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Popeye the Sailor is a fictional cartoon character created by
Elzie Crisler 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 ...
.Segar, Elzie (Crisler) – Encyclopædia Britannica Article
. Britannica.com. Retrieved on March 29, 2013.Goulart, Ron, "Popeye", ''St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture''. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. (Volume 4, pp. 87-8).Walker, Brian. ''The Comics: The Complete Collection''. New York: Abrams ComicArts, 2011. (pp. 188-9,191, 238-243) The character first appeared on January 17, 1929, in the daily King Features comic strip ''
Thimble Theatre Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Popeye'') was continued by several writers and artists, most notably Segar's assistant
Bud Sagendorf Forrest Cowles Sagendorf (March 22, 1915 – September 22, 1994), better known as Bud Sagendorf, was an American cartoonist, notable for his work on King Features Syndicate's '' Thimble Theatre Starring Popeye'' comic strip. Personal life Born in ...
. The strip continues to appear in first-run installments on Sundays, written and drawn by
R. K. Milholland Randal Keith Milholland (born November 25, 1975), better known as R. K. Milholland, is an American webcomic author. His works include ''Something Positive'', '' New Gold Dreams'', ''Midnight Macabre'', ''Classically Positive'' and ''Super Stupor' ...
. The daily strips are reprints of old Sagendorf stories. In 1933,
Max Fleischer Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 25, 1972) was an American animator, inventor, film director and producer, and studio founder and owner. Born in Kraków, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he became ...
adapted the ''Thimble Theatre'' characters into a series of ''
Popeye the Sailor Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
. These cartoons proved to be among the most popular of the 1930s, and
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 ...
, which later became Paramount's own
Famous Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contro ...
, continued production through 1957. Cartoons produced during World War II included Allied propaganda, as was common among cartoons of the time. These cartoon shorts are now owned by Turner Entertainment and distributed by its sister company
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
Over the years, Popeye has also appeared in comic books, television cartoons, video games, hundreds of advertisements, peripheral products ranging from spinach to
candy cigarettes Candy cigarettes are a candy introduced in the late 19th century made out of chalky sugar, bubblegum or chocolate, wrapped in paper and packaged and branded so as to resemble cigarettes. Some products contain powdered sugar hidden in the wrapper ...
, and the 1980 live-action film directed by
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 ...
and starring
Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
as Popeye. Charles M. Schulz said, "I think ''Popeye'' was a perfect comic strip, consistent in drawing and humor". In 2002, ''TV Guide'' ranked Popeye number 20 on its "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" list.


Inspiration

The person believed to have inspired Popeye was Frank "Rocky" Fiegel, a tough laborer from Chester, Illinois who was always getting in fights. It was believed he could have been a professional boxer. However, he also gave out candy and treats to children, including E.C. Segar, who remembered Fiegel when he created Popeye. Fiegel was described as " st like the fictional spinach-loving mariner ... a one-eyed, pipe-smoking curmudgeon with a jutting chin."


Fictional character and story

Popeye's story and characterization vary depending on the medium. In his debut storyline, Popeye's superhumanly proportioned strength and endurance stemmed from the "luck" he acquired by rubbing the feathers of the head of Bernice, a "whiffle hen", thus enabling him to survive fifteen gunshot wounds. By the end of 1929, however, Popeye's strength had become a regularized fixture of his character, with spinach, by 1932, becoming the primary repository of his prowess. Swee'Pea is Popeye's ward in the comic strips, but his custody is inconsistent in cartoons. There is no absolute sense of continuity in the stories, although certain plot and presentation elements remain mostly constant, including purposeful contradictions in Popeye's capabilities. Popeye seems bereft of manners and uneducated, yet he often comes up with solutions to problems that seem insurmountable to the police or the scientific community. He has displayed
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
-like investigative prowess, scientific ingenuity, and successful diplomatic arguments. In the animated cartoons his pipe also proves to be highly versatile. Among other things, it has served as a cutting torch, jet engine, propeller, periscope, musical instrument, and a whistle with which he produces his trademark toot. He also eats spinach through his pipe, sometimes sucking in the can along with the contents. Since the 1970s, Popeye is seldom depicted using his pipe to smoke tobacco. Popeye's exploits are also enhanced by a few recurring plot elements. One is the love triangle among Popeye,
Olive Oyl Olive Oyl is a cartoon character created by E. C. Segar in 1919 for his comic strip ''Thimble Theatre''. The strip was later renamed ''Popeye'' after the sailor character that became the most popular member of the cast; however, Olive Oyl was a ...
, and
Bluto Bluto, at times known as Brutus, is a cartoon and comics character created in 1932 by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar as a one-time character, named "Bluto the Terrible", in his ''Thimble Theatre'' comic strip (later renamed ''Popeye''). Blut ...
(sometimes called Brutus), and Bluto's endless machinations to claim Olive at Popeye's expense. Another is his near-saintly perseverance in overcoming any obstacle to please Olive, who often (if temporarily) renounces Popeye for Bluto.


