J. Wellington Wimpy, generally referred to as Wimpy, is one of the characters in 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 ...

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.E. C. Segar Elzie Crisler Segar (; December 8, 1894 – October 13, 1938), known by the pen name E. C. Segar, was an American cartoonist best known as the creator of Popeye, a pop culture character who first appeared in 1929 in Segar's comic strip ''Thimble ...

and originally called ''Thimble Theatre'', and 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 ...

based upon the strip. Wimpy debuted in the strip in 1931 and was one of the dominant characters in the newspaper strip, but when ''Popeye'' was adapted as an animated cartoon series by

Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () is an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures, the parent company and the distributor of i ...

, Wimpy became a minor character;

Dave Fleischer Dave Fleischer (; July 14, 1894 – June 25, 1979) was an American film director and producer, best known as a co-owner of Fleischer Studios with his older brother Max Fleischer. He was a native of New York City. Biography Fleischer was the y ...

said that the character in the original Segar strip was "too smart" to be used in the film cartoon adaptations. Wimpy appears in

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New H ...

's 1980 live-action

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Paul Dooley Paul Dooley (born Paul Brown; February 22, 1928) is an American character actor, writer and comedian. He is known for his roles in ''Breaking Away'', ''Sixteen Candles'', and ''Popeye''. Early life Dooley was born Paul Brown on February 22, 1 ...

Inspiration

The character seems to have been inspired by more than one person whom Segar had encountered. Wimpy's personality was based upon that of William Schuchert, the manager of the

Chester Opera House Chester Opera House was a cinema and theatre which showed both movies and live stage performances in Chester, Illinois, USA. Elzie Segar, the creator of Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Sega ...

where Segar was first employed. "Windy Bill", as he was known, was a pleasant, friendly man, fond of

tall tales A tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, related as if it were true and factual. Some tall tales are exaggerations of actual events, for example fish stories ("the fish that got away") such as, "That fish was so big, why I tell ya', it n ...

and

hamburgers A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or ...

. Additional sources suggest that Segar composed the character's name from the names of two other acquaintances. According to fellow cartoonist

Bill Mauldin William Henry Mauldin (; October 29, 1921 – January 22, 2003) was an American editorial cartoonist who won two Pulitzer Prizes for his work. He was most famous for his World War II cartoons depicting American soldiers, as represented by the ...

, the name was suggested by that of

Wellington J. Reynolds Wellington Jarard Reynolds (April 9, 1865 in New Lenox, Illinois – 1949) was a well-known Chicago portrait painter and art instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago. Educated in Chicago, Munich, and Paris, he was awarded medals for his work at ...

, one of Segar's instructors at the

Chicago Art Institute The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and list of largest art museums, largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visit ...

. In a brief 1935 interview in ''

The Daily Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circulation) lists it as the 59th larges ...

'', H. Hillard Wimpee of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

indicated that he was connected to the character, having worked with Segar at the ''

Chicago Herald-Examiner The ''Chicago American'' was an afternoon newspaper published in Chicago, under various names until its dissolution in 1974. History The paper's first edition came out on July 4, 1900, as '' Hearst's Chicago American''. It became the ''Morning ...

'' in 1917. It became a custom in the office that whoever accepted an invitation for a hamburger would pay the bill. According to Wimpee, after seeing the character in the newspaper, he wrote to Segar in 1932 about Wimpy, "afraid of being connected with what

egar Egar is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Colin Egar (1928–2008), Australian Test cricket umpire *Shuli Egar, American comedian *Ras Muhamad (born 1982), Indonesian reggae singer (born Muhamad Egar) See also *Eager (disambigu ...

was doing with

he character He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

" He said Segar replied, "You haven't seen anything yet."

Character

Wimpy is Popeye's friend, and plays the role of “straight man” to Popeye. Wimpy is soft-spoken, romantic, intelligent and educated, a lazy coward, a miser, and a glutton. He is a scam artist, and almost a tramp, but pretends to have high social status. Besides mooching hamburgers, he also picks up discarded cigars. Popeye often tries to reform Wimpy's character, but Wimpy never reforms.

