''Blondie'' is an American
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
created by
cartoonist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...
Chic Young. The
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
is distributed by
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...
, and has been published in newspapers since September 8, 1930. The success of the strip, which features the eponymous blonde and her sandwich-loving husband, led to the long-running ''
Blondie'' film series (1938–1950) and the popular ''
Blondie'' radio program (1939–1950).
Chic Young wrote and drew ''Blondie'' until his death in 1973, when
creative control passed to his son
Dean Young. A number of artists have assisted on drawing the strip over the years, including
Alex Raymond,
Jim Raymond
James Crossley Raymond (February 25, 1917 – October 14, 1981) was an American comic strip artist and the younger brother of ''Flash Gordon'' artist Alex Raymond. He was also the great-uncle of actors Matt Dillon and Kevin Dillon.
Biography
Bor ...
,
Paul Fung Jr.,
Mike Gersher
Mike Gersher was formerly an artist on the Blondie comic strip. He started being credited as the head artist in late December 1981, after the death of the long serving Jim Raymond. Gersher had assisted Raymond for about seventeen years, origin ...
,
Stan Drake
Stanley Albert Drake (November 9, 1921 – March 10, 1997) was an American cartoonist best known as the founding artist of the comic strip ''The Heart of Juliet Jones''.
Born in Brooklyn, Drake worked in the back of a Dugan's Donut truck for a do ...
,
Denis Lebrun,
Jeff Parker, and (since 2005)
John Marshall
John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...
. Despite these changes, ''Blondie'' has remained popular, appearing in more than 2,000 newspapers in 47 countries and translated into 35 languages. From 2006 to 2013, ''Blondie'' had also been available via email through King Features'
DailyINK service.
Overview
Originally designed to follow in the footsteps of Young's earlier "pretty girl" creations ''Beautiful Bab'' and ''
Dumb Dora'', ''Blondie'' focused on the adventures of Blondie Boopadoop—a carefree
flapper girl who spent her days in
dance halls along with her boyfriend
Dagwood Bumstead, heir to an industrial fortune. The name "Boopadoop" derives from the
scat singing lyric that was popularized by
Helen Kane's 1928 song "
I Wanna Be Loved by You."
Blondie and Dagwood debuted on September 8, 1930, in the ''
New York American'' and several other newspapers across North America. The strip was only moderately popular in its first two and a half years, as interest in humorous "pretty girl" stories dried up as a result of the Great Depression, turning ''Blondie'' into a parody of those strips taking a more melodramatic direction. In mid-1932, and considering the scenario to have run its course, Young briefly tried writing Dagwood out of the daily continuities by having his parents sending him on a cruise to Europe and replacing him as Blondie's boyfriend with a garage mechanic, but immediate reader response led to Dagwood returning by late August.
Marriage
On February 17, 1933, after much fanfare and build-up, Blondie and Dagwood were married. After a month-and-a-half-long hunger strike by Dagwood to get his parents' blessing, as they strongly disapproved of his marrying beneath his class, they disinherited him. Left only with a check to pay for their honeymoon, the Bumsteads were forced to become a middle-class suburban family. The marriage was a significant media event, given the comic strip's popularity. The catalog for the
University of Florida's 2005 exhibition, "75 Years of Blondie, 1930–2005," notes:
:Blondie's marriage marked the beginning of a change in her personality. From that point forward, she gradually assumed her position as the sensible head of the Bumstead household. And Dagwood, who previously had been cast in the role of straight man to Blondie's comic antics, took over as the comic strip's clown.
Setting
"Dagwood Bumstead and family, including Daisy and the pups, live in the suburbs of
Joplin, Missouri," according to the August 1946 issue of ''
The Joplin Globe'', citing Chic Young.
Cast of characters
* Blondie Bumstead (''née'' Boopadoop): The eponymous leading lady of the comic strip, Blondie is a smart, sweet, and responsible woman. She can be stressed at times due to her young family and Dagwood's antics, and despite being usually laid-back and patient, Blondie does get upset sometimes. She is also extremely beautiful, with golden hair, gentle curls, and a shapely figure. A friend once told Dagwood that Blondie looked like a 'million bucks'. In 1991, she began a catering business with her neighbor, Tootsie.