''Thimble Theatre'' and ''Popeye'' comic strips

Segar's ''Thimble Theatre'' debuted in the ''
New York Journal :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 t ...
'' on December 19, 1919. The paper's owner,
William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...
, also owned
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 ...
, which syndicated the strip. ''Thimble Theatre'' was intended as a replacement for ''Midget Movies'' by
Ed Wheelan Edgar Stow Wheelan (1888–1966), who signed his work Ed Wheelan, was an American cartoonist best known for his comic strip ''Minute Movies'', satirizing silent films, and his comic book ''Fat and Slat'', published by EC Comics. He was one of the ...
(Wheelan having recently resigned from King Features).Clark, Alan and Laurel. ''Comics: An Illustrated History''. London, Green Wood Publishing, 1992. (p.54) While initially failing to attract a large audience, the strip nonetheless increasingly accumulated a modest following as the 1920s continued. At the end of its first decade, the strip resultantly appeared in over a dozen newspapers and had acquired a corresponding Sunday strip (which had debuted on January 25, 1925, within the Hearst-owned ''
New York American :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 t ...
'' paper). ''Thimble Theatre's'' first main characters were the lanky, long-nosed slacker
Harold Hamgravy Harold Hamgravy, better known as Ham Gravy, is an American comics character from the ''Thimble Theatre'' (later '' Popeye'') series, created in 1919 by E. C. Segar. Ham Gravy was the original fiancé of the better-known character Olive Oyl, b ...
(rapidly shortened to simply "Ham Gravy") and his scrappy, headstrong girlfriend Olive Oyl. In its earliest weeks, the strip featured the duo, alongside a rotating cast of primarily one-shot characters, acting out various stories and scenarios in a parodic theatrical style (hence the strip's name). As its first year progressed, however, numerous elements of this premise would be relinquished (including the recurring character "Willie Wormwood", introduced as a parody of melodrama villainy), soon rendering the strip a series of episodic comic anecdotes depicting the daily life and dysfunctional romantic exploits of Ham Gravy and Olive Oyl. It could be classified as a
gag-a-day A gag-a-day comic strip is the style of writing comic cartoons such that every installment of a strip delivers a complete joke or some other kind of artistic statement. It is opposed to story or continuity strips, which rely on the development of ...
comic during this period. In mid-1922, Segar began to increasingly engage in lengthier (often months-long) storylines; by the end of the following year, the strip had effectively changed fully into a comedy- adventure style focusing on Ham, Olive, and Olive's ambitious-but-myopic diminutive brother
Castor Oyl Castor Oyl is a fictional character, created in 1920 by cartoonist Elzie Crisler Segar for his comic strip ''Thimble Theatre'', now known as '' Popeye''. Castor Oyl is Olive Oyl's older brother, debuting in ''Thimble Theatre'' on January 14, ...
, initially a minor character yet arguably the protagonist of the strip by 1925. Castor and Olive's parents Cole and Nana Oyl also made frequent appearances beginning in the mid-1920s. By the late 1920s, the strip had likewise acquired a number of notable characters beyond the sphere of Ham Gravy and the Oyl family, including Castor Oyl's wife Cylinda (to whom he was married from 1926 to 1928), her wealthy, misanthropic father Mr. Lotts and Castor's fighting cockerel Blizzard, all of whom had exited the strip by the close of 1928 (although Cylinda would eventually maritally reunite with Castor under
R. K. Milholland Randal Keith Milholland (born November 25, 1975), better known as R. K. Milholland, is an American webcomic author. His works include ''Something Positive'', '' New Gold Dreams'', ''Midnight Macabre'', ''Classically Positive'' and ''Super Stupor' ...
's authorship almost a century later). Popeye first appeared in the strip on January 17, 1929, as a minor character. He was initially hired by Castor Oyl and Ham Gravy to crew a ship for a voyage to Dice Island, the location of a casino owned by the crooked gambler Fadewell. Castor intended to break the bank at the casino using the unbeatable good luck conferred by stroking the head feathers of Bernice the Whiffle Hen. Weeks later, on the trip back, Popeye was shot many times by Jack Snork, an undercover stooge of Fadewell's, but survived by rubbing Bernice's head. After the adventure's conclusion in June, Popeye left the strip, but, owing to reader reaction, he was brought back after an absence of only five weeks. Ultimately, the Popeye character became so popular that he was given a larger role by the following year, and the strip was taken up by many more newspapers as a result. Initial strips presented Olive as being less than impressed with Popeye, but she eventually left Ham to become Popeye's girlfriend in March 1930, precipitating Ham's exit as a regular weeks later. Over the years, however, she has often displayed a fickle attitude towards the sailor. Initially, Castor Oyl continued to come up with
get-rich-quick scheme A get-rich-quick scheme is a plan to obtain high rates of return for a small investment. The term "get rich quick" has been used to describe shady investments since at least the early 20th century. Most schemes create an impression that partic ...
s and enlisted Popeye in his misadventures. By the end of 1931, however, he settled down as a
detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
and later on bought a
ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...
out west. Castor's appearances have resultantly become sparser over time. As Castor faded from the strip,
J. Wellington Wimpy J. Wellington Wimpy, generally referred to as Wimpy, is one of the characters in the comic strip '' Popeye'', created by E. C. Segar and originally called ''Thimble Theatre'', and in the ''Popeye'' cartoons based upon the strip. Wimpy debuted ...
, a soft-spoken and eloquent yet cowardly
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 ...
-loving moocher who would "gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today" was introduced into the Sunday strip, in which he became a fixture by late 1932. After first appearing in the daily strip in March 1933, Wimpy became a full-time major character alongside Popeye and Olive. ''Thimble Theatre'' was renamed ''Thimble Theatre Starring Popeye'' in 1931. It was eventually renamed simply ''Popeye'', the name under which the strip continues to run. In July 1933, Popeye received a foundling baby in the mail whom he adopted and named Swee'Pea. Other regular characters introduced into the strip following its retool in 1930 were
George W. Geezil George W. Geezil, also known as simply Geezil, is a comic strip character created by E.C. Segar for his strip ''Thimble Theatre'' (now ''Popeye''). Comics Geezil made his first handful of appearances in the strips in 1932, as an unnamed patr ...
, an irascible cobbler who spoke in a heavily affected accent and habitually attempted to murder or wish death upon Wimpy; Rough-House, the temperamental owner of a budget
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 ...
who served as a long-suffering foil to Wimpy; Eugene the Jeep, a yellow, vaguely doglike animal from Africa with magical powers; the Sea Hag, a terrible
pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
and the last
witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...
on Earth;
Alice the Goon Alice the Goon is a fictional character in E. C. Segar's comic strip ''Thimble Theatre'' and in the ''Popeye'' cartoon series derived from it. History Alice made her debut in the Sunday, December 10, 1933, ''Thimble Theatre'' strip, part of the ...
, a monstrous creature who entered the strip as the Sea Hag's henchwoman and continued as Swee'Pea's
babysitter Babysitting is temporarily caring for a child. Babysitting can be a paid job for all ages; however, it is best known as a temporary activity for early teenagers who are not yet eligible for employment in the general economy. It provides auton ...
; the hapless, perpetually anxious King Blozo; Blozo's unintelligent lackey Oscar; Popeye's lecherous, scheming father Poopdeck Pappy; and Toar, an ageless, dim-witted caveman. Segar's strip was quite different from the theatrical cartoons that followed. The stories were more complex (often spanning months or even years), with a heavier emphasis on verbal comedy and many characters that never appeared in the cartoons (among them King Blozo, Toar, and Rough-House). Spinach usage, a trait introduced in July 1931, was comparatively infrequent, and
Bluto Bluto, at times known as Brutus, is a cartoon and comics character created in 1932 by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar as a one-time character, named "Bluto the Terrible", in his ''Thimble Theatre'' comic strip (later renamed ''Popeye''). Blut ...
appeared in only one story arc. Segar signed some of his early Popeye comic strips with a
cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...
, his last name being a
homophone A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (p ...
of "cigar" (pronounced SEE-gar). Comics historian Brian Walker stated: "Segar offered up a masterful blend of comedy, fantasy, satire and suspense in ''Thimble Theater Starring Popeye''". Owing to Popeye's increasingly high profile, ''Thimble Theatre'' became one of King Features' most popular strips during the 1930s. A poll of adult comic strip readers in the April 1937 issue of ''
Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
'' magazine voted ''Popeye'' their second-favorite comic strip (after ''
Little Orphan Annie ''Little Orphan Annie'' is a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and syndicated by the Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and it made its debut on Aug ...
''). By 1938, ''Thimble Theatre'' was running in 500 newspapers, and over 600 licensed "Popeye" products were on sale. The success of the strip meant Segar was earning $100,000 a year at the time of his death. The strip continued after Segar's death in 1938 under a succession of artists and writers. Following an eventual name change to ''Popeye'' in the 1970s and the cancellation of the daily strip in 1992 (in favor of reprints), the comic, now solely a Sunday strip, remains one of the longest-running strips in syndication today.


Toppers

''Thimble Theatre'' had a number of topper strips on the Sunday page during its run; the main topper, ''Sappo'', ran for 21 years, from February 28, 1926, to May 18, 1947. (''Sappo'' was a revival of an earlier Segar daily strip called ''The Five-Fifteen'', aka ''Sappo the Commuter'', which ran from December 24, 1920, to February 17, 1925.) For seven weeks in 1936, Segar replaced ''Sappo'' with ''Pete and Pansy – For Kids Only'' (Sept 27 - Nov 8, 1936). There were also a series of topper panel strips that ran next to ''Sappo''. Segar drew one of them, ''Popeye's Cartoon Club'' (April 8, 1934 – May 5, 1935). The rest were produced by
Joe Musial Joseph Musial (January 15, 1905 – June 6, 1977) was an American cartoonist who drew ''The Katzenjammer Kids'' from 1956 to his death in 1977. Family Musial was born and raised in Yonkers, New York. His parents were Polish immigrants. Career H ...
and
Bud Sagendorf Forrest Cowles Sagendorf (March 22, 1915 – September 22, 1994), better known as Bud Sagendorf, was an American cartoonist, notable for his work on King Features Syndicate's '' Thimble Theatre Starring Popeye'' comic strip. Personal life Born in ...
: ''Wiggle Line Movie'' (September 11 – November 13, 1938), ''Wimpy's Zoo's Who'' (November 20, 1938 – December 1, 1940), ''Play-Store'' (December 8, 1940 – July 18, 1943), ''Popeye's Army and Navy'' (July 25 – September 12, 1943), ''Pinup Jeep'' (September 19, 1943 - April 2, 1944), and ''Me Life by Popeye'' (April 9, 1944-?).


Artists after Segar

Following Segar's illness and eventual death in 1938 (with his final ''Thimble Theatre'' strip appearing October 2 of that year), numerous people were hired to draw and write the strip. Tom Sims, the son of a
Coosa River The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia. The river is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 ...
channel-boat captain, acted as the writer for ''Thimble Theatre'' beginning in August 1938 and established the ''Popeye the Sailorman'' spin-off. Doc Winner, who had previously filled in for Segar between January and May 1938, initially acted as Sims' artist, with
Bela Zaboly Bela P. Zaboly (May 1910 – April 1985), a.k.a. Bill Zaboly, was an American cartoonist best known for his work on ''Thimble Theatre'' with ''Popeye''. Zaboly's illustrated signature used the initials BZ with the "B" formed by the wings of a bee ...
succeeding him by December 1939. In 1954, Sims relinquished writing duties on the daily strip to Ralph Stein, who would continue to collaborate with Zaboly until both the daily and Sunday strips were taken over by
Bud Sagendorf Forrest Cowles Sagendorf (March 22, 1915 – September 22, 1994), better known as Bud Sagendorf, was an American cartoonist, notable for his work on King Features Syndicate's '' Thimble Theatre Starring Popeye'' comic strip. Personal life Born in ...
in 1959. Sagendorf wrote and drew the daily strip until 1986, and continued to write and draw the
Sunday strip The Sunday comics or Sunday strip is the comic strip section carried in most western newspapers, almost always in color. Many newspaper readers called this section the Sunday funnies, the funny papers or simply the funnies. The first US newspap ...
until his death in 1994. Sagendorf, who had been Segar's assistant, made a definite effort to retain much of Segar's classic style, although his art is instantly discernible. Sagendorf continued to use many obscure characters from the Segar years, especially O. G. Wotasnozzle and King Blozo. Sagendorf's new characters, such as the Thung, also had a very Segar-like quality. What set Sagendorf apart from Segar more than anything else was his sense of pacing. Where plotlines moved very quickly with Segar, it sometimes took an entire week of Sagendorf's daily strips for the plot to be advanced even a small amount. From 1986 to 1992, the daily strip was written and drawn by
Bobby London Robert "Bobby" London (born June 29, 1950) is an American underground comix and mainstream comics artist. His style evokes the work of early American cartoonists like George Herriman and Elzie Crisler Segar. Biography As a child, London was "pen ...
, who, after some controversy, was fired from the strip for a story that could be taken to satirize
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
. London's strips put Popeye and his friends in updated situations, but kept the spirit of Segar's original. One classic storyline, titled "The Return of Bluto", showed the sailor battling every version of the bearded bully from the comic strip, comic books, and animated films. The Sunday edition of the comic strip was drawn by
Hy Eisman Hy Eisman (born March 27, 1927) is an American cartoonist. Comic Strips He entered the comic strip field in 1950 and worked on several strips, including ''Kerry Drake'', ''Little Iodine'' and ''Bunny''. In comic books he was the last artist d ...
from 1994 to 2022. Following Eisman's retirement, the Sunday strip was taken over by
R. K. Milholland Randal Keith Milholland (born November 25, 1975), better known as R. K. Milholland, is an American webcomic author. His works include ''Something Positive'', '' New Gold Dreams'', ''Midnight Macabre'', ''Classically Positive'' and ''Super Stupor' ...
, who had previously contributed ''Popeye'' cartoons to the web-only feature ''Popeye's Cartoon Club'' in 2019 and 2020. The daily strip has featured reruns of Sagendorf's strips since London's firing. On January 1, 2009, 70 years since the death of his creator, Segar's comic strips (though not the various films, TV shows, theme music, and other media based on them) became
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
in most countries, but remain under
copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...
in the United States. Because Segar was an employee of King Features Syndicate when he created the ''Thimble Theatre'' strip, it is treated as a work for hire under U.S. copyright law. Works for hire are protected for 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. As of 2024, ''Thimble Theatre'' comic strips from 1919 through 1928 have entered the public domain, concluding seventeen days before Popeye's first appearance. Even after the strips enter the public domain,
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...
s regarding Popeye remain with King Features, as trademarks do not expire unless they cease to be used, and King Features has used the trademark continuously since the character's debut.


