Frank Bellamy and Patty Hearst

 

Daily Mirror 20 March 1976, p9

"Patty's hours of agony: a reconstruction of the life of Patty Hearst 'on the run'" by Anthony Delano was published in the Daily Mirror on Saturday 20 March 1976 with this accompanying strip by Frank Bellamy

Saturday 20 March 1976

• Was she a kidnap victim or a participant? 
• Could she have 'escaped' at any time?
• Did she willingly participate in the Symbionese Liberation Army crimes?
  

These were the questions being asked by a jury of the heiress Patty Hearst. 

From Wikipedia:

Patricia Campbell Hearst (born February 20, 1954) is a member of the Hearst family and granddaughter of American publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. She first became known for the events following her 1974 kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was found and arrested 19 months after being abducted, by which time she was a fugitive wanted for serious crimes committed with members of the group. She was held in custody, and there was speculation before trial that her family's resources would enable her to avoid time in prison. At her trial, the prosecution suggested that Hearst had joined the Symbionese Liberation Army of her own volition. However, she testified that she had been raped and threatened with death while held captive. In 1976, she was convicted for the crime of bank robbery and sentenced to 35 years in prison, later reduced to seven years. Her sentence was commuted by President Jimmy Carter, and she was later pardoned by President Bill Clinton.

That summarises a story that gripped the world at the time. I read a lot about Patty's Grandfather William Randolph Hearst when studying "Citizen Kane" the Orson Welles' film and of course Hearst's name pops up in American comic book history too. I also remember the times themselves when aeroplane hi-jackings happened - who, at the time,  could forget  the Entebbe raid? So the story was 'out there' and of interest even to this teenager! 

 By this time I had woken up to Frank Bellamy's design skills in the Sunday Times Colour Magazine, the Radio Times and of course the Daily Mirror itself where he was drawing 'Garth'. The cropped image shows the LAPD attacking the house - Bellamy using his trademark 'smoke' design. 

Interestingly my good friend David Jackson pointed out to me that his version of the Daily Mirror differed from the one I saw. The Northern edition actually has different text accompanying Bellamy's illustration

Text from southern version of Daily Mirror

Text from northern version of Daily Mirror

 Bellamy was paid £270 for this 'illustration' / comic strip and it was his last illustration in the Daily Mirror, although he continued drawing the 'Garth' strip until his -far-too-early- death on 5 July 1976.

***REMEMBERING 20 July 1969*** well, the 11 July to be precise!