Hamburger A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically Ground beef, beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles ...

s are Wimpy's all-time favorite food, and he is usually seen carrying or eating one or more at a time – e.g., in ''

Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor ''Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor'' is a 1936 two-reel animated cartoon short subject film in the '' Popeye Color Feature'' series, produced in Technicolor and released to theatres on November 27, 1936 by Paramount Pictures. It was ...

'' he is seen grinding meat or eating burgers almost the entire time – however, he is usually too cheap to pay for them himself. A recurring joke involves Wimpy's attempts to con other patrons of the

diner A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a com ...

owned by Rough House into buying his meal for him. His best-known

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

started in 1931 as, "Cook me up a hamburger. I'll pay you Tuesday." In 1932, this then became the famous "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today". Rough House explains why Wimpy is able to get away with this tactic in one strip, stating that "He never comes around on Tuesday". Rough House once suffered a mental breakdown from Wimpy's shenanigans, and demanded that Wimpy be kept out of his hospital room. Wimpy disobeyed this command, resulting in a rare altercation with Popeye. The phrase was also slightly altered in the episode "Spree Lunch" to "I'll have a hamburger, for which I will gladly pay you Tuesday." This phrase is now commonly used to illustrate financial irresponsibility and still appears in modern comedies such as ''

The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995 to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalize ...

'' and ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series of ...

''. The initial part of the phrase was even the title of Episode 6 of the fourth season of ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993, with a total of 275 half-hour episodes across 11 seasons. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions in association w ...

'' "I'll Gladly Pay You Tuesday." In

's 1980 live-action

, one of

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ove ...

's original songs, "Everything Is Food", featured Dooley singing the catch-phrase, as he took a hamburger, as "I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." The response from the chorus, as they reclaimed the same hamburger from him, uneaten, was "He would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." Later in the film, a sign in a restaurant reads "Positively NO CREDIT. This means YOU, Wimpy." Wimpy had other frequently used lines in the original comic strip. On some occasions, Wimpy tries to placate someone by saying, "I'd like to invite you over to my house for a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

dinner." He then moves away quickly to a safe distance and yells, "You bring the ducks!" Another such line was, "Jones is my name...I'm one of the Jones boys" – an attempt to defuse a hostile situation with a

mistaken identity Mistaken identity is a defense in criminal law which claims the actual innocence of the criminal defendant, and attempts to undermine evidence of guilt by asserting that any eyewitness to the crime incorrectly thought that they saw the defendan ...

. To deflect an enemy's wrath, he would sometimes indicate a third party and say, "Let's you and him fight", starting a brawl from which he quickly withdrew. He also said "Shake hands, my friend...I want to start my wristwatch" on occasion, once more a reference to his lazy behavior. Wimpy is especially fond of duck hunting, and goes hunting with Popeye on numerous occasions, but usually gains his ducks in dishonest ways as well. Wimpy's mother made a cameo appearance in the Sunday strips. She is an elderly widow. Popeye and Rough House both try to make Wimpy seem as respectable as possible when she visits, because she doesn't know about her son's disreputable behavior. On one occasion, Popeye almost makes the truth come out by remarking that Wimpy is a loafer, but then relieves Mrs. Wimpy by stating that Wimpy is actually a baker who "makes loaves" and that he was only having a good natured jest. In the daily strips, Wimpy was appointed general of Popeye's country, Popilania, and injured his head by saluting. Wimpy made two cameo appearances in the Segar universe outside of the Thimble Theater comic strip. He appeared once in the side feature "Popeye's Cartoon Club," as an example of how not to behave, and once in a Sappo strip. The Sappo occurrence came out when Professor O.G. Wotasnozzle invented a machine that would produce synthetic hamburger, only to discover that Wimpy was going to eat it all. This led Sappo to say, "Yeah, break it up... we don't want him around," indicating that they both somehow knew about Wimpy's obsession with hamburgers. Wotasnozzle promptly destroys the device with a hammer. This storyline break was equally as bizarre as the iconic joke with Sappo's nose where Sappo's elongated nose breaks a panel and becomes the swing on which a child (In Popeye's Cartoon Club) is swinging. Wimpy is an annoyance and an irritant to his nemesis, Nazilian shoemaker George W. Geezil, a satirical