Reprints

* ''Popeye the Sailor'',
Nostalgia Press Woodrow Gelman (1915 – February 9, 1978) was a publisher, cartoonist, novelist and an artist-writer for both animation and comic books. As the publisher of Nostalgia Press, he pioneered the reprinting of vintage comic strips in quality hardcov ...
, 1971, reprints three daily stories from 1936. * ''Thimble Theatre'', Hyperion Press, 1977, , reprints daily from September 10, 1928, missing 11 dailies which are included in the Fantagraphics reprints. * ''Popeye: The First Fifty Years'' by
Bud Sagendorf Forrest Cowles Sagendorf (March 22, 1915 – September 22, 1994), better known as Bud Sagendorf, was an American cartoonist, notable for his work on King Features Syndicate's '' Thimble Theatre Starring Popeye'' comic strip. Personal life Born in ...
, Workman Publishing, 1979 , the first Popeye reprint in full color. * ''The Complete E. C. Segar Popeye'',
Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint. History Founding Fantagraphics was found ...
, 1980s, reprints all Segar Sundays featuring Popeye in four volumes, all Segar dailies featuring Popeye in seven volumes, missing four dailies which are included in the Hyperion reprint, November 20–22, 1928, August 22, 1929. * ''Popeye: The 60th Anniversary Collection'', Hawk Books Limited, 1989, featuring reprints, a selection of strips, and stories from the first newspaper strip in 1929 onwards, along with articles on Popeye in comics, books, collectables, etc. * ''E. C. Segar's Popeye'',
Fantagraphics Books Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint. History Founding Fantagraphics was found ...
, 2006–2011, six oversized hardcover volumes reprinting all dailies and Sundays (in color, along with ''Sappo'') featuring Popeye, plus various extras: ** Vol. 1: ''I Yam What I Yam'' – covers September 1928–December 1930 (dailies) and March 1930–February 1931 (Sundays) (November 22, 2006, ) ** Vol. 2: ''Well Blow Me Down!'' – covers December 1930–June 1932 (dailies) and March 1931–October 1932 (Sundays) (December 19, 2007, ) ** Vol. 3: ''Let's You and Him Fight!'' – covers June 1932–December 1933 (dailies) and October 1932–November 1933 (Sundays) (November 15, 2008, ) ** Vol. 4: ''Plunder Island'' – covers December 1933–July 1935 (dailies) and December 1933–April 1935 (Sundays) (December 22, 2009, ) ** Vol. 5: ''Wha's a Jeep'' – covers July 1935–December 1936 (dailies) and April 1935–September 1936 (Sundays) (March 21, 2011, ) ** Vol. 6: ''Me Li'l Swee'Pea'' – covers December 1936–August 1938 (dailies) and September 1936–October 1938 (Sundays) (November 15, 2011, ) * ''Thimble Theatre and the pre-Popeye comics of E.C. Segar'',
Sunday Press Books Sunday Press Books is an American publisher of comic strip reprint collections founded in 2005 by Peter Maresca. The company is known as a respected reprinter of comic strips and has to date won three Eisner Awards and two Harvey Awards. Since 202 ...
, 2018 (ISBN ), an oversized collection of ''Thimble Theatre'' Sunday pages spanning from January 1925 to March 1930 (marking Popeye's earliest appearance in the strip's Sunday continuity), including the entirety of a two-year storyline (March 1928 to March 1930) featuring Castor Oyl and Hamgravy within a caricatured American West. * ''The E. C. Segar Popeye Sundays'',
Fantagraphics Books Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint. History Founding Fantagraphics was found ...
, 2021-tbd, a projected four-volume softcover series reprinting all Sundays in color featuring Popeye: ** Vol. 1: ''Olive Oyl & Her Sweety'' – (November 23, 2021, ) ** Vol. 2: ''Wimpy & His Hamburgers'' – (January 10, 2023, ) ** Vol. 3: ''The Sea Hag & Alice the Goon'' – (November 7, 2023, ) ** Vol. 4: TBD


Comic books

There have been a number of Popeye comic books, from
Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...
,
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 Comic ...
, Gold Key Comics, Charlton Comics, and others, originally written and illustrated by
Bud Sagendorf Forrest Cowles Sagendorf (March 22, 1915 – September 22, 1994), better known as Bud Sagendorf, was an American cartoonist, notable for his work on King Features Syndicate's '' Thimble Theatre Starring Popeye'' comic strip. Personal life Born in ...
. In the Dell comics, Popeye became something of a crimefighter, thwarting evil organizations and Bluto's criminal activities. The new villains included the numerous Misermite dwarfs, who were all identical. Popeye appeared in the British '' TV Comic'' becoming the cover story in 1960 with stories written and drawn by "Chick" Henderson. Bluto was referred to as Brutus and was Popeye's only nemesis throughout the entire run. A variety of artists have created ''Popeye'' comic book stories since then; for example,
George Wildman George Wildman (July 31, 1927 – May 22, 2016) was an American cartoonist most noted for his work in the comic books industry. From 1971 until 1985 he was a top editor at Charlton Comics, where he also became the long-time regular artist on ...
drew Popeye stories for Charlton Comics from 1969 until the late 1970s. The Gold Key series was illustrated by Wildman and scripted by Bill Pearson, with some issues written by
Nick Cuti Nicola Cuti (October 29, 1944 – February 21, 2020), known as Nick Cuti, was an American artist and comic book writer-editor, science-fiction novelist; he was the co-creator of ''E-Man'' (with artist Joe Staton) and Moonchild, Captain Cosmos, a ...
. Popeye also had his own
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series published by Shōnen Gahōsha, written and drawn by ''
Robotan is a Japanese anime and manga series created by Kenji Morita. The series revolves around household robot Robotan, who is created By Kan-chan and lives with an everyday Japanese family as a domestic servant and friend to the children. Like D ...
'' and ''
Marude Dameo is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kenji Morita ( 森田拳次). The series stars an elementary school boy named , who has little success with anything he tries, and a robot named , which is good with housekeeping. It was ...
'' creator Kenji Morita, which ran from 1961 to 1965. In 1988, Ocean Comics released the ''Popeye Special'' written by
Ron Fortier Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...
with art by Ben Dunn. The story presented Popeye's origin story, including his given name of "Ugly Kidd" and attempted to tell more of a lighthearted adventure story as opposed to using typical comic strip style humor. The story also featured a more realistic art style and was edited by Bill Pearson, who also lettered and inked the story as well as the front cover. A second issue, by the same creative team, followed in 1988. The second issue introduced the idea that Bluto and Brutus were actually twin brothers and not the same person, an idea also used in the comic strip on December 28, 2008, and April 5, 2009. In 1999, to celebrate Popeye's 70th anniversary, Ocean Comics revisited the franchise with a one-shot comic book, ''The Wedding of Popeye and Olive Oyl'', written by Peter David. The comic book brought together a large portion of the casts of both the comic strip and the animated shorts, and Popeye and Olive Oyl were finally wed after decades of courtship. However, this marriage has not been reflected in all media since the comic was published. In 2012, writer Roger Langridge teamed with cartoonists
Bruce Ozella Bruce Ozella (born November 10, 1958) is an American cartoonist, best known for his revival of ''Popeye'' in 2012. After study at Boston's New England School of Art & Design, Ozella worked as a graphic designer and illustrator in Boston for more ...
, Ken Wheaton, and Tom Neely (among others) to revive the spirit of Segar in a 12-issue comic book miniseries published by
IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...
. Critic PS Hayes in reviewing the series stated: In late 2012, IDW began reprinting the original 1940s–1950s Sagendorf Popeye comic books under the title of ''Classic Popeye''. In November 2022, the publication of a new
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
-inspired series called ''Eye Lie Popeye'' by Marcus Williams was announced, the series will be published in 2024 by Massive Publishing.


