Did Louise Fitzhugh inspire the Village People?

From Bang Bang You're Dead ©1969

Mysterious recurring character
This character appears in nearly all of Louise Fitzhugh's illustrated books. Who is she?

A dancer in Suzuki Beane

Rachel Hennessey in Harriet the Spy

Magnolia Jenkins in The Long Secret

A sailor in Bang Bang You're Dead

Harrison Withers' cats
In Harriet the Spy many of Harrison Withers' cats bear the names of Fitzhugh's personal friends: David, Rasputin, Goethe, Alex (Gordon), Sandra (Scoppetone), Thomas Wolfe, Pat (Schartle Myrer), Puck, Faulkner, Cassandra, Gloria, Circe, Koufax, Marijane (Meaker), Willy Mays, Francis, Kokoschka, Donna, Fred(erica Leser), Swann, Mickey Mantle, Sebastian, Yvonne, Jerusalem, Dostoievsky, and Barnaby.

Unintentional Plagiarism
In 1993 yet another previously unpublished manuscript surfaced and was published by Doubleday as I Know Everything About John and He Knows Everything About Me, with illustrations by Lillian Hoban. An astute reviewer recognized the text right away as that of a well-known picture book by Charlotte Zolotow called My Friend John, which had been published by Harper in 1968. Apparently Zolotow's manuscript had originally been submitted to Fitzhugh for her to illustrate (it was eventually illustrated by Ben Shecter) and it showed up among her papers after her death. Her estate unwittingly sold it to Doubleday as one of Fitzhugh's picture book manuscripts. It went so far as to be reviewed by Publishers Weekly (Nov 8, 1993) before a reviewer at another journal blew the whistle and it was withdrawn. It still frequently shows up, however, in bibliographies of Fitzhugh's work.

Caricatures and Self Portrait

The characters Fitzhugh drew for Bang Bang You're Dead are said to have been caricatures of her friends. The only girl character in the group is clearly Sandra Scoppetone (above left) and the smallest character, a little boy wearing overalls, is most likely a self-portrait of Fitzhugh herself (above right).

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