“Little Orphan Annie” was a comic strip created by Harold Gray that was first in newspapers in the 1920s.  The star character was Annie, a red-head orphan who escapes from Dickensian orphanage with his her only friends, a doll and a dog.  She goes on to live with Oliver Warbucks, a millionaire without children who shows the girl a great deal of fatherly affection.  The comic stories were originally intended for children, but as its popularity grew, Gray began to include political messages as well, especially criticism of communism and the New Deal.  In 1979, the comic strip was made into a Broadway musical, and since then has been incredibly successful.