Webcomics

In January 2019, in celebration of its 90 years of character, King Feature Syndicate launched the webcomic ''Popeye's Cartoon Club''. In a series of Sunday-format comics, a wide assortment of artists depicted the characters in their own styles in one comic each, including Alex Hallatt, Erica Henderson, Tom Neely, Roger Langridge, Larry deSouza,
Robert Sikoryak Robert Sikoryak (born 1964) is an American artist whose work is usually signed R. Sikoryak. He specializes in making comic adaptations of literature classics. Under the series title ''Masterpiece Comics'', these include ''Crime and Punishment'' re ...
, Jeffrey Brown, Jim Engel, Liniers, Jay Fosgitt, Carol Lay, and Randy Milholland. At the end of the year, Milholland's ''Cartoon Club'' comic was declared the number one comic of the year on King Features' website, Comics Kingdom. From February through April 2020, ''Cartoon Club'' ran an additional five comics by Milholland, which was followed by an extended run from May 28 through July 6, 2020, making Milholland the first person to write a daily-update ''Popeye'' comic for King Features since 1994. In August 2022, a new twice-weekly (Tuesdays and Thursdays) webcomic titled ''Olive & Popeye'' debuted. Milholland writes and draws the Thursday strips, which focus on Popeye and his extended family, while Tuesday strips focus on Olive and her own adventures. These were initially drawn by Shadia Amin, who was later replaced by Emi Burdge in October 2023. The two storylines run in parallel and occasionally intersect.


Theatrical animated cartoons

In November 1932, King Features signed an agreement with
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 ...
to have Popeye and the other ''Thimble Theatre'' characters begin appearing in a series of animated cartoons released by
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
. The first cartoon in the series was released in 1933, and ''Popeye'' cartoons remained a staple of Paramount's release schedule for nearly 25 years. William Costello was the original voice of Popeye, a voice that was replicated by later performers, such as Jack Mercer and even Mae Questel. Many of the ''Thimble Theatre'' characters, including Wimpy, Poopdeck Pappy, and Eugene the Jeep, eventually made appearances in the Paramount cartoons, though Olive Oyl's extended family and Ham Gravy were absent. Thanks to the animated-short series, Popeye became even more of a sensation than he had been in comic strips, and by 1938, polls showed that the sailor was Hollywood's most popular cartoon character. Although Segar may have used spinach as a prop a few times, it was Max Fleischer who realized its potential as a trademark. In almost every Popeye cartoon, the sailor is invariably put into what seems like a hopeless situation, upon which (usually after a beating), a can of spinach becomes available, and Popeye quickly opens the can and consumes its contents. Upon swallowing the spinach, Popeye's physical strength immediately becomes superhuman, and he is easily able to save the day, and very often rescue Olive Oyl from a dire situation. It did not stop there, as spinach could also give Popeye the skills and powers he needed, as in ''The Man on the Flying Trapeze'', where it gave him acrobatic skills. This cartoon, incidentally was the only appearance of Olive Oyl's mother, Nana. In May 1942, Paramount Pictures assumed ownership of Fleischer Studios, fired the Fleischers and began reorganizing the studio, which they renamed
Famous Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contro ...
. The early Famous-era shorts were often World War II-themed, featuring Popeye fighting Nazi Germans and Japanese soldiers, most notably the 1942 short ''
You're a Sap, Mr. Jap ''You're a Sap, Mr. Jap'' is a 1942 one-reel Popeye the Sailor animated cartoon short subject released by Paramount Pictures on August 7, 1942. It was the first cartoon short to be produced by Famous Studios. It is one of the best-known American ...
''. In late 1943, the ''Popeye'' series began to be produced in Technicolor, beginning with ''Her Honor the Mare.'' Famous/Paramount continued producing the ''Popeye'' series until 1957, with '' Spooky Swabs'' being the last of the 125 Famous shorts in the series. Paramount then sold the ''Popeye'' film catalog to Associated Artists Productions, which was bought out by United Artists in 1958. Through various mergers, the rights are currently controlled by Warner Bros. Discovery. In 2001,
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
, under the supervision of animation historian Jerry Beck, created a new incarnation of '' The Popeye Show''. The show aired the Fleischer and Famous Studios ''Popeye'' shorts in versions approximating their original theatrical releases by editing copies of the original opening and closing credits (taken or recreated from various sources) onto the beginnings and ends of each cartoon, or in some cases, in their complete, uncut original theatrical versions direct from such prints that originally contained the front-and-end Paramount credits. The series aired 135 ''Popeye'' shorts over 45 episodes, until March 2004. ''The Popeye Show'' continued to air on Cartoon Network's spin-off network Boomerang. While many of the Paramount ''Popeye'' cartoons remained unavailable on video, a handful of those cartoons had fallen into
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
and were found on numerous low budget VHS tapes and later DVDs. When Turner Entertainment acquired the cartoons in 1986, a long and laborious legal struggle with King Features kept the majority of the original Popeye shorts from official video releases for more than 20 years. King Features instead opted to release a DVD boxed set of the 1960s made-for-television '' Popeye the Sailor'' cartoons, to which it retained the rights, in 2004. In the meantime, home video rights to the Associated Artists Productions library were transferred from CBS/Fox Video to MGM/UA Home Video in 1986, and eventually to Warner Home Video in 1999. In 2006, Warner Home Video announced it would release all of the ''Popeye'' cartoons produced for theatrical release between 1933 and 1957 on DVD, restored and uncut. Three volumes were released between 2007 and 2008, covering all of the black-and-white cartoons produced from 1933 to 1943. In December 2018, a fourth volume featuring the first 14 color shorts from 1943 to 1945 was released on DVD and Blu-ray from Warner Home Video through the Warner Archive Collection.


Original television cartoons

In 1960, King Features Syndicate commissioned a new series of cartoons titled '' Popeye the Sailor'', but this time for television syndication.
Al Brodax Albert Philip Brodax (February 14, 1926 – November 24, 2016) was an American film and television producer who was credited as "Al Broadax". Career Brodax grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan but moved to Brooklyn as a teen and attended ...
served as executive producer of the cartoons for King Features. Jack Mercer, Mae Questel, and
Jackson Beck Jackson Beck (July 23, 1912 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor best known as the announcer on radio's '' The Adventures of Superman''Dunning, John. (1998). ''On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio''. Oxford University Press. . Pp. 1 ...
returned for this series, which was produced by a number of companies, including
Jack Kinney Productions John Ryan Kinney (March 29, 1909 – February 9, 1992)Lenburg (2006), pp. 180 was an American animator, director and producer of animated shorts. Kinney is the older brother of fellow Disney animator Dick Kinney. Early life Jack Kinney was bor ...
, Rembrandt Films, Larry Harmon Productions, Halas and Batchelor, and
Paramount Cartoon Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contro ...
(formerly Famous Studios). The artwork was streamlined and simplified for the television budgets, and 220 cartoons were produced in only two years, with the first set of them premiering in the autumn of 1960, and the last of them debuting during the 1961–1962 television season. For these cartoons, Bluto's name was changed to "Brutus", as King Features believed at the time that Paramount owned the rights to the name "Bluto". Many of the cartoons made by Paramount used plots and storylines taken directly from the comic strip sequences – as well as characters like King Blozo and the Sea Hag. Since King Features has exclusive rights to these ''Popeye'' cartoons, they have been released on home video, with 85 of them included in a 75th anniversary ''Popeye'' DVD boxed set in 2004. Popeye, Olive Oyl, Swee'Pea and Wimpy were featured prominently in the cartoon movie " Popeye Meets the Man Who Hated Laughter", which debuted on October 7, 1972, as one of the episodes of '' The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie''. In this cartoon, Brutus also appears as a turban-wearing employee of the nemesis, Dr. Morbid Grimsby. On September 9, 1978, '' The All New Popeye Hour'' debuted on the CBS Saturday morning lineup. It was an hour-long animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which tried its best to retain the style of the original comic strip (Popeye returned to his original costume and Brutus to his original name of Bluto), while complying with the prevailing content restrictions on violence. In addition to providing many of the cartoon scripts, Mercer continued to voice Popeye, while Marilyn Schreffler and Allan Melvin became the new voices of Olive Oyl and Bluto, respectively. ''The All New Popeye Hour'' ran on CBS until September 1981, when it was cut to a half-hour and retitled ''The Popeye and Olive Comedy Show''. It was removed from the CBS lineup in September 1983, the year before Jack Mercer's death. These cartoons have also been released on VHS and DVD. During the time these cartoons were in production, CBS aired ''The Popeye Valentine's Day Special – Sweethearts at Sea'' on February 14, 1979. Popeye briefly returned to CBS in 1987 for '' Popeye and Son'', another
Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...
series, which featured Popeye and Olive as a married couple with a son named Popeye Jr., who hates the taste of spinach, but eats it to boost his strength. Maurice LaMarche performed Popeye's voice as Mercer had died in 1984. The show lasted for one season. USA Network later picked up reruns of the series after CBS's cancellation. Additionally, the series aired on The Family Channel from 1994 until 1995. In 2004, Lionsgate produced an animated television special, '' Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy'' to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Popeye. Billy West performed the voice of Popeye, describing the production as "the hardest job I ever did, ever" and the voice of Popeye as "like a buzzsaw on your throat". The uncut version was released on DVD on November 9, 2004; and was aired in a re-edited version on
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...
on December 17, 2004, and again on December 30, 2005. Its style was influenced by the 1930s Fleischer cartoons, and featured Swee'Pea, Wimpy, Bluto, Olive Oyl, Poopdeck Pappy, and the Sea Hag as its characters. On November 6, 2007, Lionsgate re-released ''Popeye's Voyage'' on DVD with redesigned cover art.


