George W. Geezil, also known as simply Geezil, is a comic strip
character
Character or Characters may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk
* ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
created by E.C. Segar for his strip ''Thimble Theatre'' (now ''
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.cafe
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...
. He re-appeared in December 1933 as a more prominent recurring figure, now consistently a Russian-accented
cobbler
Cobbler(s) may refer to:
*A person who Shoemaking, repairs, and sometimes makes, shoes
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* The Cobbler, a mountain located near the head of Loch Long in Scotland
* Mount Cobbler, Australia
Art, entertainment and media
* The Cobbler (1923 ...
(later pawn shop owner) and regular customer of Rough-House who harbored a strong dislike for J. Wellington Wimpy, although until his fifth appearance he went unnamed.
Over time, he was named Mr. Geezer, Mr. Geezle, George G. Geezil, eventually settling as George W. Geezil by his 33rd appearance, in 1935.
Geezil is a tall, bald, gangly man dressed all in black, wearing a black
derby hat
The bowler hat, also known as a billycock, bob hat, bombín (Spanish) or derby (United States), is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown, originally created by the London hat-makers Thomas and William Bowler in 1849. It has traditionally been worn ...
. He wears glasses, and most distinctively, a long, wild, tangly black beard. He often talks in a choppy, disjointed and flustered manner, via recurring mannerisms such as ''did you asking me?'' and ''could I have stood it?''.
Geezil's loathing for Wimpy grew and soon became his defining character trait, and Geezil is not shy about telling the portly scamster how he feels about him. Wimpy, for his part, seems to largely ignore Geezil's hostility—although he has often subtly retaliated by flustering and confusing Geezil. Geezil's most frequent and intense declarations of loathing for Wimpy included "he is flies in my soup", "I hate you to pieces!" and that Wimpy should "be killed to death!"
Other appearances
Geezil made a handful of appearances in the ''Popeye''
cartoons
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
, including ''A Clean Shaven Man'' (1936, nonspeaking role), ''Olive's Boithday Presink'' (1941), and ''Wimpy the Moocher'' (1960).
In the 1980 ''
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.film, Geezil was a
greengrocer
A greengrocer is a person who owns or operates a shop selling primarily fruit and vegetables. The term may also be used to refer to a shop selling primarily produce. It is used predominantly in the United Kingdom and Australia.
In the United ...
who was constantly arguing with Wimpy, but the two maintained a shaky friendship (at one point, he comments "Phooey! The Commodore! Next to Wimpy, I hate him best!"). Geezil was played here by
Richard Libertini
Richard Joseph Libertini (May 21, 1933 – January 7, 2016) was an American stage, film and television actor.
He was known for playing character roles and his ability to speak in numerous accents. His films include ''Catch-22'' (1970), '' The I ...