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

character, who goes so far as to poison Wimpy and shoot him. He has a habit of slurping soup. In Geezil's opinion, "He should be killed to death!" This, too, was a repetitive catchphrase. In the Plunder Island storyline, Wimpy disguises himself as Alice the Goon and scares Geezil off the boat. Geezil attempts to commit

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

upon learning that he is in close proximity to Wimpy on board the ship. Wimpy also converts the Sea Hag's five lions into hamburgers through the use of a meat grinder. He refuses to eat a cheese sandwich that Olive Oyl offers him. He tries to make an ape into a hamburger, but the ape refuses to submit. The Plunder Island storyline also contained a creative alteration of one of Wimpy's famous lines. Upon coming to a

cannibal Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, bo ...

island, a cannibal says to Wimpy, "Come on down to the house for a duck dinner...you BE the duck". In one storyline, Popeye, Olive Oyl, Swee'Pea, and Castor Oyl go on a trip to the desert to find

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

. After leaving his landlady with an enormous amount of bills, he gets lost in the desert and separated from the rest of the group, in part because he drank Swee'Pea's milk and wasted his own rations. He gets "Desert Madness", a condition which involves long poems and illusions. He eventually reunites with his friends, and finds a cache of gold but admits that he wasn't working hard to look for the gold, he was only trying to kill a snake with his

pickaxe A pickaxe, pick-axe, or pick is a generally T-shaped hand tool used for Leverage (mechanics), prying. Its head is typically metal, attached perpendicularly to a longer handle, traditionally made of wood, occasionally metal, and increasingly ...

. While at home, Wimpy ponders his gold, and a caption states that "he may take unto himself a wife..." This storyline was either scrapped or forgotten, however; Wimpy never gets married for the rest of the Segar strips. Wimpy does have romance in his soul, however, although usually with ulterior motives. Popeye once found that Rough House had employed a sexy

waitress Waiting staff (British English), waitstaff (North American English), waiters (male) / waitresses (female), or servers (North American English), are those who work at a restaurant, a diner, or a bar and sometimes in private homes, attending ...

, but Wimpy decided that he was in love with her instead. When Popeye kicks him out to make love, Wimpy betrays Popeye and informs Olive Oyl that Popeye is cheating, resulting in a catfight between Olive and the sexy waitress. In another incident, Wimpy tried to seduce Olive herself by stating that he was, in reality, an eccentric millionaire who hid his money beneath a rock. Olive falls for the ploy, but stops falling for it when Wimpy states that he forgot his hiding place. In yet another notable incident, Wimpy had his own lover, Waneeta, but only loved her because her father owned a herd of beef cows.

In popular culture

*Wimpy (along with Popeye, Olive and Bluto) was going to have a cameo in ''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American live-action/animated comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely adapted by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman from Gary K. Wolf's 1 ...

'', but the rights to the characters could not be obtained. *During World War II, "Wimpy", in reference to the character, was the nickname given to the

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its g ...

bomber. *Wimpy is also the namesake of the large chain of Wimpy hamburger restaurants which was founded in Bloomington, Indiana in the 1930s and opened in the UK in 1954; it has maintained operations overseas since 1967. Their UK website states, "The name Wimpy is believed to have come from Popeye's friend J Wellington Wimpy who loved hamburgers as much as Popeye loved spinach." *Wimpy can also be found as the mascot for "Wimpy's Seafood Restaurant and Market" in Osterville, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. (Established 1938) *Wimpy made a cameo appearance (as an in-gag to both his facial features; in the context of beef related

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

and affinity for hamburgers) in the ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

'' episode "

McStroke "McStroke" is the eighth episode of season six of the animated comedy series '' Family Guy''. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 13, 2008. The episode follows Peter as he saves the life of a fast-food restaurant owner who ...

". *Wimpy has appeared in two episodes of the

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...

and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...

animated series ''

Robot Chicken ''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writers, ...

