events that are pre-1930s, the era of movie censorship that we hear the most about.

Yes, there's more to come. 

• What if they censored Shakespeare's plays?!
• What did Ed Sullivan say?
• What were the stars' own taboos, No-Nos that were written into their contracts, self-censorship?

Related Books, Pages of Interest:
Most of the books are available in paper of digital ebook/Kindle formats

Rudolph Valentino: When I Come Back, Valentino was called the male vamp by some censors. He gave women fantasies, ideas that they could experience things, overtaken by desire for such a man and their actions would not be their fault.

What did the censors cut out? Scenes removed by censors, subtitles/intertitles changed, removed 

Censorship around the world, Japan 1920s, France/United States 1950s what do Cary Grant and Monty Python have to say?


Early 20th Century Movie Theater Owners

Defending the First: Commentary on First Amendment Issues and Cases  available in paper of digital/Kindle formats. Not surprisingly it's said that for Canon William Chase, "Cecil B. De Mille's orgiastic biblical epics were a particular target."

Purifying America: Women, Cultural Reform and Pro-Censorship Activism, 1873-1933 (Women in American History) "Debates that continue to divide women."  

Better Left Unsaid: Victorian Novels, Hays Code Films, and the Benefits of Censorship  "Rather than being ruined by censorship, Victorian novels and Hays Code films were stirred and stimulated by the very forces meant to restrain them."

12-Sheet High Security Micro-Cut
Paper, CD, and Credit Card Shredder
with Pullout Basket

Security is such a huge issue these days. At the same time we're trying to make room and clean out. Whether we're looking to give away, donate, sell, or even recycle/throw away paper or other items how do you first make sure you do it securely? Also try the Fellowes shredder.

Keep Clean Case For The iPad or iPad Mini  


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Don't Be Dirty, TV Game show Tees British Comedy inspired tee
Customize, remove/add text
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Sources not cited above
Exhibitor's Herald 1909, 1918
Exhibitors' Trade Review 1922  
Motion Picture Magazine 1916, 1922, 1923
Motography 1915
Movie Picture World 1908, 1909, 1918
Nickelodeon 1909 
Pantomime 1922
Picturegoer 1916 
Screenland 1922
St. Petersburg Times April 1926

Travels of Orson Welles Academy Award

Orson Welles 8x10 Original Prints
Directing

Hide and Go Oscar
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences began handing out their Oscars in 1928. In 1942 Welles won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Citizen Kane, an award shared with co-writer, Herman J. Mankiewicz. 

• This page offers a timeline of the journey of Welles' Oscar, the most that we know
• Also there are a couple of videos including a Citizen Kane documentary that is very good

In 1950, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences passed a rule prohibiting Academy Award winners or their heirs from selling a statue without first offering it back to the Academy for a price of $1.

"Award winners shall not sell or otherwise dispose of the Oscar statuette, nor permit it to be sold or disposed of by operation of law, without first offering to sell it to the Academy for the sum of $1.00. This provision shall apply also to the heirs and assigns of Academy Award winners who may acquire a statuette by gift or bequest."
-- excerpted from the Academy Rules and Regulations

There are a lot of pre-1950 Oscars out there that have been sold and this includes Orson Welles' 1942 Academy Award.

The value of one of these awards has direct correlation to the film and personality connected with it. When you're talking about Orson Welles and Citizen Kane you're talking about legend.

The journey of Mr. Welles' Oscar, the statuette itself, has been interesting. The award weighs 7 pounds, 5 ounces and comes to a total height of 12" tall. Welles won the award when he was 25 years old.

In 1971, he received a second Honorary Oscar for his lifetime achievement.

At some point the actor/director said he'd lost the Citizen Kane Oscar.  This is what his family believed. "...For years it had gone missing and the Academy issued a replacement to Beatrice Welles, Orson's youngest daughter and sole heir." -- Nate D. Sanders Auctions

Citizen Kane, Orson Welles Oscar Movie Poster Display

In 1994 cinematographer, Gary Graver, tried to sell it. He claimed that Welles had given him the award as a gift. 

He talks about the experience in his book, Making Movies with Orson Welles.

"Completely out of the blue, Orson handed me the Oscar.
 
'Here,' he said. 'Keep this Gary. You take it. I want you to have it.'
I was of course absolutely stunned. This was the Oscar for Citizen Kane, the greatest film ever made! I told him I couldn't possibly take it but Orson wouldn't hear of it.

'No, no,' he said. 'I want you to have it.'

"And that was that. What a gift! Can you imagine? And I ultimately owned that statuette for about twenty years. Then in 1994 one of Orson's daughters learned that the Oscar was in my possession, so she filed a suit in California Supreme Court. 

