Popeye

This article is about the cartoon character. For the fast-food chain, see Popeyes. For other uses, see Popeye (disambiguation).
"Popeye the Sailor" redirects here. For the cartoon series, see Popeye the Sailor (film series). For the cartoon starring this character, see Popeye the Sailor (film).

Popeye the Sailor
Publication information
PublisherKing Features Syndicate
First appearanceThimble Theatre (1929)
Created byE. C. Segar
Voiced by
Voice actor
In-story information
PartnershipsOlive Oyl (girlfriend)
Supporting character ofSons
Family
  • Granny (paternal grandmother)
  • Patcheye (great-grandfather)
  • Aunt Jones (aunt)
  • Poopdeck Pappy (father)
  • Pipeye, Peepeye, Poopeye and Pupeye (nephews)

Popeye the Sailor is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.[17][18][19][20] The character first appeared on January 17, 1929, in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre. The strip was in its tenth year when Popeye made his debut, but the one-eyed sailor quickly became the lead character, and Thimble Theatre became one of King Features' most popular properties during the 1930s. Following Segar's death in 1938, Thimble Theatre (later renamed Popeye) was continued by several writers and artists, most notably Segar's assistant Bud Sagendorf. The strip continues to appear in first-run installments on Sundays, written and drawn by R. K. Milholland. The daily strips are reprints of old Sagendorf stories.[19]

In 1933, Max Fleischer adapted the Thimble Theatre characters into a series of Popeye the Sailor theatrical cartoon shorts for Paramount Pictures.[21] These cartoons proved to be among the most popular of the 1930s, and Fleischer Studios, which later became Paramount's own Famous Studios, continued production through 1957. Cartoons produced during World War II included Allied propaganda, as was common among cartoons of the time.[22] These cartoon shorts are now owned by Turner Entertainment and distributed by its sister company Warner Bros.[23]

Over the years, Popeye has also appeared in comic books, television cartoons, video games, hundreds of advertisements,[19] peripheral products ranging from spinach to candy cigarettes, and the 1980 live-action film directed by Robert Altman and starring Robin Williams as Popeye.

Charles M. Schulz said, "I think Popeye was a perfect comic strip, consistent in drawing and humor".[24] In 2002, TV Guide ranked Popeye number 20 on its "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" list.[25]

  1. ^ a b c Scott, Keith (October 3, 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 1. BearManor Media.
  2. ^ "Sing Me A Cartoon #16: More Sailor Man Rhythm". cartoonresearch.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  3. ^ "Who Is Harry Welch – and Was He Ever The Voice of Popeye?". cartoonresearch.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  4. ^ "Popeye Records – with the mysterious Harry F. Welch". cartoonresearch.com. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  5. ^ "Mae Questel--Voice of Betty Boop and Olive Oyl, 1978 TV". YouTube. Archived from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  6. ^ "Candy Candido - I'm Popeye The Sailor Man / The Little White Duck (Shellac)". Discogs. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  7. ^ "Popeye Records with "Captain Allen Swift"". cartoonresearch.com. Archived from the original on March 11, 2024. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  8. ^ "Voice(s) of Popeye in Start". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on July 11, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  9. ^ "Quaker Oats". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  10. ^ "United States Postal Service". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  11. ^ "Popeye and the Quest For the Woolly Mammoth". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  12. ^ "Popeye and the Sunken Treasure". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  13. ^ "Wally Wingert's Did You Know?". Wally on the Web. Archived from the original on July 19, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
  14. ^ "Voice of Popeye in Drawn Together". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on October 22, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  15. ^ "Popeye (2016)". Behind the Voice Actors. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  16. ^ "Popeye's Island Adventures". Behind the Voice Actors. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  17. ^ Segar, Elzie (Crisler) – Encyclopædia Britannica Article Archived July 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Britannica.com. Retrieved on March 29, 2013.
  18. ^ "Character Trail". City of Chester website. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  19. ^ a b c Goulart, Ron, "Popeye", St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. (Volume 4, pp. 87-8).ISBN 9781558624047
  20. ^ Walker, Brian. The Comics: The Complete Collection. New York: Abrams ComicArts, 2011. (pp. 188-9,191, 238-243) ISBN 9780810995956
  21. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 121–124. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  22. ^ "Popeye". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  23. ^ "Popeye comes to DVD from Warner Home Video". Archived from the original on March 18, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  24. ^ Mendelson, Lee and Schulz, Charles M., Charlie Brown and Charlie Schulz: in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Peanuts. New York: New American Library, 1971. (p. 35)
  25. ^ TV Guide Book of Lists. Running Press. 2007. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-7624-3007-9.