*
Dagwood Bumstead: Blondie's husband and a kind and loving, yet clumsy, naïve, and lazy man, his cartoonish antics are the basis for the strip. He is a big fan of sports (primarily football and baseball) and has a large, insatiable appetite for food (but he remains slender). Dagwood is especially fond of making and eating the towering
Dagwood sandwich. He celebrates even the most insignificant holidays and approaches Thanksgiving (a holiday known for lavish dinners) with the same reverence most people reserve for Christmas. His continuous antagonistic and comical confrontations with his boss, Mr. Dithers, for numerous reasons including Dagwood's laziness and silly mistakes, is a subplot that gets considerable attention in the strip. His klutziness is also a fundamental part of his encounters with Mr. Beasley the mailman. Another subplot deals with Dagwood and his neighbor Herb. Dagwood can also often be seen napping on his own couch. He is employed as the
office manager at J. C. Dithers Construction Company.
* Alexander Bumstead: The elder child of Blondie and Dagwood, he is in his late teens, and was formerly referred to by his pet name "Baby Dumpling". As a child, he was very mischievous and precocious. As a teenager, he is athletic, levelheaded, and intelligent. Despite resembling his father, he is more down-to-earth, like his mother. His full name, revealed in the November 7, 1934, strip, is Alexander Hamilton Bumstead.
* Cookie Bumstead: The younger child of Blondie and Dagwood, she is in her early teens. Cookie is portrayed as a sweet, bubbly teenaged girl whose interests include dating, hanging out with friends, and clothes. Her appearance has changed the most compared to the other characters. As a child (1940s–mid 1950s), she originally had long, curly hair with a black bow holding a long curl on the top of her head. As a young teen (late 1950s–1960s), she wore her hair in a ponytail with curly bangs. As an older teen (1970s–1990s), she wore her hair long with a black headband. Later (2000s), she dropped the hairband and wore her hair with bangs and barrettes, and flipped to the sides. Her current hairstyle is long with bangs and flipped at sides.
* Daisy: The Bumsteads' family dog, whose best friend is Dagwood, frequently changes her expression in response to Dagwood's comments or other activities. She gave birth to puppies in the later years of the comic. Daisy's birthday is September 19.
* Mr. Beasley the Postman: He is the Bumsteads' mailman, with whom Dagwood seems to always collide and knock down as Dagwood hurriedly leaves the house. Variations on this gag are that once Alexander collided with Beasley and once the Bumsteads installed an outside mailbox-which Dagwood ran into instead of Mr Beasley. Beasley's birthday is August 26.
* Mr. Julius Caesar Dithers: Founder of the J.C. Dithers Construction Company and Dagwood's boss, he dictates orders to his employees and believes the best thing in life is money. Mr. Dithers has a very harsh personality and is portrayed as a difficult and controlling employer. He continuously denies Dagwood's requests for a raise and frequently threatens to fire him. He always addresses Dagwood somewhat disrespectfully by using only his last name "Bumstead." Although it usually does not seem like it at the workplace, Mr. Dithers is a good-hearted man. Despite the frequent disputes at work, Julius and Cora are frequent dinner guests at Dagwood's home after work. On these occasions, the relationship is more cordial, with Mr. Dithers addressing Dagwood by his first name. A running gag for many years is that whenever Dagwood messes up an important contract Dithers will pick Dagwood up and either kick or throw him down the hallway. On the 75th anniversary of Blondie Dithers became great friends with the visiting King of ID! Julius' birthday is July 2.
* Mrs. Cora Dithers: Mr. Dithers' wife, she usually gets into fights with him as she exerts control over him (she usually wins). She is great friends with Blondie.
* Herb Woodley: Dagwood's best friend and next-door neighbor, Herb, though, can be extremely selfish and mean at times when he does not return the expensive power tools and favors that he usually borrows from Dagwood. Herb constantly finds means to annoy and infuriate him.
* Tootsie Woodley: Herb's wife and Blondie's best friend, Tootsie and Blondie can empathize with one another as women, mothers, and particularly as spouses of eccentric husbands. In 1991, she joined Blondie in starting a catering business.
* Elmo Tuttle: A kid in the neighborhood, he has a friendship with Dagwood (whom he calls "Mr. B"), but sometimes annoys him. His last name was originally "Fiffenhauser".
* Lou: He is the owner and counterman at Lou's Diner, where Dagwood goes for lunch. Dagwood sometimes suggests new specials for the diner. Lou's arms are covered with tattoos (a heart and a Navy anchor) and he always has a toothpick in his mouth. He is a very bad cook and all his meals are of extremely bad quality, horrible, terrible, tasteless, and way too expensive. Lou does little to improve the quality of his food or to gain the satisfaction of his customers. Once when Lou closed the diner for a week so he could visit his mother in
Hoboken, Dagwood suffered "withdrawal pains".
* Claudia and Dwitzell: They are
carpoolers with Dagwood and Herb. Claudia is a lawyer. No occupation has been identified for Dwitzell, sometimes called "Dwitz".
