Popeye began as a character in Elzie Segar's daily strip, Thimble Theatre . He quickly became popular and the Fleischer brothers, Max and Dave turned him into a cartoon in the early 30s. His first appearance was July 14, 1933 in the cartoon Popeye the Sailor
According to Bud Sagendorf, Popeye is 34 years old , 5'6",and weighs 158 lbs. In the cartoon "Popeye in Goonland", made in 1938, Popeye says he hasnt seen his Pappy since birth, 40 years ago, so that would put his actual birth in 1898. Since the first appearance in the strips of Popeye was 1929, this would make him 31 years old when he first appeared.
Popeye did not have a dog, but did have a pet called Eugene the Jeep who is magical. Eugene lives in a 3 dimensional world but is really a 4 dimensional creature. He answers yes/no questions by bowing down for yes and not bowing down for no. Eugene subsists on a diet of orchids. He made his first appearance on April 1, 1936.
Originally in the first few cartoons, William Costello, aka, Red Pepper Sam did the voice. He was fired early on. The voice that is best known is that of Jack Mercer who was an in-betweener at the studio. He was responsible for all the mumbling and asides and the great Popeye laugh. Olive's voice was done by Mae Questel who also did Betty Boop's voice. Gus Wickie did the original voice of Bluto. During the war when Mercer was overseas, Mae Questel did Popeye's voice for 6 or 7 cartoons!
Peepeye, Poopeye, Pipeye, Pupeye.
In one of the cartoons, Popeye is shown eating garlic to make him strong. This takes place in Roman times so that spinach is the main modern source of Popeye's power.
Technically, yes. The movie directed by Robert altman and starring Robin Williams as Popeye and Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl is an abomination. The negatives should be burned. Do not watch it. Instead if you want more than the 7 minutes that you get with a regular cartoon watch one of the 3 two-reelers: Popeye the Sailor Meets Sinvad the Sailor , Popeye Meets Ali Baba and His Forty Thieves , or Popeye Meets Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp .
There are 2 that come to mind: I yam what I yam ! and I've had all I can stand, I can't stands no more!
First, he is neither Olive nor Popeye's child. There are two versions of his origin. In his first appearance, he is sent as protection from the Demonians who want him because of a group of moles on his back that look like the number 7 on a pair of dice. The other story is that he has been made Crown Prince of Demonia and an uncle wants to kill him so he is again sent away. In any case, he appears to be Demonian in origin and is adopted by Popeye. He first appears on July 28, 1933.
J. Wellington Wimpy, who first appears (nameless) as a referee in one of Popeye's fights. he eventually was given a name and became famous for his phrase, I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.
Bluto appeared as a minor character in the strip in 1932. He became famous in the Fleischer cartoons where he was quite nasty. Brutus was created later because King Features Syndicate thought Paramount owned the copyright to Bluto (which was not true since he appeared in the strip). Thus when made-for-TV cartoons were created, Brutus was the villain.
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man I'm Popeye the Sailor Man I'm strong to the finich Cause I eats me spinach I'm Popeye the Sailor Man I'm one tough gazookus Which hates all palookas Wot ain't on the up and square I biffs 'em and buffs 'em An' always outroughs 'em An' none of 'em gets nowhere If anyone dasses to risk me fisk It's "boff" and its "wham", un'erstand So, keep good behavior That's your one life saver With Popeye the Sailor Man. I'm Popeye the Sailor Man I'm Popeye the Sailor Man I'm strong to the finich Cause I eats me spinach I'm Popeye the Sailor ManBe sure to catch the great version of this song by face to face on the compilation CD, Saturday Morning , MCA.