Web series

On December 2, 2018, a Popeye web series named ''Popeye's Island Adventures'' produced by WildBrain subsidiary
WildBrain Spark Studios Wild Brain Family International Limited, operating as WildBrain Spark (formerly WildBrain), is a British multi-channel network owned by the Canadian media company WildBrain (formerly DHX Media). It distributes and produces children's video content ...
premiered on the official Popeye YouTube channel. With intent on drawing in a younger, contemporary, international audience, the new series has updated the Popeye characters to fit the times. For instance, Popeye grows his own spinach and has replaced his corncob pipe with a bosun's whistle. Bluto no longer sports a beard and focuses his time on stealing Popeye's
spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either f ...
rather than his girlfriend. Olive Oyl is shown as an inventor and engineer. The characters are drawn to appear younger than typically done, save Swea'pea, and no words are spoken, with all actions mimed.


Theme song

Popeye's theme song, titled "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man", composed by Sammy Lerner in 1933 for Fleischer's first ''Popeye the Sailor'' cartoon, has become forever associated with the sailor. " The Sailor's Hornpipe" has often been used as an introduction to Popeye's theme song. A cover of the theme song, performed by Face to Face, is included on the 1995 tribute album '' Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits'', produced by Ralph Sall for MCA Records. A jazz version, performed by Ted Kooshian's Standard Orbit Quartet, appears on their 2009 Summit Records release ''Underdog and Other Stories''.
Playground song A children's song may be a nursery rhyme set to music, a song that children invent and share among themselves or a modern creation intended for entertainment, use in the home or education. Although children's songs have been recorded and studied ...
parodies of the theme have become part of children's street culture around the world, usually interpolating " frying pan" or " garbage can" into the lyrics as Popeye's dwelling place and ascribing to the character various unsavory actions or habits that transform the character into an "Anti-Popeye", and changing his exemplary spinach-based diet into an inedible morass of worms, onions, flies, tortillas and
snot Snot may refer to: * Snot, slang for nasal mucus or dried nasal mucus * Snotter, Scottish slang for nasal mucus or dried nasal mucus * Snot, a character from the US television show ''American Dad!'' * Sid Snot, an ageing biker character performed ...
.


Portrayals

* William Costello (1933–1935) * Jack Mercer (1934–1945, 1947–1984) * Floyd Buckley (1936–1937, 1945–1946; ''Popeye the Sailor'' radio show, Bluebird Records records, cartoons) * Harry Foster Welch (1937–1940s, 1946–1947, 1960s; public events and amusement parks, Pleasure Island, cartoons, Peter Pan Records records) * Mae Questel (1945–1946; cartoons) * Allen Swift (1956, 1959, 1960s–1970s; ''Official TV Popeye Record Album'', ''Popeye's Favorite Sea Shanties'', Start commercials) *
Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
(1980; '' Popeye'') * Maurice LaMarche (1987–1990; '' Popeye and Son'') * Jeff Bergman (1989–1996; commercials) * Wally Wingert (1997–1998; ''Popeye and the Quest For the Woolly Mammoth'', ''Popeye: The Rescue'', ''Popeye and the Sunken Treasure'') * Billy West (2001, 2004, 2006;
Minute Maid Minute Maid is a product line of beverages, usually associated with lemonade or orange juice, but which now extends to soft drinks of different kinds, including Hi-C. Minute Maid is sold under the Cappy brand in Central Europe and under the bran ...
commercial, '' Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy'', '' Drawn Together'') * Tom Kenny (2014; animation test) * Joe Newton (2018; ''Popeye's Island Adventures'')


Additional actors

*
Poley McClintock James Roland "Poley" McClintock (September 22, 1900 in Tyrone, PA -January, 1980, in East Stroudsburg, PA) was a member of Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians, a popular jazz band of the 1920s. As a child, McClintock was a neighbor of Waring in Tyrone, ...
(1935; ''Beware of Barnacle Bill'') * Detmar Poppen (1935–1936; ''Popeye the Sailor'' radio show) * Candy Candido (1952; ''I'm Popeye the Sailor Man/The Little White Duck'') * Tetsuo Nishihama (1978; ''Popeye the Sailorman/Olive and Bluto's Race Song'') * Tex Brashear (1987; Cocoa Puffs commercials) *
Víctor Laplace Víctor Laplace (born 30 May 1943) is an Argentina, Argentine film actor. Laplace was born in Tandil, Buenos Aires. The son of a watchmaking jeweler and a housewife. When he was 14, he started working as a metallurgist in a factory, there he als ...
(1992; ''Popeye y Olivia'') * Sonny Melendrez (1994; Dickinson Theatres commercials) * Tim Kitzrow (1994; '' Popeye Saves the Earth'') * Geertjan Hessing (1997; "I'm Popeye The Sailor Man" cover) * Keith Scott (1997, 1999; ''
Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges is a river rafting ride at Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida, inspired by the character Popeye created by cartoonist Elzie Crisler Segar. Opened on May 28, 1999, it is one of the park's original attracti ...
'', ''Pandemonium Cartoon Circus'') * Scott Innes (1998; Campbell's Soup commercial) * Marc Biagi (2002; ''Slots from Bally Gaming'') * Richard Halpern (2004; ''Boop-Oop-a-Dooin'') * Allen Enlow (2006; United States Power Squadrons radio spots) * Matt Hurwitz (2018, 2023; '' Project Runway All Stars'', '' World of Warships'')


Other media

The success of Popeye as a comic-strip and animated character has led to appearances in many other forms. For more than 20 years, Stephen DeStefano has been the artist drawing Popeye for King Features licensing.


Radio

''Popeye'' was adapted to radio in several series broadcast over three different networks by two sponsors from 1935 to 1938. Popeye and most of the major supporting characters were first featured in a thrice-weekly 15-minute radio program, ''Popeye the Sailor'', which starred Detmar Poppen as Popeye, along with most of the major supporting characters—Olive Oyl (Olive Lamoy), Wimpy (Charles Lawrence), Bluto (Jackson Beck) and Swee'Pea (Mae Questel). In the first episode, Popeye adopted Sonny (Jimmy Donnelly), a character later known as Matey the Newsboy. This program was broadcast Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights at 7:15pm. September 10, 1935, through March 28, 1936, on the NBC Red Network (87 episodes), initially sponsored by Wheatena, a whole-wheat
breakfast cereal Cereal, formally termed breakfast cereal (and further categorized as cold cereal or warm cereal), is a traditional breakfast food made from processed cereal grains. It is traditionally eaten as part of breakfast, or a snack food, primarily in ...
, which routinely replaced the spinach references. Music was provided by Victor Irwin's Cartoonland Band. Announcer
Kelvin Keech Kelvin Kirkwood Keech (June 28, 1895 – May 22, 1977) was an American actor, producer and old-time radio announcer. Keech was known for being the announcer for several popular old-time radio programs including ''The Eveready Hour'', ''Bill and ...
sang (to composer Lerner's "Popeye" theme) "Wheatena is his diet / He asks you to try it / With Popeye the sailor man." Wheatena paid King Features Syndicate $1,200 per week. The show was next broadcast Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7:15 to 7:30pm on WABC and ran from August 31, 1936, to February 26, 1937 (78 episodes). Floyd Buckley played Popeye, and
Miriam Wolfe Miriam Wolfe (born Miriam Wolff; January 2, 1922 – September 29, 2000) was an American actress, director, producer and writer, who worked in theatre, television and radio from the 1920s to the 1950s. She is mainly remembered for her character ...
portrayed both Olive Oyl and the Sea Hag. Once again, reference to spinach was conspicuously absent. Instead, Popeye sang, "Wheatena's me diet / I ax ya to try it / I'm Popeye the Sailor Man". The third series was sponsored by the maker of Popsicles three nights a week for 15 minutes at 6:15 pm on CBS from May 2, 1938, through July 29, 1938. Of the three series, only 20 of the 204 episodes are known to be preserved.


Feature films


''Popeye'' (1980)

Director
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 ...
used the character in '' Popeye'', a 1980 live-action musical feature film, starring
Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
as Popeye. A co-production of
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
and Walt Disney Productions, the movie was filmed almost entirely on Malta, in the village of Mellieħa on the northwest coast of the island. The set is now a tourist attraction called Popeye Village. The U.S. box office earnings were double the film's budget, making it a financial success. While the film received mostly negative reviews at the time, critical reception has improved over the years upon reassessment.