"...The assertion her lawyers made was that the Oscar was not actually a gift but something Orson had handed me for safekeeping."

It was also said that the Oscar may have been give as a form of payment. It was displayed at the 75th Academy Awards in 2003.


 
Orson Welles was interviewed about Citizen Kane, William Randolph Hearst and more.

His daughter Beatrice sued and won custody of the statuette.  Then the Academy sued her when she tried to auction it in 2003. 

After a legal battle, she won the right to dispense of the Oscar and sold it to a nonprofit that tried unsuccessfully to sell it auction. She sold it to a California nonprofit called the Dax Foundation, who in turn tried unsuccessfully to auction it in 2007.

Sotheby’s also was unsuccessful when it tried to auction the award in 2007 but failed to as it failed to meet the reserve price.

Orson Welles, Rita Hayworth magic show entertaining the Troops

Peter Stackpole; Buy photo poster

Finally in December 2011 the Oscar Orson Welles won for the screenplay of Citizen Kane sold at auction for $861,542 to an undisclosed bidder, Nate D. Sanders Auctions reported.

Here is the description the Oscar had before it sold:

James Cameron
Holds Two Academy Awards
Oscars Titanic Original
35Mm Transparency

"Two engraved plaques are placed on opposite sides of the Belgian marble pedestal. One reads, 'Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences / First Award / 1941.' The other reads, 'Academy First Award To Orson Welles / For Writing / Original Screenplay of Citizen Kane.'

"The figure and film reel, composed of gold-plated britannium measuring 10.5" tall, top the pedestal, bringing the total height to 12". The pedestal's diameter measures 5.25". The award weighs 7 pounds, 5 ounces.

"Some tarnishing to statue, primarily to the leg area of the figure. The green felt backing under the pedestal is worn away around the edge. Overall in very good condition."
 
David Copperfield, who was outbid in the auction, said he admires Welles not only for his cinematic successes, but because he, too, was a magician. Welles hosted Copperfield's first television special.

Copperfield told the auction house that he wanted the Oscar because "Orson Welles was not only a magician of the cinema but also a performing magician himself." The magician also has history with Welles, The filmmaker hosted Copperfield's first TV special, and Copperfield already owns many props from Citizen Kane. (Hollywood Reporter)

Earlier in 2011, an Oscar won by by Nathan Levinson for best sound recording for the 1942 film Yankee Doodle Dandy was sold in Texas for $89,625. 

Le Voyage Dans La Lune Wrist Watches by moviebuffs
Shop for more Wristwatches at Zazzle

11th Annual Academy Awards, 1938
Spencer Tracy Boys Town with Bette Davies Jezebel
Buy photo poster print

The auction house said only a handful of Academy Awards have sold for nearly a million dollars. Michael Jackson famously paid $1.54 million in 1999 for the best picture Oscar awarded to David O. Selznick for Gone With The Wind.

Other awards can be found on auction regularly. Katharine Hepburn's Kennedy Center Honors ribbons and the BAFTA she earned for her performance in On Golden Pond were recently won at auction.

Among the awards available in a February 2014 auction at Nate B. Sanders Auctions is a Presidential Medal of Freedom With Distinction Awarded to Robert McNamara.






There are some fine documentaries about Citizen Kane.

There is some confusion about other nationally known industry awards such as the Emmy given by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. We've seen them block some sales of Emmys; Estelle Getty's Emmy Award was being sold on eBay in 2009. The sale of the Emmy was halted. But some Emmy sales have proceeded. 

Rita Hayworth has her hair dyed and cut 8x10" Photo

Related Pages of Interest:

Citizen Kane (Two-Disc Special Edition) See what all the fuss is about -- or enjoy it all over again. You can stream it onto your TV, computer, tablet, etc.

Orson Welles and the Oscars for Citizen Kane, Not so Terrific

Buying, Selling, Auctioning off Academy Awards  The Oscar Herman J. Mankiewicz won for co-writing Citizen Kane with Welles was auctioned off in 2012.

Collecting, Auctioning Entertainment Memorabilia

Nate B Sanders Auction House Orson Welles Oscar Consignment

Some information, not cited above from CNN, Reuters, CBS News, New York Daily News

Who inherits your affiliate marketing pay and online sales earnings

When our Affiliate Marketing work outlives us
What happens to our online income after we die?

Are you an affiliate marketer or an online publisher who incorporates affiliate ads

Man From UNCLE Robert Vaughn
Sits behind the computer console
Early SEO?
David McCallum 8x10 Cast Photo

into the content on your blog or other web site? Are you an Amazon Associate or use Google AdSense?

Does the site you're working with allow you to name a beneficiary for the funds you earn in the case of your death? 

