An orphan, McEvoy told the Rockford Morning Star later in life that he didn’t “remember where he was born—but he has been told that it was New York City and that the year was 1894.” Newspaper comic historian Alex Jay, who records that remark,[1] gives a number of possible birthdates ranging from 1894 to 1897, but McEvoy’s birth certificate reads 21 December 1894.

Volland Company published a children's fairy story written by McEvoy, which was illustrated by Johnny Gruelle, creator of Raggedy Ann.

With the title character resembling actress Louise Brooks, the strip was distributed by the McNaught Syndicate and had a long run from 1929 to 1966.

McEvoy had previously written a syndicated feature called "Slams of Life"; a collection of these columns was published under the same title in 1919, with the promise "with malice for all and charity toward none."

McEvoy was the originator of the quote often attributed to Mark Twain: "Whenever the impulse to exercise comes over me, I lie down until it passes away".