Canceled animated film

In March 2010, it was reported that Sony Pictures Animation was developing an animated Popeye film, with
Avi Arad Avi Arad (; he, אבי ארד; born 1948) is an Israeli-American film producer who became the CEO of the company Toy Biz in the 1990s and soon afterward became the chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment, and the chairman, CEO, and founde ...
producing it. In November 2011, Sony Pictures Animation announced that Jay Scherick and David Ronn, the writers of '' The Smurfs'', are writing the screenplay for the film. In June 2012, it was reported that Genndy Tartakovsky had been set to direct the feature, which he planned to make "as artful and unrealistic as possible." In November 2012, Sony Pictures Animation set the release date for September 26, 2014, which was, in May 2013, pushed back to 2015. In March 2014, Sony Pictures Animation updated its slate, scheduling the film for 2016, and announcing Tartakovsky as the director of '' Hotel Transylvania 2'', which he was directing concurrently with ''Popeye''. On September 18, 2014, Tartakovsky revealed an "animation test" footage, about which he said, "It's just something that kind of represents what we want to do. I couldn't be more excited by how it turned out." In March 2015, Tartakovsky announced that despite the well-received test footage, he was no longer working on the project, and would instead direct ''Can You Imagine?'', which is based on his own original idea, but it too was cancelled. Nevertheless, Sony Pictures Animation stated the project still remains in active development. In January 2016, it was announced that T.J. Fixman would write the film. On May 11, 2020, it was announced that a ''Popeye'' movie is in development at
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 ...
with Genndy Tartakovsky coming back to the project. However, on July 21, 2022, Tartakovsky said the project was cancelled. An animatic for the film was later leaked onto the internet on July 22, 2022.


Second live-action film

On March 19, 2024, it was announced that a new live action ''Popeye'' film is being developed at Chernin Entertainment with a screenplay written by Michael Caleo for King Features.


Video and pinball games

* When '' Donkey Kong'', which was originally conceived as a ''Popeye'' video game by
Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he is ...
, proved to be a big success, King Features agreed to license the characters to
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
to create a ''Popeye'' arcade game in 1982. It was later ported to various home gaming platforms, including the
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
,
Intellivision The Intellivision is a home video game console released by Mattel, Mattel Electronics in 1979. The name is a portmanteau of "intelligent television". Development began in 1977, the same year as the launch of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. I ...
, Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit family, ColecoVision, Odyssey2, and
Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...
. The goal was to avoid Brutus and the Sea Hag while collecting items produced by Olive Oyl such as hearts, musical notes, or the letters in the word "help" (depending on the level). Hitting a can of spinach gave Popeye a brief chance to strike back at Brutus. Other characters such as Wimpy and Swee'Pea appeared in the game, but did not greatly affect gameplay. A board game based on the video game was released by Parker Brothers. * Nintendo also released two Game & Watch units featuring Popeye. * Nintendo created another Popeye game for the Famicom, ''
Popeye no Eigo Asobi (Popeye's English Game) is a 1983 edutainment platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer. The game was based on the comic strip of same name created by E. C. Segar and licensed from King Features Entertainme ...
'', in 1983. This was an educational game designed to teach Japanese children English words. * A different ''Popeye'' game was developed for the ZX Spectrum by Don Priestley and first released by DK'Tronics in 1985. The game achieved critical success due to its huge, colorful sprites; amongst the largest seen on the Spectrum platform. This distinct graphical style was due to King Features' insistence that any game had to include fair representations of the central cartoon characters. The game was ported to
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
and Amstrad CPC in 1986. After releasing the budget version of this game,
Alternative Software Alternative Software is a British software developer and publisher founded in 1985. From the mid 1980s to the early 1990s, the company published well over a hundred games, primarily for the 8-bit computer formats in the budget (£1.99 to £3.99) ...
developed another two licensed games, ''Popeye 2'' (1991) and ''Popeye 3: Wrestle Crazy'' (1992) on the same platforms. *
Sigma Enterprises Sigma (; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; grc-gre, σίγμα) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as ...
published two Popeye games for the Game Boy. The first, titled simply '' Popeye'', was released exclusively in Japan in 1990, while '' Popeye 2'' was released in Japan in 1991, North America in 1993, and Europe in 1994 by Activision. * In 1994, Technos Japan released '' Popeye Beach Volleyball'' for the Game Gear, and ''Popeye: Tale of the Wicked Witch Sea Hag'' ('' Popeye: Ijiwaru Majo Shihaggu no Maki'') for the Japanese Super Famicom. A side scrolling adventure game that was mixed with a board game, the game never saw U.S. release. It featured many characters from the ''Thimble Theatre'' series as well. In the game, Popeye has to recover magical hearts scattered across the level to restore his friends, who have been turned to stone as part of a spell cast upon them by the Sea Hag. * Midway (under the ''
Bally Bally may refer to: Places *Bally, a historical spelling of Bali *Bally (from the Irish ''baile'') or townland, a traditional division of land, as well as a common prefix in the names of settlements throughout Ireland *Bally, Bally-Jagachha, a c ...
'' label) released '' Popeye Saves the Earth'', a SuperPin pinball game, in 1994. * A
Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...
''Popeye'' game was planned but never released. * In 2003, Nova Productions released a strength tester called ''Popeye Strength Tester''. * In 2005, Bandai Namco released a Game Boy Advance video game called '' Popeye: Rush for Spinach''. * Released June 2007, the video game ''
The Darkness Darkness is the absence of light. Darkness or The Darkness may also refer to: Film and television * ''Dark'' (TV series), a 2017 German-language TV series produced by Netflix * Darknss, a character from the film ''Legend'' (1985) * ''Darkne ...
'' featured televisions that played full-length films and television shows that had expired copyrights. Most of the cartoons viewable on the "Toon TV" channel are Famous Studios ''Popeye'' shorts. * In fall 2007, Namco Networks released the original Nintendo ''Popeye'' arcade game for mobile phones with new features including enhanced graphics and new levels. * In November 2021, independent developer ''Sabec LTD'' released what it called the "official ''Popeye'' game" for the
Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
, featuring a three-dimensional adaptation of the "classic arcade game". * Popeye and Bluto were introduced as playable characters in the sea combat game '' World of Warships''.


Parodies

* Parody versions of Popeye and Bluto make an appearance in ''Solo Ex-Mutants'' #2 (Eternity Comics, 1988). * In EC Comics' original ''Mad'' comic book, the satire "Poopeye" had him set up to fight other comic characters, even defeating Superman in the end. * Popeye made a one-second appearance on an unfinished production '' Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown'' by the California Institute of the Arts in 1986. He was seen punching
Rocky Balboa Robert "Rocky" Balboa (also known by his ring name The Italian Stallion), is a fictional title character and the protagonist of the ''Rocky'' film series. The character was created by Sylvester Stallone, who has also portrayed him in all eigh ...
in the face.


Marketing, tie-ins, and endorsements

From early on, Popeye was heavily merchandised. Everything from soap to razor blades to spinach was available with Popeye's likeness on it. Most of these items are rare and sought by collectors, but some merchandise is still produced. Restaurants * Wimpy's name was borrowed for the
Wimpy Wimpey may refer to: *Wimpey Homes, a defunct housebuilding company based in England * Taylor Wimpey, housebuilding company based in England Wimpy may refer to: *J. Wellington Wimpy, a hamburger-loving character from the Popeye cartoons *Wimpy ( ...
restaurant chain, one of the first international fast food restaurants featuring hamburgers, which they call "Wimpy Burgers". * The popular fast-food chain Popeyes was found on June 12, 1972, and is the second-largest "quick-service chicken restaurant group" behind
Kentucky Fried Chicken KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...
. It was not named for the sailor, but some Popeye references were featured in a few commercials throughout its early years as part of a licensing deal with King Features (the chain was actually named after a fictional detective from the 1971 film '' The French Connection'' named Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle). * Wimpy has also appeared in commercials for
Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...
and Carl's Jr. hamburgers. Retail foods and beverages * Allen Canning Company produces its own line of canned "Popeye Spinach" in multiple varieties. The cartoon Popeye serves as the mascot on the can. * Since 1989, "Popeye's Supplements" has been a chain of Canadian Sports Nutrition Stores. * In 1989, Popeye endorsed Instant Quaker Oatmeal, citing it as a better food than spinach to provide strength. The commercials had the tagline "Can the spinach, I wants me Quaker Oatmeal!" or "Popeye wants a Quaker". The Religious Society of Friends (also known as the Quakers) was offended by the promotion, given the physical aggression from "Popeye the Quaker man" and also the excessive submissiveness of Olive Oyl. * In 2001, Popeye (along with Bluto, Olive, and twin Wimpys) appeared in a television commercial for
Minute Maid Minute Maid is a product line of beverages, usually associated with lemonade or orange juice, but which now extends to soft drinks of different kinds, including Hi-C. Minute Maid is sold under the Cappy brand in Central Europe and under the bran ...
Orange juice. The commercial, produced by Leo Burnett Co, showed Popeye and Bluto as friends, due to their having had Minute Maid Orange Juice that morning. The ad agency's intention was to show that even the notable enemies would be in a good mood after their juice, but some, including Robert Knight of the Culture and Family Institute, felt the commercial's intent was to portray the pair in a homosexual romantic relationship; even so, it is a suggestion that Minute Maid denies. Knight was interviewed by Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central's '' The Daily Show'' about this issue. * World Candies Inc. produced Popeye-branded "
candy cigarette Candy cigarettes are a candy introduced in the late 19th century made out of chalky sugar, bubblegum or chocolate, wrapped in paper and packaged and branded so as to resemble cigarettes. Some products contain powdered sugar hidden in the wrapper ...
s", which were small sugar sticks with red dye at the end to simulate embers. They were sold in a small box, similar to a cigarette pack. The company still produces the item, but has since changed the name to "Popeye Candy Sticks" and has ceased putting the red dye at the end. Sports * Starting in 1940, Popeye became the mascot of
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football ...
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The mascot of the soccer club is currently a cartoon vulture. Other * In 1987, Stabur Graphics commissioned artist Will Elder to paint "Popeye's Wedding" as oil on masonite. Released was a stamped, numbered, and signed Limited Edition lithograph, an edition size of 395. The lithograph shows Popeye slipping a lifesaver-ring onto Olive's finger along with Nana Oyl, Alice the Goon, Swee'Pea (cradled in Popeye's free arm), Wimpy, Granny, Eugene the Jeep, and Brutus (holding a large cauldron of steaming, cooked rice). Twenty-one other characters watch from the pews. The litho is titled "Wit Dis Lifesaver, I Dee Wed!" and is pictured on page 83 of the book "Chicken Fat" by Will Elder (Fantagraphics, 2006). * In 1990, Popeye appeared in a public service announcement which was tied to the maritime nature of the character, warning of the harmful effects of coastal pollution. Bluto carelessly dumps garbage over the side of his boat, to which Olive reacts in horror as
seagull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...
s and other sea creatures are caught in six-pack ring holders. Popeye eats spinach and blows a tornado from his pipe, which cleans up Bluto's garbage and dumps it on him; however, when some more plastic garbage sails by Popeye's boat, he says unsurprisingly, "I can't do it all meself, peoples!" and encourages viewers to be careful about littering at sea. * In 1995, the ''Popeye'' comic 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 commemorative U.S. postage stamps. * From 1996 to 1999, the Darien Lake theme park in Western New York operated a "Popeye's Seaport" in the park. It was rebranded as "
Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation.
Seaport" after Darien Lake came under the Six Flags banner. * In Universal Studios Orlando Resort's island theme park, Universal's Islands of Adventure, there is a river rafting water ride,
Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges is a river rafting ride at Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida, inspired by the character Popeye created by cartoonist Elzie Crisler Segar. Opened on May 28, 1999, it is one of the park's original attracti ...
, themed after Popeye the Sailor saving Olive Oyl from Bluto. There is also a kids' playground, ''Me Ship, the Olive'', built in and around Popeye's ship. The three levels of the ship all contain a variety of interactive elements including cannons and hoses which can further soak riders on the ''Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barge'' ride.