* Mike Morelli the Barber: Dagwood's barber, he likes to make fun of Dagwood's hairstyle and can usually be seen with his nameplate, "M. Morelli," displayed by his barber's chair. Mike loves to lure and drag Dagwood into political debates at points where it usually leaves Dagwood frustrated.
* Marlene: Dithers' secretary.
Running gags
Several
running gags occur in ''Blondie'', reflecting the trend after
Chic Young's death for the strip to focus almost entirely on Dagwood as the lead character:
* Dagwood often collides with Mr. Beasley the mailman while running out the front door—late for work.
* Other variations of the late-for-work gag: Dagwood keeping his car pool waiting, running after their car or stuck in traffic. In earlier decades, he had been late for the bus, or even earlier in the strip's run, late for the streetcar.
* Dagwood's impossible appetite for food:
** The impossibly tall
sandwiches Dagwood fixes for himself, which came to be known colloquially as the "
Dagwood sandwich", became famous.
** Dagwood in his pajamas is having a midnight snack, with most of the refrigerator contents spread out on the kitchen table, or balanced precariously on his extended arms on the way to the table.
** At Lou's Diner, whenever Lou's cook makes up a new extra hot Chili dish, Dagwood eats it (Despite Lous' warnings) and Dagwood always ends drinking water endlessly to cool the burning spices in his mouth
* Dagwood has a propensity to nap on the couch during the day, often interrupted by Elmo, who wants to ask him a question, or Blondie, who has a chore she wants him to do.
* Dagwood sings in the bathtub, or is interrupted (usually by family members or Elmo) while he is trying to relax in the tub. Another gag along the same lines involves Dagwood reading books in the tub.
* Dagwood contends with brazen or obnoxious salesmen at his door, selling undesirable or impossible-looking items. It usually ends with Dagwood and the salesman getting into a physical confrontation.
* A variation of the above has the salesmen calling on the telephone.
* Dagwood and Herb Woodley spend some weekend time together, which usually escalates into a brawl.
* Dagwood demands a raise from Dithers and fails to get it every time.
* Dagwood gets caught goofing off or sleeping at his desk in the office.
* Mr. Dithers fires Dagwood for being incompetent or physically boots him out of his office, usually for messing up an important contract.
* Dagwood gets a menu suggestion from Lou, the wry, blunt, and/or sarcastic diner counterman.
* In the Christmas shopping gag, Dagwood is shown carrying Christmas packages that completely cover up his face and upper body.
* Herb borrows small items—tools, small appliances, books, and (more recently) videos—from Dagwood, then never returns them. Occasionally, Herb lends a borrowed item to a third party, which is then usually passed on to a fourth or fifth party.
* Dagwood's hobby is household
carpentry
Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters tr ...
, but unfortunately his projects do not turn out well. Once, he built a small cabinet for Blondie, actually accomplishing all construction steps perfectly, but the result still fails because it does not fit in the space Blondie intended for it. Mostly, he is producing sawdust.
* Dagwood watches TV from his armchair while Daisy sleeps behind the chair; Blondie sits in her own chair facing away from Dagwood.
Sunday strips
During the early years of the strip, the Sunday installments were much in the vein of the then-popular genre of "pretty girl" strips, rather than spoofing them as in the daily continuities, including a series of different suitors, most notably Hiho Hennepin, a short character who played a similar role to the one held by ''Dumb Dora''
's boyfriend Rod. In fact, Dagwood did actually not appear at all in a Sunday page until late 1931, and was only regularly featured in these beginning on January 29, 1933.
Young drew ''The Family Foursome'' as a
topper from September 21, 1930, to April 21, 1935, after which it was replaced by the pantomime strip ''Colonel Potterby and the Duchess'', which ran until November 3, 1963 (becoming a stand-alone strip in 1958).
For years, the Sunday installments were noted for their histrionic plots, as well for having 12 panels, switching to the standard half-page format in 1986.
Modernization
While the distinctive look and running gags of ''Blondie'' have been carefully preserved through the decades, a number of details have been altered to keep up with changing times. The Bumstead kitchen, which remained essentially unchanged from the 1930s through the 1960s, has slowly acquired a more modern look (no more legs on the gas range and no more refrigerators shown with the compressor assembly on the top).
