Character of the Week: Popeye

Popeye the Sailor Man

For almost 80 years the loveable Popeye has been entertaining us with his funny accent and his love of spinach. His adventures with Brutus and romantic times with Olive Oyl and Sweet Pea make us laugh and warm our hearts. Popeye is a one-of-a-kind character that will forever be a part of American culture and history.

Popeye was created by E.C. (Elzie) Segar, and first appeared as a guest character on January 17, 1929 in “Thimble Theatre,” a daily King Features comic strip. This strip featured the character Olive Oyl, her brother, father, and boyfriend Ham Gravy. By popular demand, Popeye continued to make appearances in this strip and in 1931 the name was changed to “Thimble Theatre … Starring Popeye.” Popeye was an ordinary man, but when he ate spinach, he turned into a man with extraordinary strength. People began eating more spinach in the 1930’s, with a 33% increase in spinach consumption in the U.S. (Popeye.com)

The daily strip was very popular in the 1930’s and continues to be a favorite today. The name was eventually changed to “Popeye” and daily segments were run in newspapers across the country. The strip continues to be printed in today’s newspapers and the Sunday comic strip is still new every week.

In 1933, Paramount Pictures had “Thimble Theatre” adapted into a series of animated cartoon shorts and named them “Popeye the Sailor.” The very first appearance Popeye made in film was actually in a Betty Boop short. He was shown dancing the hula with Betty, and singing his now famous song “I’m Popeye the Sailor Man.”

It is in the film shorts that we first see the correlation between Popeye’s strength and spinach, and the characters take on the attributes we recognize today. These short animated films catapulted Popeye into superstardom. Americans loved the funny little man. It has even been said that Popeye’s fan base exceeded that of Mickey Mouse. (Wikipedia.com) Like the “Mickey Mouse Club,” children could become part of the “Popeye Club” and be issued a membership card and a kazoo as they watched the Saturday matinee at the movie theater.

Popeye was so popular that merchandise such as toys, books, and games flew off the shelves. Popeye is also the first cartoon character to have a statue erected in his likeness in Crystal City, Texas, the self-proclaimed “Spinach Capital of the World.” (Popeye.com)

In the mid 1930’s Popeye was a household name. He not only appeared in comic strips and movies, his stories could be heard in every household in America that owned a radio. On September 10, 1935 “Popeye the Sailor” debuted on NBC radio. The show ran until August of 1936 when it moved to CBS radio and continued to play 3 times a week until July 29, 1938.

In the 1950’s, the theatrical short films were sold to television. The Popeye cartoons could be seen in any living room in the country, and a new generation of viewers fell in love with the strong little sailor man. The cartoons were originally in black and white, but were quickly changed to color. Some of the black and white cartoons were even sent overseas to be colored in by animation studios.

In the 1970s a whole new batch of Popeye cartoons were drawn up. These appeared on the Saturday morning cartoon line-up, and once again a whole new generation of children could be seen singing the Popeye song and eating their spinach. The 1980s brought Popeye into the home video market, and later on in the 1990s Popeye could be seen on DVD.

It seems that Popeye will be with us for a very long time. No matter how much time passes or what type of media is invented, Popeye will be a part of it. He has come from comic strips in newspapers to comic books, to animated filmstrips, to television, home video, and the internet. Popeye has made a place for himself in every generation since the 1930s, and shows no signs of leaving. The Sailor Man has a permanent place in history and is firmly a part of American culture.

Check out our website for Popeye posters, bendable dolls and other Popeye merchandise. We even have a set of collectible figures featuring Popeye, Olive Oyl, Brutus and the rest of the Popeye characters!