Popeye & Friends Character Trail

Chester, Illinois, Segar's hometown, erected a statue of Popeye in Segar's honor in 1977 and began the Popeye & Friends Character Trail in 2006, adding new statues honoring the other Thimble Theater characters each year. This Character Trail is spread throughout Chester and includes (with unveiling dates): * Popeye (1977) * J. Wellington Wimpy (2006) * Olive Oyl, Swee'Pea, and Jeep (2007) * Bluto (2008) * Castor Oyl and Whiffle Hen (2009) * Sea Hag and Bernard (2010) * Cole Oyl (2011) * Alice the Goon and her Goon-child (2012) * Poopdeck Pappy (2013) * Professor Wotasnozzle (2014) * RoughHouse (2015) * Pipeye, Pupeye, Peepeye, and Poopeye, Popeye's four nephews (2016) * King Blozo (2017) * Nana Oyl (2018) * Popeye's Pups (September 2019) * Sherlock & Segar (December 2019) * Toar (2020) * Harold Hamgravy (2021) * Oscar (2022) Frank "Rocky" Fiegel was the real-life inspiration for the character Popeye. His parents, Bartłomiej and Anna H. Fiegiel, had come from the area of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, then part of Prussia, and migrated to the United States. He had a prominent chin, sinewy physique, characteristic pipe, and a propensity and agile skill for fist-fighting.Grandinetti
p. 4
. Fiegel died on March 24, 1947, never having married. His gravestone has an image of Popeye engraved on it. Segar regularly sent money to Fiegel () according to Popeye historian Michael Brooks. Additional hometown residents of Chester have inspired other Segar characters, including Dora Paskel, an uncommonly tall, angular lady who ran a general store in town and was the origin for Popeye's gal, Olive Oyl. She even wore a hair bun close to her neckline. William "Windy Bill" Schuchert, a rather rotund man who owned the local opera house (and was Segar's early employer), was the seed for the character J. Wellington Wimpy. He even sent out his employees to purchase hamburgers for him between performances at a local tavern named Wiebusch's, the same tavern Fiegel frequented and where he engaged in fistfights. A conjecture presented in a 2009 book raised the idea that while living in Santa Monica, Segar might have based some of Popeye's language on a local fisherman, even though the article has yet to make a definitive claim.


Cultural influences

Culturally, many consider Popeye a precursor to the
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
es who eventually dominated U.S. comic books. In medicine, the bulge indicating a bicep tear is called the Popeye sign. In 1973,
Cary Bates Cary Bates (born 1948) is an American comic book, animation, television and film writer. He is best known for his work on ''The Flash'', '' Superman'', ''Superboy, the Legion of Superheroes'' and ''Captain Atom''. Biography Early career Bates ...
created
Captain Strong Captain Strong is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created as a parody of Popeye. Publishing history First appearing in ''Action Comics'' #421 (February 1973), Captain Horatio Strong was creat ...
, a takeoff of Popeye, for DC Comics, as a way of having two cultural icons –
Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
and (a proxy of) Popeye – meet. The 1981
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
videogame Donkey Kong, which introduced its eponymous character and Nintendo's unofficial company mascot Mario to the world, was originally planned to be a Popeye game. Mario (then known as Jumpman) was originally supposed to be Popeye, Donkey Kong was originally
Bluto Bluto, at times known as Brutus, is a cartoon and comics character created in 1932 by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar as a one-time character, named "Bluto the Terrible", in his ''Thimble Theatre'' comic strip (later renamed ''Popeye''). Blut ...
, and the character Pauline was originally
Olive Oyl Olive Oyl is a cartoon character created by E. C. Segar in 1919 for his comic strip ''Thimble Theatre''. The strip was later renamed ''Popeye'' after the sailor character that became the most popular member of the cast; however, Olive Oyl was a ...
, but when Nintendo was unable to acquire the rights to use the actual franchise characters, it decided to create original characters instead. The 1988 Walt Disney/Touchstone Pictures film '' Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' featured many classic cartoon characters, and the absence of Popeye was noted by some critics. Popeye (along with Olive Oyl, Bluto, and Wimpy) actually had a cameo role planned for the film. However, Disney could not obtain the rights in time and Popeye's cameo was dropped from the film.


The Popeye dance

The Popeye was a popular dance in the dance craze era of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Originating in New Orleans around 1962, the Popeye was performed by shuffling and moving one's arms, placing one arm behind and one arm in front and alternating them, going through the motion of raising a pipe up to the mouth, and alternate sliding or pushing one foot back in the manner of ice skating, similar to motions exhibited by the cartoon character. According to music historian Robert Pruter, the Popeye was even more popular than the Twist in New Orleans. The dance was associated with and/or referenced to in several songs, including Eddie Bo's "Check Mr. Popeye",
Chris Kenner Christophe Kenner (December 25, 1929 – January 25, 1976) was an American, New Orleans-based Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and songwriter, best known for two hit singles in the early 1960s, "I Like It Like That (Chris Kenner song), I Like It Li ...
's "Something You Got" and "
Land of a Thousand Dances "Land of a Thousand Dances" (or "Land of 1000 Dances") is a song written and first recorded by American rhythm and blues singer Chris Kenner in 1962. It later became a bigger hit in versions by Cannibal & the Headhunters and Wilson Pickett. A ve ...
", Chubby Checker's "Popeye The Hitchhiker", Frankie Ford's "You Talk Too Much", Ernie K-Doe's "Popeye Joe", Huey "Piano" Smith's "Popeye", The Sherrys "Pop Pop Pop-Pie", and Harvey Fuqua's "Any Way You Wanta". A compilation of 23 Popeye dance songs was released in 1996 under the title ''New Orleans Popeye Party''.


Spinach

Initially Popeye's chief superhuman characteristic was his indestructibility, rather than super strength, which was attributed to his having rubbed the head of Bernice the Whiffle Hen numerous times after being shot. Popeye later attributed his strength to spinach. The popularity of Popeye helped boost
spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either f ...
sales. Using Popeye as a role model for healthier eating may work; a 2010 study revealed that children increased their vegetable consumption after watching Popeye cartoons. The spinach-growing community of Crystal City, Texas, erected a
statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...
of the character in recognition of Popeye's positive effects on the spinach industry. There are also statues in Springdale and Alma, Arkansas (which claims to be "The Spinach Capital of the World"), at canning plants of Allen Canning, which markets Popeye-branded canned spinach. In addition to Allen Canning's Popeye spinach, Popeye Fresh Foods markets bagged, fresh spinach with Popeye characters on the package. In 2006, when spinach contaminated with ''
E. coli ''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...
'' was accidentally sold to the public, many editorial cartoonists lampooned the affair by featuring Popeye in their cartoons. A frequently circulated story claims that Fleischer's choice of spinach to give Popeye strength was based on faulty calculations of its iron content. In the story, a scientist misplaced a decimal point in an 1870 measurement of spinach's iron content, leading to an iron value ten times higher than it should have been. The error was not a slipped decimal point but a measurement error that was corrected in the 1930s; however, the myth of extraordinarily high iron content persisted.