Dagwood no longer wears a hat when he goes to work, nor does Blondie wear her previous hat and gloves when leaving the house. Although some bedroom and bathroom scenes still show him in polka-dot boxer shorts, Dagwood no longer wears garters to hold up his socks. When at home, he frequently wears sport shirts, his standard dress shirt with one large button in the middle is slowly disappearing, and he no longer smokes a pipe at all. Blondie now often wears slacks, and she is no longer depicted as a housewife, since she teamed with Tootsie Woodley to launch a catering business in 1991. Dagwood still knocks heads with his boss, Mr. Dithers, but now does so in a more modern office at J.C. Dithers Construction Company, where desks now sport flat-panel computer monitors, and Mr. Dithers, when in a rage, attempts to smash his laptop into Dagwood's head instead of his old manual typewriter. The staff no longer punches in at a mechanical "time clock", nor do they wear
green eyeshades and plastic "sleeve protectors". Telephones have changed from candlestick style to more modern dial phones, to
Touch-Tone, and on to cellphones. The round bedside
alarm clock
An alarm clock (or sometimes just an alarm) is a clock that is designed to alert an individual or group of individuals at a specified time. The primary function of these clocks is to awaken people from their night's sleep or short naps; they ar ...
has been replaced by a more compact digital unit. Dagwood now begins each morning racing to meet his
carpool rather than chasing after a missed streetcar or city bus. Even Mr. Beasley, the mail carrier, now dresses in short-sleeved shirts and walking shorts, rather than the military-style uniform of days gone by.
During the late 1990s and 2000–2001, Alexander worked part-time after high school at the order counter of a fast-food restaurant, the Burger Barn. Occasional references are still made to Cookie and her babysitting. Daisy, which once had a litter of puppies that lived with the family, is now the only dog seen in the Bumstead household. Cookie and Alexander can be seen in modern clothing trends and sometimes use cellphones and reference current television shows and social networking sites, while talking about attending rock concerts of popular current rock, pop, and
hip hop music acts.
In this period, when in his basement woodworking shop, Dagwood was shown wearing safety eyeglasses.
Dagwood sometimes breaks the
fourth wall by delivering the punchline to the strip, while looking directly at the reader, as in the above panel. Daisy occasionally does the same, though her remarks are limited to "?" and "!" with either a puzzled or a pained expression.
Strips in recent years have included references to recent developments in technology and communication, such as Facebook, Twitter, email, and text messaging.
75th anniversary
In 2005, the strip celebrated its 75th anniversary with an extended story arc in which characters from other strips, including ''
Curtis'', ''
Garfield'', ''
Beetle Bailey'', and ''
Hägar the Horrible'', made appearances in ''Blondie''. The strip ''
Pearls Before Swine
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living animal shell, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pea ...
'' made fun of the fact that their cast was not invited, and decided to invite themselves. This cross-over promotion began July 10, 2005 and continued until September 4, 2005.
Foreign versions
''Blondie'' has been translated to various languages. In Mexico and South America, it ran as ''Lorenzo y Pepita'', being quite popular between the 1940s and 1980s. While in most countries the family name was "Parachoques", in Chile they had "Jeringuis" as a surname. When it ran in Spain, however, the original names were kept. In French-speaking countries, the strip was known as ''Blondinette'', while Dagwood was known as Dagobert, a name which is still used in France and Belgium to refer to a kind of large-sized sandwich.
Awards
* In 1948, Chic Young's work on the strip won him the
National Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the ...
's
Billy DeBeck
William Morgan DeBeck (April 15, 1890 – November 11, 1942), better known as Billy DeBeck, was an American cartoonist. He is most famous as the creator of the comic strip ''Barney Google'', later retitled ''Barney Google and Snuffy Smith'' ...
Award for Cartoonist of the Year. When the award name was renamed the
Reuben Award in 1954, all the prior winners were given Reuben statuettes.
* In 1995, the strip was one of 20 included in the
Comic Strip Classics
The Comic Strip Classics series of commemorative postage stamps was issued by the US Postal Service on October 1, 1995, to honor the centennial of the newspaper comic strip. Walker, Mort. ''Mort Walker's Private Scrapbook : celebrating a life of l ...
series of
United States Postal Service commemorative postage stamps.
''Blondie'' in other media
Comic books
* ''
Big Little Book series
The Big Little Books, first published during 1932 by the Whitman Publishing Company of Racine, Wisconsin, were small, compact books designed with a captioned illustration opposite each page of text. Other publishers, notably Saalfield, adopted th ...
'' 17 issues, 1936-1949
* ''Ace Comics'' #1
Ace Comics
''Ace Comics'' was a comic book series published by David McKay Publications between 1937 and 1949 — starting just before the Golden Age of Comic Books. The title reprinted syndicated newspaper strips owned by King Features Syndicate, followi ...