'', often using his "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday" line to buy hamburgers. Often it fails. Voiced by

Scott Adsit Robert Scott Adsit (born November 26, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. Born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, Adsit joined the mainstage cast of Chicago's The Second City in 1994 after attending Columbia College Chicago. He app ...

and Seth Green. *In the ''

Good Eats ''Good Eats'' is an American television cooking show, created and hosted by Alton Brown, which aired in North America on Food Network and later Cooking Channel. Likened to television science educators Mr. Wizard and Bill Nye, Brown explores the ...

'' second season episode "Daily Grind" (aka "A Grind is a Terrible Thing to Waste"),

Alton Brown Alton Crawford Brown Jr. (born July 30, 1962) is an American television personality, food show presenter, chef, author, voice actor, and cinematographer. He is the creator and host of the Food Network television show ''Good Eats'' that ran for ...

prepares the "perfect burger" (as well as meatloaf & meatballs) for a character named "J. Wellington Whimpy" (misspelled, but looking mostly like the version of Wimpy played by

Paul Dooley Paul Dooley (born Paul Brown; February 22, 1928) is an American character actor, writer and comedian. He is known for his roles in ''Breaking Away'', ''Sixteen Candles'', and ''Popeye''. Early life Dooley was born Paul Brown on February 22, 1 ...

in the ''Popeye'' film) played by then cast regular Steve Rooney. *In the final

Pooch the Pup Pooch the Pup is a cartoon animal character (arts), character, an anthropomorphic dog, appearing in Walter Lantz cartoons during the studio's black-and-white era. The character appeared in 13 shorts made in 1932 and 1933. Biography In 1931, Walt ...

cartoon called '' She Done Him Right'', a dog character looking like Wimpy is seen playing a slot machine. *Wimpy's famous catchphrase gives the name to the hamburger review website

A Hamburger Today Serious Eats is a website and blog focused on food enthusiasts, created by food critic and author Ed Levine. A Serious Eats book was published by Levine in 2011. Serious Eats was acquired by Fexy Media in 2015 and then by Dotdash Meredith, Dotda ...

. *Wimpy is also the focus of an animated

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...

commercial in which he uses a new

smartphone app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on des ...

to finally pay for the food he mooched from his friends. *Season 4 Episode 6 of ''

'' is named "I'll Gladly Pay You Tuesday". *Season 6 Episode 8 of ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Case ...

'', Niles refers to Claudia Kynock, a wealthy media owner, as a bulbous cartoon character who steals hamburgers. Frasier correctly asserts "Wimpy" but after Niles makes a series of self-deprecating remarks. *Season 2 Episode 14 of ''

'',

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

can be heard whispering to

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

"I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today". *In the hit video game ''

World of Warcraft ''World of Warcraft'' (''WoW'') is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. Set in the ''Warcraft'' fantasy universe, ''World of Warcraft'' takes place within the world of Azeroth ...

'', an NPC named Topper McNabb can be heard repeating "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today" in the city of Stormwind, among other phrases. *In the cartoon "

A Clean Shaven Man This is a list of the 109 cartoons of the Popeye the Sailor (film series), ''Popeye the Sailor'' film series, produced from the beginning of the series in 1933 to 1942 by Fleischer Studios for Paramount Pictures. During the course of production ...

", the name of his barber shop is called Wimby's not Wimpy's; however while the sign on the door of the empty shop reads "out getting a haircut", Bluto remarks "I'll bet he's out getting some ''hamburgers''", and Popeye responds "I wouldn't be at ''all'' surprised". *In a May 12, 2020 ''

9 Chickweed Lane ''9 Chickweed Lane'' is an American comic strip written and drawn by Brooke McEldowney for over 25 years, which follows the fortunes of the women of three generations of the Burber family: Edna, Juliette, and Edda. 9 Chickweed Lane is the address ...

'' strip, Wimpy's catchphrase was mentioned along with a thinly-veiled romantic innuendo between characters Amos and Edda and also in a May 2, 2022 strip, this time involving recurring characters Hugh and Xiulan in the same manner.

References

External links

Popeye , The Home of Popeye the Sailor Man
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wimpy, J. Wellington Comic book sidekicks Fictional con artists Fictional tricksters Popeye characters Animated human characters Comics characters introduced in 1931 Fictional American people Male characters in animation Male characters in comics