How would they handle the transfer of funds from one account to another? Different sites have different policies and their policies tend to change.

This isn't something people want to be thinking about at the time of someone's death. It's a loving and selfless thing for us to do something now so they'll know what to do.

If there's a significant lag time, your account can go dormant and your account could begin being penalized. It could be closed and your income could be lost altogether.

Jimmy Stewart The Shop Around the Corner photo

The first thing to do is let someone know that you're working online. Make note of your passwords and any other pertinent log on information. 

You probably don't want your beneficiaries to know this information now but arrange it so they'll receive it when you die. Don't forget intermediary or money management sites such as PayPal.

One thing I noticed when looking for information about this topic was emails from family members of a person who'd suddenly died, had an accident or taken ill. These weren't necessarily elderly people. 

They may not have had a really big online income that made them think in advance to create special arrangements.. Don't assume you have a lot of time to get this in order. 

If you have an Etsy, Amazon or eBay store, who will know how to find, package and ship products when they're ordered? Someone will need access to that email account if the shop is to stay active. Maybe you should have instructions that they at least should put your shop on vacation for a while? You could leave instructions to do this especially if you're injured or sick and expect to get back to work.

Here is some information I've found from a few online companies. Some of the info was found on their sites, some from personal emails. Always double check for yourself when you have the need. It can be a starting point.

Don Adams demonstrates Mobile Pay Per Call technique
8x10 photo Get Smart

Accessing a deceased person's Google account:

"If an individual has passed away and you need access to the contents of his or her Google account, in rare cases we may be able to provide the account content to an authorized representative of the deceased user. We extend our condolences and appreciate your patience and understanding throughout this process.

"At Google, we’re keenly aware of the trust users place in us, and we take our responsibility to protect the privacy of people who use Google services very seriously. Any decision to provide the contents of a deceased user’s account will be made only after a careful review, and the application to obtain account content is a lengthy process." .....

"If you are the authorized representative of a deceased user and wish to proceed with an application to obtain the contents of a deceased user’s Google account, please carefully review the following information regarding our two stage process..." 
This is a part of Google's Inactive Account Manager feature. Check with them for information about your Google AdWords account, etc.
-- excerpts from Accessing a deceased person's account, Google.com

Google AdSense:

Getting paid: As a rightful heir to a deceased person, how do I get payment for any unpaid earnings?

Because the AdSense system doesn't know that an account owner is deceased, the system will automatically continue to make payments using the payment settings in the AdSense account. If you are the rightful heir and need payment of accrued earnings to be redirected, please upload the requested documentation electronically here or fax or mail your request and appropriate legal documentation to:

Google, Inc.
Attn: Google Legal Support, AdSense Support
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
(650) 618-8507, Attn: Google AdSense Support
-- From Google AdSense Help page retrieved January 14, 2014

Also from Google:
How do I change my payee name or address?

Though our Terms and Conditions don't permit transfers of account ownership, we do allow you to update your payee name to fix misspellings or to make adjustments for changes such as marriage, death, or company mergers. You can freely change your payee address at any time. ....

Payment Claims for a Heir 
Form asks you to Create new login, update email address and upload a Death Certificate. Your Gmail address should appear where it says Contact email address

Amazon Women on the Moon
Movie Poster 11x17
Rosanna Arquette Steve Guttenberg...
They don't care about state sales tax on the moon

Amazon.com
"As long as someone contacts from the email address that is associated to the Associates account we would be able to help them with any account information that is needed....

"If we are able to receive one of the requested documents from the list below from the corresponding person we would be able to take the requested action."

Please provide one of the following below:
    
* Estate Executor: A court-issued letter of administration for an estate subject to probate
  
  * Spouse/Family Member: A death certificate for the deceased (will list spouse's name)

This information can be faxed ...or if you prefer, can be mailed to the address listed below.

Attn: Associates Department
C/O Amazon.com
1550 S 48th Street
Grand Forks, ND 58201

Once the above listed information has been faxed or emailed please contact us back using the link that is listed below. You can use this specialized link to provide us with the information we requested above:
http://affiliate-program.amazon.com/gp/associates/contact/

If you're unable to provide the above documentation or you can't write from the account holders e-mail address, please respond to this message to let us know. We'll need you to provide all of the following information about the account:

- The Associates Associates ID
- The Associates primary e-mail address on the Associates account
- The Associates payee name
- The complete Associates payee mailing address

You can use this specialized link for questions and to provide them with the information we requested above,
-- From personal email to Amazon.com Associates Help Contact April 2012; any company information shown was already available to the public


Zazzle: Death or Incapacity

In the unfortunate event that a member of our Seller community who is a natural person dies or becomes permanently incapacitated, Zazzle will take all necessary steps to work with their successors and assigns. However, Zazzle will need the following documentation from such deceased or incapacitated Seller's successors, assigns or their legal representatives for verification purposes:

    Death Certificate
    Proof of Succession
    Power of Attorney
-- excerpt from Zazzle Non-Exclusive License Agreement retrieved Jan 14, 2014

Label - Emergency & Medical Info - Grean Leaves by juliea2010
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Commission Junction:

"Commission Junction would act in accordance with standard legal death procedures, which may include requesting and reviewing a copy of the death certificate and/or will.