— first appearance in comic book, also first appearance for
Jungle Jim and
Krazy Kat
''Krazy Kat'' (also known as ''Krazy & Ignatz'' in some reprints and compilations) is an US, American newspaper comic strip, by cartoonist George Herriman, which ran from 1913 to 1944. It first appeared in the ''New York Journal-American, New Yor ...
* ''Blondie Feature Books''
David McKay Publications (1938–1947) #12-46
* ''Blondie Comics'' (...Monthly No. 16-141)
David McKay Publications #1-15,
Harvey Publications
Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by A ...
#16-163,
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...
#164-175,
Charlton Comics #177-222 (Spring 1947-November 1976, No Issue #176)
* ''Chic Young's Dagwood''
Harvey Publications
Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by A ...
, (1950-1965), 140 issues
* ''Daisy and Her Pups'' (1951–1954),
Harvey Publications
Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by A ...
, 18 issues
* ''Blondie & Dagwood Family'' (1963–1965),
Harvey Publications
Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by A ...
, 4 issues
* ''Adventures of Blondie and Dagwood''
Associated Press (1956) 84 p., B&W
* ''Blondie Giant Comic Album''
King Comics
King Comics, a short-lived comic book imprint of King Features Syndicate, was an attempt by King Features to publish comics of its own characters, rather than through other publishers. A few King Comics titles were picked up from Gold Key Comi ...
, 1972
* ''Dagwood Splits the Atom!'' (1949),
King Features, 1 issue, giveaway with King characters
* ''Blondie Comics''
Harvey Publications
Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by A ...
(1950 giveaway, 1962 giveaway, 1964 giveaway, New York State Department of Mental Hygiene giveaways (1950,1956,1961)
Books
* ''Blondie and Dagwood's Snapshot Clue'',
Whitman Publishing, 1943
* ''Blondie 100 Top Selected Laughs'',
David McKay Publications, 1944
* ''Bondie and Dagwood's Adventure In Magic'',
Whitman Publishing, 1944
* ''Blondie and Dagwood'',
World Publishing Company, 1945
* ''Blondie and Dagwood: A Novel Of The Great American Family'', author: Lund, Helga,
World Publishing Company, 1945
* ''Blondie's Cook Book'', Bell Publications, 1947
* ''Blondie Book'',
Associated Press, Australia, 1953
* ''Blondie Coloring Book'',
Dell Publishing
Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...
, 1954
* ''Blondie's Family'' (Treasure Book)
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...
, 1954
* ''Blondie Paint Book'',
David McKay Publications, circa 1955, 4 different issues
* ''25 Years With Blondie'',
Simon & Schuster, 1958
* ''Leave It To Blondie'', (a LIttle Square Book),
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...
, 1966
* ''Blondie Coloring Book'',
Saalfield Publishing, 1968
* ''Blondie: A Strip Book, Authorized Edition'',
Saalfield Publishing, 1968
* ''Blondie #1'',
Signet Books, 1968
* ''Blondie #2'',
Signet Books, 1968
* ''Blondie & Dagwood's America'',
Harper & Row, 1981, A. Baker (London), 1982
* ''Blondie (Comic Strip Preserves, Book 1), Blackthorne, 1986
* ''Blondie's Cook Book'', Gramercy, 1996
Games
* Blondie Goes To Leisureland (1935)
Westinghouse
* Blondie and Dagwood Interchangeable Blocks (1951) Gaston Manufacturing ''keen-o-puzzle''
Film
''Blondie'' was adapted into a long-running series of 28 low-budget theatrical B-features, produced by
Columbia Pictures. Beginning with ''
Blondie'' in 1938, the series lasted 12 years, through ''
Beware of Blondie
''Beware of Blondie'' is a 1950 American black and white comedy film and is the last of Columbia's 28 Blondie (film series), Blondie films in 12 years.
Plot summary
Mr. Dithers goes on vacation, and leaves Dagwood in charge of the office. He arr ...
'' (1950). The two major roles were
Penny Singleton as Blondie and
Arthur Lake (whose first starring role was another comic strip character,
Harold Teen) as Dagwood. Faithfulness to the comic strip was a major concern of the creators of the series. Little touches were added that were iconic to the strip, like the appearance of Dagwood's famous sandwiches—and the running gag of Dagwood colliding with the mailman amid a flurry of letters, which preceded the title sequence in almost every film.
Columbia was careful to maintain continuity, so each picture progressed from where the last one left off. Thus, the Bumstead children grew from toddlers to young adults onscreen.
