Little Orphan Annie may be famous in comic strips and movies, but she was first near and dear to the hearts of a Hancock ...

The poem was the basis for a silent film, a song, and a storybook. Then Annie became a comic strip, Little Orphan Annie, by Harold Gray in 1924.

As I noted a few years back, "Little Orphant Annie" was a popular 1885 poem written by James Whitcomb Riley, who was an extremely popular poet known for his poetry for children.

While its songs and story are classics in musical theatre history, its title character was originally inspired by a poem from 1885 written by James Whitcomb Riley, "Little Orphant Annie," which ...