Al Capp veterans returning from the war. Capp was also involved with the Sister Kenny Foundation, which pioneered new treatments for polio in the 1940s. Serving in his capacity as honorary chairman, Capp made public appearances on its behalf for years, contributed free artwork for its annual fund-raising appeals, and entertained crippled and paraplegic children in children's hospitals with inspirational pep talks, humorous stories and sketches. In 1940, an RKO movie adaptation starred Granville Owen (later known as Jeff York) as Li'l Abner, with Buster Keaton taking the role of Lonesome Polecat, and featuring a title song with lyrics by Milton Berle.
Al Capp Fights Crime!," was a devastating satire of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's notorious exploitation by DC Comics over "Superman". It was later reprinted in "The World of Li'l Abner" (1953). (Siegel and Shuster had earlier poked fun at Capp in a "Superman" story in "Action Comics #55", December 1942, in which a cartoonist named "Al Hatt" invents a comic strip featuring the hillbilly "Tiny Rufe".) In 1947, Capp earned a "Newsweek" cover story. That same year the "New Yorker's" profile on him was so long that it ran in consecutive issues. In 1948, Capp reached a creative peak with the