Larry Simms played the Bumsteads' son in all the films; his character was originally called Baby Dumpling, and later became Alexander. Marjorie Kent (born Marjorie Ann Mutchie) joined the series in 1943 as daughter Cookie. Daisy had pups in the 12th feature, ''Blondie for Victory'' (1942). Danny Mummert, who had originally been chosen to play Baby Dumpling, took the continuing role of wiseguy neighbor Alvin Fuddle. Rounding out the regular supporting cast, character actor
Jonathan Hale
Jonathan Hale (born Jonathan Hatley; March 21, 1891 – February 28, 1966) was a Canadian-born film and television actor.
Life and career
Hale was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Before his acting career, Hale worked in the Diplomatic Co ...
played Dagwood's irascible boss, J.C. Dithers. Hale left the series in 1945 and was succeeded by
Jerome Cowan as George M. Radcliffe in ''Blondie's Big Moment''. In the last film, ''Beware of Blondie'', the Dithers character returned, played by
Edward Earle and shown from the back. The Bumsteads' neighbors, the Woodleys, did not appear in the series until ''Beware of Blondie''. They were played by
Emory Parnell and Isabel Withers.
In 1943, Columbia felt the series was slipping, and ended the string with ''It's a Great Life'' and ''Footlight Glamour'', deliberately omitting ''Blondie'' from the titles to attract unwary moviegoers. After 14 Blondies, stars Singleton and Lake moved on to other productions. During their absence from the screen, Columbia heard from many exhibitors and fans who wanted them back. The studio reactivated the series, which ran another 14 films until discontinued permanently in 1950. Because some demand from movie theaters still existed, Columbia began reissuing the older films, beginning with the 1938 ''Blondie'', and continued to release them in their original sequence well into the 1950s, when these were packaged for television by Columbia's video subsidiary
Screen Gems
Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...
.
* ''
Blondie'' (1938)
* ''
Blondie Meets the Boss'' (1939)
* ''
Blondie Takes a Vacation
''Blondie Takes a Vacation'' is a 1939 American black-and-white comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, and Larry Simms. The film is based on Chic Young's comic strip of the same name.
This was the th ...
'' (1939)
* ''
Blondie Brings Up Baby
''Blondie Brings Up Baby'' is a 1939 American comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms. It is the fourth of 28 films based on the comic strip.
Plot summary
Blondie is convinced by a salesma ...
'' (1939)
* ''
Blondie on a Budget
''Blondie on a Budget'' is a 1940 American comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake and Rita Hayworth. It is the fifth entry into the long-running Blondie series of films, which ran between 1938 and 1950 ...
'' (1940)
* ''
Blondie Has Servant Trouble
''Blondie Has Servant Trouble'' is a 1940 American comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake. It is sixth of the series of 28 Blondie movies.
Plot summary
Blondie proves to be a real nuisance to her ...
'' (1940)
* ''
Blondie Plays Cupid
''Blondie Plays Cupid'' is a 1940 American comedy film starring Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake and directed by Frank R. Strayer. Also in the cast is Glenn Ford
Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Cana ...
'' (1940)
* ''
Blondie Goes Latin
''Blondie Goes Latin'', also known as ''Conga Swing'', is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer and Robert Sparks and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, and Larry Simms. It is the eighth of the Blondie films. The film show ...
'' (1941)
* ''
Blondie in Society'' (1941)
* ''
Blondie Goes to College'' (1942)
* ''
Blondie's Blessed Event
''Blondie's Blessed Event'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, and Larry Simms. It is the 11th of the Blondie films. It was the first to feature the character of Cookie.
Plot
...
'' (1942)
* ''
Blondie for Victory
''Blondie for Victory'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake. It is the 12th entry in the Blondie series.
Plot
Blondie Bumstead forms a civilian defense group, Housewives of Am ...
'' (1942)
* ''
It's a Great Life'' (1943)
* ''
Footlight Glamour
''Footlight Glamour'' is a 1943 black-and-white film and the 14th of the 28 Blondie films. It is one of only two movies in the series that did not feature "Blondie" in the title (the other, '' It's a Great Life'', was released earlier that year) ...
'' (1943)
* ''
Leave It to Blondie'' (1945)
* ''
Life with Blondie
''Life with Blondie'' is a 1945 black-and-white domestic comedy film and the 16th of the 28 Blondie films. It was the return of Dagwood and Blondie after Columbia Picture's 1943 decision to cancel the series met with protest.
Plot summary
A phot ...
'' (1946)
* ''
Blondie's Lucky Day
''Blondie's Lucky Day'' is a 1946 American comedy film directed by Abby Berlin and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, Marjorie Ann Mutchie. It is the 17th of the 28 Blondie films.
