Linda Sutter (1941–1995) was an American comics writer and journalist. She wrote the storyline for the comic strip Brenda Starr, Reporter from 1982 to 1985. A graduate of
Vassar College, she was involved in television and radio journalism in the 1960s and 1970s. She produced a series for
NBC Radio Network's Monitor program and worked for the WINS radio station and
Channel 5 in New York City.
Early life and education
Helen Linda Sutter[1] was born in
Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1941, to Suzanne Tenney and Clifford Samuel Sutter.[2]
Sutter began her career working for
NBC as a network radio producer.[5] With
NBC Radio Network's Monitor program, she produced a series on "the younger generation" and interviewed Senator
Edmund Muskie in 1968.[6][7] During the 1970s, she was a television reporter for
Metromedia Channel 5 in New York City and was a radio journalist with the WINS station.[5]
Brenda Starr
In 1980, Sutter was hired by Chicago's
Tribune Media Services to produce the Brenda Starr, Reporter comic strip.[8] Starting in 1982, she wrote the storyline for the syndicated comic strip, taking over from the strip's creator,
Dale Messick.
Ramona Fradon continued to provide the artwork during Sutter's tenure.[9] She started the process of updating the Brenda Starr character to a career woman from a fantasy figure. Her initial storylines led Brenda Starr to California where she is kidnapped by Arabs after meeting a mad scientist with a revolutionary silicon chip that is hidden in a golf ball.[10] Sutter created a character lampooning ABC executive
Roone Arledge. Her district attorney character "Diane Drab" was likened to then-Brooklyn DA
Elizabeth Holtzman.[11] Sutter continued producing and writing for Brenda Starr until 1985, when
Mary Schmich took over the storyline.[12][13]
Personal and later life
Sutter married G. Raymond Empson in 1968. They had a son, Joshua C. Empson.[14]
^Commire, Anne, ed. (2002).
"Sutter, Linda (1941–1995)". Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Waterford, Connecticut: Yorkin Publications.
ISBN0-7876-4074-3.
Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
^Weedon, Elizabeth (December 16, 1959).
"Arms And The Man: Review". Vassar Miscellany News.
Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
^Schmich, Mary (May 3, 1987).
"My Life with Brenda Starr". Orlando Sentinel.
Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.