Bill Freyse

Who was Bill Freyse?

William "Bill" Freyse was an American cartoonist notable for his three decades of work on Our Boarding House, syndicated by Newspaper Enterprises Association.

After Freyse graduated from the Central High School of Detroit, he began as an editorial cartoonist for the Detroit Journal. As a staff artist for the Detroit Times, he did theatrical caricature. His commercial artwork included billboards, theatre advertising and cartoons for Ford Motors. In 1939, he took over Gene Ahern's Our Boarding House from Bela Zaboly and continued to draw it until his death in 1969. Over a 20-year period, Our Boarding House was written by William M. Braucher. Others who worked on the strip included Jim Branagan and Tom McCormick. The Sunday color strip ended on March 29, 1981; the weekday panel continued until December 22, 1984.

Freyse was married to Evelyn S. Freyse. Their daughter is the actress Lynn Borden, born Lynn Freyse in Detroit on March 24, 1939. The family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and later to Tucson, Arizona, due to Evelyn Freyse's health needs, which required a warm, dry climate. He described his son, Steve Freyse, as a "hand gun and rifle sure shot". In Tucson, Bill Freyse became a Blue Ribbon flower grower.