Popeye turned 91 (know the story of the man who inspired the character and curiosities about the cartoon)

Almost every adult who is now between 30 and 50 years old spent part of their childhood in front of the TV, watching cartoons on open TV. And one of the most iconic characters in these cartoons was Popeye the sailor. He and his gang inspired generations of kids to eat spinach and entertained them with their stories. What perhaps few know is that the character was inspired by a man of flesh and blood. This is his story.

O awesome.club tells, in this post, how the idea of ​​the drawing came about. In addition, we present several data that few people know about animation. Enjoy with us and be sure to check out the bonus at the end with a lot of curiosities.

The creator of this and other less well-known drawings was the American cartoonist Elzie Crisler Segar, who learned the profession by taking a correspondence course. His first comic book was called Charlie Chaplin’s Comic Capers, a reference to Chaplin. Some time later, Segar created the comic book series Thimble Theater (1919), which had olive oil (Olivia Toothpick) as a character.

The idea of ​​inserting a sailor into the Thimble Theater only came 10 years later. From there, the character conquered the readers and became the protagonist of the strip. In the early 1970s, the National Cartoonists Society created the Elzie Segar Award, which honors professionals who have contributed to the art of comic strips. In 2006, Fantagraphics Books published six volumes of Segar’s works.

According to the book Popeye: An Illustrated Cultural History by Fred M. Grandinetti, at the beginning of the work, Segar showed Olive Oil (Olivia) and her family: her brother, Castor Oil, her father, Cole Oil, and her boyfriend. , Hamgravy. In the newspaper strips, the characters commented on theater, cinema and other cultural events in their city.

Popeye was inspired by a resident of Chester, Illinois, named Frank “Rocky” Fiegel. Rocky was a boy of Polish origin who lived with his mother in a house near the cemetery. According to reports, he was a strong, tall man and his right eye was half closed. He worked at a local bar called George Gozney’s saloon.

Rocky was born on January 27, 1868 and was something of a “local legend”. He probably had strength beyond normal, as he always won fights, even against more than one opponent. The young man, however, was very gentle and kind to the children. He died on March 24, 1947, never having married. On his tombstone is engraved the design of the character Popeye as a tribute.

The author of the drawing always sent money to Rocky as a form of retribution for the inspiration. In the city of Chester, a statue of Popeye was built. Years later, other statues of the cartoon’s secondary characters were placed in the same place.

Olivia stick (olive oil) was inspired by a real woman who also lived in Illinois and was named Dora Paskel. She suited the character: she was a tall, thin woman, her hairstyle was a bun rolled up on the lower part of her head, her clothes were similar to Olivia’s and she wore shoes with buttons, very common at the time.

Popeye the sailor became more of a character in Segar’s comic strips and quickly began to impress the readers of the newspaper in which the cartoon was published. They liked his somewhat rude and direct way of resolving conflicts. Popeye did feats with his strength beyond normal, but he didn’t accept any kind of payment for it.

All this success made the sailor gain a meteoric projection. In 1931, the strip was renamed “Thimble Theater Starring Popeye” and many other characters emerged in the plot.

In 1932, King Features signed a contract with Fleischer Studios to make Popeye a cartoon series, initially for the big screen. The following year, the series was released and the character was considered the most popular cartoon in Hollywood. The plot always revolved around a conflicting situation resolved with the strength that the character acquired by ingesting the famous can of spinach.

In 1960, King Features created the cartoon for TV. More than 200 episodes were made and, in the 70s, the animation was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. In Brazil, the sailor’s voice actor was actor Orlando Drummond. Olívia Palito’s voice was dubbed by actress and voice actress Lina Rossana.

The emergence of other characters was happening gradually:

Bluto (Brutus): The main antagonist. Over time his physique has ranged from muscular to obese. Wimpy (Dudu): Residents of the city of Chester claim that William “Windy Bill” Schuchert was an overweight man, manager of the Chester Opera House and always asked his underlings to buy the delicacy at Wiebusch’s tavern.

Swee’ Pea (Gugu): The orphaned baby left on Popeye’s doorstep first appeared in the “Thimble Theater” comic strip in 1933.

Alice: She is a Goon (group of monsters created by Segar) that bears a certain physical resemblance to the protagonist (the style of the arms). Her debut was in the comics “Thimble Theater” in 1933, in a story called: “Plunder Island”.

Other secondary characters were added to the plot over time.

Believe me, the original idea to justify Popeye’s strength had nothing to do with eating spinach. The first time the character gained these “superpowers”, the origin of the force was in an unusual act: the sailor caressed the head of a magical chicken named Bernice. A while later, the author decided to change the idea to the ingestion of spinach and, with the popularity of the drawing, the consumption of the vegetable increased considerably. The sailor ended up becoming an example of healthy eating.

There are statues of the character in some US cities that have spinach plantations, such as Crystal City (Texas) and Springdale and Alma (both in Arkansas). Some canning and fresh spinach factories also use the character on their packaging. There is even an (unproven) story that spinach became a symbol of strength due to a miscalculation by a researcher, who would have overestimated the amount of iron present in the vegetable, thus classifying it as a kind of superfood.

The film premiered in 1980 and starred actors Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall. The premiere took place on a date close to the 86th birthday of the author, E. C. Segar. The film grossed $6 million in its first weekend alone, while worldwide ticket sales reached $49.8 million, equivalent to more than twice the production budget. of the long.

Criticism was divided: some called the work “boring and confusing”; they also considered it “fun” and “special”. The location used as the setting for the recordings became a theme park called Popeye Village, on the island of Malta. An adaptation was made to receive shops and restaurants, as well as numerous attractions related to the theme.

Popeye got a more current version on YouTube. In this new version, the pipe, which was a hallmark of the character, has been replaced by a whistle and he only eats organic spinach planted by himself. Olivia is also no longer a girl who needs to be saved: she has become an inventor who even helps Popeye get rid of Brutus. Sign of the times.

The photo above is of a gigantic inflatable Popeye that paraded over Benjamin Franklin Parkway during the 68th annual Thanksgiving Day parade in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in November 1987. Google honored author E. C. Segar in 2009 in his 115th birthday. Segar, by the way, died in 1938. In the city of Chester, Illinois, there are several statues in honor of the characters and the author. Popeye is still very popular in Italy. There he is known as Braccio di Ferro. The Donkey Kong game was originally conceived with Popeye as its theme. But Nintendo did not get the rights to the design from King Features. Because of this, the game featured another now famous character: Mario.

Did you know that Popeye was inspired by a real person? And the movie? Have you watched? Tell us here in the comments what your favorite moments were.