1 Richard Black Quotes

"Harry Richard Black" was an United States/American commercial artist, illustrator, and portraitist. Black created the original Mr. Clean mascot for Procter & Gamble's household cleaner during the 1950s.

Richard Black was born on October 10, 1921, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He enrolled at Syracuse University, but the school to enlist in the United States Army Air Corps/Army Air Corps during World War II. He moved to Ohio after the war and opened an art studio in Dayton, Ohio/Dayton. He also taught art at both the University of Dayton and Sinclair Community College on a part-time basis for years.

Black, who spent much of his career as a commercial artist, worked on projects for a number of companies, ranging from Frigidaire to Shell Oil. However, Black is best known for creating the widely recognized Mr. Clean commercial mascot. Procter & Gamble contacted Black during the 1950s. He was tasked by P&G with creating a new mascot for a forthcoming household cleaning product, to be called Mr. Clean. Executives at Procter & Gamble described the new cleaner as being "like Magic (paranormal)/magic" and envisioned the new product's mascot as a genie from a bottle.