"If you need additional assistance, please update this incident through the

Petticoat Junction 11X14 COLOR PHOTO
Bea Benaderet, Edgar Buchanan, Frank Cady
Lori Saunders, Gunilla Hutton, Linda Kaye,
Rufe DavisSmiley Burnette and Higgins the dog.

Support Center."
-- From personal email with Help Center April 2012

Think about the different kinds of residual income you might have from an online site. Writing on Yahoo,  Wizzley, etc.? Selling on a site such as Zazzle, Etsy, eBay or ArtFire? 

Many of these online pages overlap. Amazon.com allows us to be affiliates and to sell items. 

On Yahoo, we can write for profit, have our email and Yahoo owns the photo-sharing site, Flckr. 

There are big affiliate networks such as ShareASale and Commission Junction (CJ). Some of us work directly with merchants, big ones like Amazon or smaller ones. They pay through direct deposit or check.

This article really isn't about all the other online parts of our lives.  People have been talking about digital media and what happens to our iTunes library and our Kindle eBook libraries. I've heard that we should think of our movies and MP3s as if we're just leasing them instead of owning them even though we paid for them.

Space 1999 Awful when you hear your photos are gone
8x10 Photograph High Quality Martin Landau

Other things of value that we have online, documents and photos.

Do you use Cloud storage? Here's a part of Apple's iCloud terms: 

Apple iCloud: No Right of Survivorship

"You agree that your Account is non-transferable and that any rights to your Apple ID or Content within your Account terminate upon your death. Upon receipt of a copy of a death certificate your Account may be terminated and all Content within your Account deleted." 

Make sure people know about your Flickr and other accounts so they're not deleted or terminated and all of your photos lost forever. This can be a big loss to your business and your family.

How many places do you have your important photos and documents saved? Does a family member have the password and login ID to your Apple and/or Flickr account?

We just faced the anniversary of the death of a young adult in our family. Someone's social media accounts become an issue as well. Facebook may become a memorial page.

If you have a business page or are selling ads on Facebook, I still need that information.

The Facebook blog discusses memorial pages 

Edward G. Robinson and Bette Davis 8X10 Photo
Choose someone to receive your passwords

"When an account is memorialized, we also set privacy so that only confirmed friends can see the profile or locate it in search. We try to protect the deceased's privacy by removing sensitive information such as contact information and status updates. 

"Memorializing an account also prevents anyone from logging into it in the future, while still enabling friends and family to leave posts on the profile Wall in remembrance.

"If you have a friend or a family member whose profile should be memorialized, please contact us, so their memory can properly live on among their friends on Facebook.

"As time passes, the sting of losing someone you care about also fades but it never goes away. I still visit my friend's memorialized profile to remember the good times we had and share them with our mutual friends."
-- excerpt from 2009 Facebook blog, Memory of friends departed endure on Facebook
 
Facebook will no longer limit who can view the accounts of its deceased members. Until now, Facebook would change the privacy settings on a deceased person's account — known as a memorial account — so that only their friends could view the page. But going forward, Facebook will leave privacy settings as the account's owner had set them, so anyone who could view their account while they were living will be able to view their memorial account as well. 
-- The Verge, 2014

"We are respecting the choices a person made in life while giving their extended community of family and friends ongoing visibility to the same content they could always see" 2014 Facebook blog post, Remembering Loved Ones.

Facebook Member Memorialization Request:
Choose Who Controls Your Page, Your Account After You Die
Memorialization Request "After someone has passed away, we’ll memorialize their account if a family member or friend submits a request. Learn about what happens when an account is memorialized. If you’d like a loved one's account to be memorialized, please use this form to let us know." 

Optionally you can request that there be proof of your death.
If you can, please provide a link to an obituary or other documentation about the death. This is very helpful to the team that reviews memorialization requests.


** All information is for the United States and all retrieved January 14, 2014 unless stated otherwise. I'm not an expert at any of this and cannot give guarantees, but found a need to gather this information and wanted to share with others. I expect to hear from a few more sources and will post more information when and if I receive it. Programs change or shut down completely unexpectedly sometimes. Some of the information here may be outdated and/or may not apply to you.  This page will be updated if possible. Major updates will be noted with a date.

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