John Churchill Chase attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, after which he went to work at the Chicago Tribune as an early assistant to Frank King on his slice-of-life newspaper comic 'Gasoline Alley' in 1924. He also made other cartoons for the newspapers. As a comic strip artist, he combined his two interests in a couple of syndicated comic strips about the history of the USA ('We The People', 1975-1976) and of Louisiana in particular ('Louisiana Purchase', 1953). By 1927 he went to work as an editorial cartoonist for local daily newspapers like the New Orleans Item, the Ville Platte Gazette, the Morning Tribune, the Sunday Item-Tribune and the New Orleans States. His cartoons with 'The Little Man' depicted the ordinary man while being beleagured by government and political quandaries. Another regularly featured character was 'Mr. New Orleans', who was typically dressed in a 19th-century long coat with a top hat, bushy moustache and glasses. Chase remained associated with the newspapers until 1964, after which he became the regular editorial TV cartoonist for the local TV station WDSU. Chase has drawn most of the politicians of his time. Louisiana Governor Jimmie Davis once noted: "The only thing worse than being lampooned by Chase is to have him ignore you."
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