Inspiration for Comic Strip Character Dies

Thelma Keane - who provided the inspiration for husband Bil Keane's comic strip, "The Family Circus"- has died of Alzheimer's disease, TMZ.com reports.

Keane - who died Friday at the age of 82 - provided the inspiration for the character of Mommy in the strip. The animated matriarch looked after four hyper-active youngsters and soon became a figurative Mommy for children who read the comics.

Her animator husband recalled: "When the cartoon first appeared, she looked so much like Mommy that if she was in the supermarket pushing her cart around, people would come up to her and say, 'Aren't you the Mommy in 'Family Circus'?'"

"The Family Circus" - which was originally going to be titled "The Family Circle" - has achieved a lasting success. Since its debut in 1960, it still appears in over 1,500 newspapers throughout the United States, and compilations of the series have sold over 13 million copies worldwide.