Plot summary
While his boss, Mr. Dithers, i ...
'' (1946)
* ''
Blondie Knows Best'' (1946)
* ''
Blondie's Big Moment'' (1947)
* ''
Blondie's Holiday
''Blondie's Holiday'' is a 1947 American comedy film directed by Abby Berlin and starring Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake. The film is based on the comic strip of the same name. The screenplay was written by Chic Young and Connie Lee.
The fil ...
'' (1947)
* ''
Blondie in the Dough
''Blondie in the Dough'' is a 1947 American comedy film directed by Abby Berlin and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, and Marjorie Ann Mutchie. It is 21st of the 28 Blondie films.
Plot
Dagwood and his boss are frantically se ...
'' (1947)
* ''
Blondie's Anniversary
''Blondie's Anniversary'' is a 1947 American comedy film directed by Abby Berlin and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, and Larry Simms. It is the twenty-second of the 28 Blondie films.
Plot
Dagwood is holding a watch, a gift that his bos ...
'' (1947)
* ''
Blondie's Reward
''Blondie's Reward'' is a 1948 American comedy film directed by Abby Berlin and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, and Marjorie Ann Mutchie. It is the twenty-third of the 28 Blondie films.
Plot
Dagwood purchases the wrong rea ...
'' (1948)
* ''
Blondie's Secret
''Blondie's Secret'' is a 1948 American comedy film directed by Edward Bernds and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, and Marjorie Ann Mutchie. It is the twenty-fourth of the 28 Blondie films.
Plot
Cast
* Penny Singleton as Bl ...
'' (1948)
* ''
Blondie's Big Deal'' (1949)
* ''
Blondie Hits the Jackpot'' (1949)
* ''
Blondie's Hero
''Blondie's Hero'' is a 1950 American comedy film directed by Edward Bernds and starring Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, Larry Simms, and Marjorie Ann Mutchie. It is the penultimate entry of the 28 Blondie films, which ended with ''Beware of Blon ...
'' (1950)
* ''
Beware of Blondie
''Beware of Blondie'' is a 1950 American black and white comedy film and is the last of Columbia's 28 Blondie (film series), Blondie films in 12 years.
Plot summary
Mr. Dithers goes on vacation, and leaves Dagwood in charge of the office. He arr ...
'' (1950)
Radio
Singleton and Lake reprised their film roles for radio; the ''Blondie'' radio program had a long run spanning several networks. Initially a 1939 summer replacement program for ''
The Eddie Cantor Show'' (sponsored by
Camel Cigarettes), ''Blondie'' was heard on CBS until June 1944, when it moved briefly to NBC. Returning to CBS later that year, ''Blondie'' continued there under a new sponsor (
Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American multinational consumer products company headquartered on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company specializes in the production, distribution, and provision of household, health car ...
) until June 1949. In its final season, the series was heard on ABC from October 1949 to July 1950.
Television
Two ''Blondie'' TV sitcoms have been produced to date, each lasting only one season.
*
The first The First may refer to:
* ''The First'' (album), the first Japanese studio album by South Korean boy group Shinee
* ''The First'' (musical), a musical with a book by critic Joel Siegel
* The First (TV channel), an American conservative opinion ne ...
ran on NBC for 26 episodes in 1957, with Lake reprising his film and radio role and
Pamela Britton
Pamela Britton (born Armilda Jane Owens, March 19, 1923 – June 17, 1974) was an American actress, best known for appearing as Lorelei Brown in the television series ''My Favorite Martian'' (1963–1966) and for her female lead in the film noi ...
as Blondie.
*
The second, broadcast on CBS in the 1968–69 season, had
Patricia Harty and
Will Hutchins in the lead roles and veteran comic actor
Jim Backus portraying Mr. Dithers.
Animation
Blondie and Dagwood were featured prominently in the cartoon movie ''
Popeye Meets the Man Who Hated Laughter'', which debuted on October 7, 1972. The movie was a part of ''
The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie'' series.
Blondie and Dagwood made a brief animated appearance in ''
The Fantastic Funnies'', a TV special focusing on newspaper comics that aired on CBS in 1980. They appeared in the beginning, singing a song to host
Loni Anderson with other comic strip characters. Later on, after a short interview with Dean Young and Jim Raymond (who was drawing the strip at the time), they featured a short sequence where Blondie urges a reluctant Dagwood to get a haircut. The animation was produced by
Bill Melendez Productions. Dagwood also makes a cameo appearance in ''
Garfield Gets Real''.
An
animated cartoon
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...
