George Hagenauer reports that longtime comic-strip and original art collector Bill Crouch died Feb. 21, after respiratory arrest followed by cardiac arrest, after three weeks in a coma. He had been battling serious respiratory problems for several years.
Hagenauer told CBG, “Bill was one of those people I have known for over 35 (maybe 40) years, but never met . He was one of those ‘old’ guys (he was 66; I am 60!) who taught me a lot by phone or mail when I discovered there were other people out there who loved, clipped and collected comic strips.
“He was far more than a collector. His close friendship with Terry and the Pirates artist George Wunder resulted in that art being offered to collectors. If you own a piece of Wunder art (which has become a lot scarcer due to the tragic death of Don Lineburger in a fire that destroyed hundreds of Wunder originals) it is because of the efforts of Bill Crouch.
“He was an avid fan of Milton Caniff. He was involved in one of the early reprinting of Wunder’s Terry. Until recently he also wrote on comics for a local newspaper. Scattered among the various comic-strip fanzines, you will find many articles on various comic strips. Living in Connecticut, he knew many comic strip artists and writers. Those contacts provided him the material for many articles. His knowledge and insight related to the history of the comic strip field will be sorely missed.”
Condolences for his widow Minh-Chau Loung-Crouch can be left through a link here.
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