[3] In 1927, influenced by The Gumps creator Sidney Smith (who also lived in Bloomington), Bishop began his comic strip Muggs McGinnis (distributed by the Central Press Association) at the age of 22.

He married Louise Carson in Evansville, Indiana, in 1936, the same year his strip was retitled Muggs and Skeeter.

Their nearby neighbor was cartoonist Billy DeBeck, who lived within walking distance at 321 Brightwaters Boulevard on Coffee Pot Bayou.

[4][5][6] During World War II, Bishop was a Coast Guard pilot, and he later transferred to the Navy, serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters, leaving the service as a lieutenant commander.

He helped found the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts, and was a member of the National Cartoonists Society and Sigma Delta Chi.