TV special featuring the characters was made in 1987 by
Marvel Productions (who had earlier collaborated with King Features for the animated series ''
Defenders of the Earth'', starring King Feature's adventure characters) and shown on
CBS, with a second special, ''Second Wedding Workout'', telecast in 1989. Blondie was voiced by
Loni Anderson, Dagwood by
Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...
. Both animated specials are available on the fourth DVD of the ''Advantage Cartoon Mega Pack''. Both of these specials were paired with other comic strip-based specials; the first special was paired with a special based on ''
Cathy''; the second one was paired with ''
Hägar the Horrible''. In Video (VHS) in UK: Leisureview Video in 1989.
In a 1989 episode of the animated series ''
Muppet Babies'', entitled ''Comic Caper'', Blondie and Dagwood make a cameo appearance. Blondie tells Dagwood that he is going to be late for work. As Dagwood rushes to the door, he knocks into the Muppet Babies, who have fallen into the world of the ''Blondie'' comic strip. Baby Kermit and Baby Piggy also parodied Blondie and Dagwood in one scene. The ''Muppet Babies'' series was produced by Marvel Productions, the producers of the 1987 and 1989 ''Blondie'' specials, and was also aired on the same network, CBS.
Licensing and merchandise
Over the years, ''Blondie'' characters have been merchandised as dolls, coloring books, toys, salt and pepper shakers, paint sets, paper doll cutouts, coffee mugs, cookie jars, neckties, lunchboxes, puzzles, games, Halloween costumes, Christmas ornaments, music boxes, refrigerator magnets, lapel pinbacks, greeting cards, and other products. In 2001,
Dark Horse Comics issued two collectible figures of Dagwood and Blondie as part of their line of Classic Comic Characters—statues No. 19 and 20 respectively.
The Dagwood Sandwiches featured in the strip are a recurring licensing opportunity on their own. A counter-service restaurant called Blondie's opened at Universal Orlando's
Islands of Adventure in May 1999, serving a traditional Dagwood-style sandwich.
In fact, Blondie's bills itself as "Home of the Dagwood Sandwich." Lunch meats featuring Dagwood can be purchased at various grocery stores. In Canada, the Sobeys supermarket chain offers a family-sized sandwich called the Dagwood Sandwich.
Reprints and further reading
;Comic strip collections
* ''Blondie #1'' by Chic Young (1968) Signet
* ''Blondie #2'' by Chic Young (1968) Signet
* ''Blondie (No. 1)'' by Dean Young and Jim Raymond (1976) Tempo
* ''Blondie (No. 2)'' by Dean Young and Jim Raymond (1977) Tempo
* ''The Best of Blondie'' by Dean Young, et al. (1977) Tempo
* ''Blondie: Celebration Edition'' by Dean Young and Jim Raymond (1980) Tempo
* ''Blondie (No. 3)'' by Dean Young and Jim Raymond (1982) Tempo
* ''Blondie (No. 4): A Family Album'' by Dean Young and Mike Gersher (1982) Tempo
* ''Blondie: More Surprises!'' by Dean Young and Mike Gersher (1983) Tempo
* ''Blondie Book 1'' (1986) by Dean Young and Stan Drake (1986) Blackthorne
* ''Blondie: Mr Dithers, I Demand a Raise!!'' by Dean Young and Jim Raymond (1989) Tor
* ''Blondie: But Blondie, I'm Taking a Bath!!'' by Dean Young and Jim Raymond (1990) Tor
* ''Blondie: The Bumstead Family History'' by Dean Young and Melena Ryzik (2007) Thomas Nelson Pub.
* ''Blondie: Volume 1'' by Chic Young (2010)
The Library of American Comics (First of a projected series)
* ''Blondie: Volume 2'' by Chic Young (2012)
The Library of American Comics
;Related fiction
* ''Blondie and Dagwood in Footlight Folly'' (1947) Dell (An original paperback novel, not illustrated. Unnumbered, but usually considered part of Dell's
mapback series)
* ''Blondie's Family'' (1954) Treasure/Wonder Book (a full-color storybook for children)
;History
* ''Blondie & Dagwood's America'' (1981) Harper & Row (Dean Young and
Rick Marschall's collaboration, providing an historical background of the strip)
* ''Blondie Goes to Hollywood: The Blondie Comic Strip in Films, Radio & Television'' by Carol Lynn Scherling (2010) BearManor Media
See also
References
External links
Blondie: The Movie SeriesComic Book Awards AlmanacBlondieat
Comics Kingdom
King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial c ...
Library of Congress: Blondie Gets Married! exhibitionBlondie and Dagwood Radio Shows on Outlaws Old Time Radio
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