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Fred Lasswell (July 25, 1916 - March 4, 2001) was an American cartoonist best known for his decades...

Fred Lasswell (July 25, 1916 - March 4, 2001) was an American cartoonist best known for his decades of work on the comic strip Barney Google and Snuffy Smith. Born in Kennett, Missouri, he got his start as a sports cartoonist for the Tampa Daily Times. While playing golf in the area, Barney Google creator Billy DeBeck noticed Lasswell's work and hired the 17-year-old as an assistant. Lasswell worked closely with DeBeck for the next 18 years. DeBeck and Lasswell changed the focus of the urban-oriented strip when they introduced Google's hillbilly cousin Snuffy Smith in 1934. After DeBeck's death from cancer in 1942, Lasswell took over Barney Google and Snuffy Smith. Under Lasswell's tenure, Google was gradually phased out (although he did reappear occasionally), and the strip's emphasis shifted to Snuffy Smith and his rural setting. Lasswell also introduced his own characters, including Tater, Elviney Barlow, Parson Tuttle and Ol' Doc Pritchart. During World War II, Lasswell served as a flight radio operator in Africa and was a staffer for Leatherneck Magazine, for which he created the comic strip Sgt. Hashmark. Lasswell was a prolific inventor and early adopter of new technology.