Word coinages

The strip is also responsible for popularizing, although not inventing, the word "
goon Goon may refer to: Slang * Humans: ** People noted for brutality, or otherwise as targets of contempt: *** A guard in a prisoner of war camp (British World War II usage) *** An enforcer (ice hockey) *** A hired thug, in a goon squad ** Alter ...
" (meaning a thug or lackey); goons in Popeye's world were large humanoids with indistinctly drawn faces that were particularly known for being used as muscle and slave labor by Popeye's nemesis, the Sea Hag. One particular goon, the aforementioned female named Alice, was an occasional recurring character in the animated shorts, but she was usually a fairly nice character. Eugene the Jeep was introduced in the comic strip on March 13, 1936. Two years later the term "jeep wagons" was in use, later shortened to simply "
jeep Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...
" with widespread World War II usage and then trademarked by Willys-Overland as "Jeep".


Events and honors

The Popeye Picnic is held every year in Chester, Illinois, on the weekend after
Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
. Popeye fans attend from across the globe, including a visit by a film crew from South Korea in 2004. The one-eyed sailor's hometown strives to entertain devotees of all ages. In honor of Popeye's 75th anniversary, the
Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
illuminated its notable tower lights green the weekend of January 16–18, 2004 as a tribute to the icon's love of spinach. This special lighting marked the only time the Empire State Building ever celebrated the anniversary/birthday of a comic strip character.


''Thimble Theatre''/''Popeye'' characters


Characters originating in comic strips by E. C. Segar

* Popeye the Sailor Man *
Olive Oyl Olive Oyl is a cartoon character created by E. C. Segar in 1919 for his comic strip ''Thimble Theatre''. The strip was later renamed ''Popeye'' after the sailor character that became the most popular member of the cast; however, Olive Oyl was a ...
* Swee'Pea (Popeye's adopted baby son in the comics, Olive's cousin in the cartoons) *
J. Wellington Wimpy J. Wellington Wimpy, generally referred to as Wimpy, is one of the characters in the comic strip '' Popeye'', created by E. C. Segar and originally called ''Thimble Theatre'', and in the ''Popeye'' cartoons based upon the strip. Wimpy debuted ...
*
Bluto Bluto, at times known as Brutus, is a cartoon and comics character created in 1932 by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar as a one-time character, named "Bluto the Terrible", in his ''Thimble Theatre'' comic strip (later renamed ''Popeye''). Blut ...
/Brutus * Eugene the Jeep * The Sea Hag * The Sea Hag's vultures, including her favorite, Bernard *
Alice the Goon Alice the Goon is a fictional character in E. C. Segar's comic strip ''Thimble Theatre'' and in the ''Popeye'' cartoon series derived from it. History Alice made her debut in the Sunday, December 10, 1933, ''Thimble Theatre'' strip, part of the ...
and the other Goons * Rough House (a cook who runs a local restaurant, the Rough House) *
George W. Geezil George W. Geezil, also known as simply Geezil, is a comic strip character created by E.C. Segar for his strip ''Thimble Theatre'' (now ''Popeye''). Comics Geezil made his first handful of appearances in the strips in 1932, as an unnamed patr ...
(the local cobbler who hates Wimpy) *
Ham Gravy Harold Hamgravy, better known as Ham Gravy, is an American comics character from the ''Thimble Theatre'' (later ''Popeye'') series, created in 1919 by E. C. Segar. Ham Gravy was the original fiancé of the better-known character Olive Oyl, but ...
(full name Harold Hamgravy, Olive Oyl's original boyfriend) *
Castor Oyl Castor Oyl is a fictional character, created in 1920 by cartoonist Elzie Crisler Segar for his comic strip ''Thimble Theatre'', now known as '' Popeye''. Castor Oyl is Olive Oyl's older brother, debuting in ''Thimble Theatre'' on January 14, ...
(Olive Oyl's brother) * Cole Oyl (Olive Oyl's father) * Nana Oyl (Olive Oyl's mother) * Poopdeck Pappy (Popeye's 99-year-old long-lost father; also a sailor) * Professor O. G. Watasnozzle (a character with a large nose, as his name indicates)


Characters originating in the cartoons

* Peepeye, Poopeye, Pupeye and Pipeye (Popeye's identical nephews in the Fleischer Studio shorts) * Shorty (Popeye's shipmate in three World War II-era in the Famous Studios shorts) * Popeye Jr. (son of Popeye and Olive Oyl, exclusive of the series '' Popeye and Son'') * Tank (son of Bluto, exclusive of the series '' Popeye and Son'')


Filmography


Theatrical

* '' Popeye the Sailor'' (1933–1942, produced 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 ...
, 109 cartoons) * '' Popeye the Sailor'' (1942–1957, produced by
Famous Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contro ...
, 122 cartoons) * '' Popeye'' (1980, produced by
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
and Walt Disney Pictures, directed by
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 ...
; live-action)


Television

* '' Popeye the Sailor'' (1960–1962, ABC; produced by
Larry Harmon Pictures Larry Harmon Pictures was the production company of Larry Harmon, the owner of the characters ''Bozo the Clown'' and ''Laurel & Hardy''. Lou Scheimer was an art director for Larry Harmon Pictures during its brief foray into animated television. ...
, Rembrandt Films, Halas and Batchelor, Gerald Ray Studios,
Jack Kinney Productions John Ryan Kinney (March 29, 1909 – February 9, 1992)Lenburg (2006), pp. 180 was an American animator, director and producer of animated shorts. Kinney is the older brother of fellow Disney animator Dick Kinney. Early life Jack Kinney was bor ...
,
Paramount Cartoon Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contro ...
and Corona Cinematografica for King Features Syndicate, 220 cartoons) * '' The All New Popeye Hour'' (1978–1983, CBS; produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, 167 cartoons) Known as ''The Popeye and Olive Comedy Show'' for its final season. * '' Popeye and Son'' (1987–1988, CBS; produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, 26 cartoons)


Television specials

* '' Popeye Meets the Man Who Hated Laughter'' (1972, ABC; produced by Hal Seeger Productions) * '' The Popeye Valentine Special: Sweethearts at Sea'' (1979, CBS; produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions) * '' Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy'' (2004,
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...
; produced by Mainframe Entertainment for King Features)


DVD collections

Theatrical cartoons * '' Popeye the Sailor: 1933–1938, Volume 1'' (released July 31, 2007) features Fleischer cartoons released from 1933 through early 1938 and contains the color Popeye specials '' Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor'' and ''
Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves ''Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves'' is a two-reel animated cartoon short subject in the '' Popeye Color Feature'' series, produced in Technicolor and released to theatres on November 26, 1937 by Paramount Pictures. It was pro ...
''. * '' Popeye the Sailor: 1938–1940, Volume 2'' (released June 17, 2008) features Fleischer cartoons released from mid-1938 through 1940 and includes the last color Popeye special ''
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp ''Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp'' is a two-reel animated cartoon short subject in the '' Popeye Color Specials'' series, produced in Technicolor and released to theaters on April 7, 1939, by Paramount Pictures. It was produced by Max Fleischer, a ...
''. * '' Popeye the Sailor: 1941–1943, Volume 3'' (released November 4, 2008) features the remaining black-and-white ''Popeye'' cartoons released from 1941 to 1943, including the final Fleischer-produced and earliest Famous-produced entries in the series. * '' Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s, Volume 1'' (released December 11, 2018) features the first 14 color Popeye shorts produced by Famous Studios. The set was made available on Blu-ray and DVD, and the shorts were sourced from 4K masters scanned from the original nitrate negatives. * '' Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s, Volume 2'' (released June 18, 2019) features the next 15 color Popeye shorts produced by Famous Studios. The set was made available on Blu-ray and DVD, and the shorts were sourced from 4K masters scanned from the original nitrate negatives. * '' Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s, Volume 3'' (released September 17, 2019) features the next 17 color Popeye shorts produced by Famous Studios. The set was made available on Blu-ray and DVD, and the shorts were sourced from 4K masters scanned from the original nitrate negatives. TV cartoons * ''Popeye the Sailor: The 1960s Classics, Volume 1'' (released May 7, 2013) A DVD-R release by Warner Archive Collection consisting mostly of made for TV cartoons produced for King Features Television by Paramount Cartoon Studios and Gerald Ray Studios.


References


Further reading

* Grandinetti, Fred M. ''Popeye: An Illustrated Cultural History.'' 2nd ed. McFarland, 2004.


External links

*
''Popeye''
at
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 ...

Photo of Rocky Fiegel
{{Authority control Popeye characters American comic strips Comics characters introduced in 1929 1929 comics debuts Gag-a-day comics Adventure comics Comics spin-offs Comics characters with superhuman strength Comic strip superheroes Fictional sailors Fictional World War II veterans Articles containing video clips Comics adapted into radio series American comedy radio programs 1935 radio programme debuts 1938 radio programme endings Radio programs based on comic strips American comics adapted into films Comics adapted into animated series Comics adapted into video games Animated films based on American comics Animated series based on comics Animated human characters Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Fictional characters based on real people Male characters in animation Male characters in comics Fictional characters from California Fictional military personnel in comics Fictional United States Coast Guard personnel Fictional United States Navy personnel Animated characters