Lee Falk (/fɔːk/), born Leon Harrison Gross (/ɡroʊs/; April 28, 1911 – March 13, 1999), was an American cartoonist, writer, theater director, and producer, best known as the creator of the comic strips Mandrake the Magician and The Phantom.

[3] A playwright and theatrical director/producer, Falk directed actors such as Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, Paul Newman, Chico Marx and Ethel Waters.

His mother was Eleanor Alina (a name he later, in some form, used in both his Mandrake the Magician and The Phantom story lines), and his father was Benjamin Gross.

The Phantom was inspired by Falk's fascination for myths and legends, such as the ones about El Cid, King Arthur, Nordic and Greek folklore heroes and popular fictional characters like Tarzan and Mowgli from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.

Falk revealed in an interview that Robin Hood, who was often depicted as wearing tights, inspired the skin-tight costume of The Phantom,[citation needed] which is known to have influenced the entire superhero industry.

Falk wrote 12 plays, including two musicals: Happy Dollar and Mandrake the Magician, which were both based on his comic strip character.