AN AMERICAN ICON WHO WAS WHAT HE WAS

January 17 . . .

Popeye the Sailor made his official debut on this day in 1929 in hundreds of newspapers in the eclectic Thimble Theater, a modestly successful daily comic strip drawn and scripted by iconoclastic cartoonist E.C. Segar. Popeye’s first appearance was brief and dramatic – he showed up only in the final panel – but he became an instant hit with readers all across the USA. The character became so popular that Segar reformatted the strip to make Popeye the central character.

Thus began Popeye’s long and memorable career in the collective consciousness of Americans and spinach lovers everywhere, supported by a cast of eccenrics who would become icons themselves, including girlfriend (excuse me, ‘goilfriend’) Olive Oyl, adopted toddler Swee’ Pea, nemesis and romantic rival Bluto, mooching hamburger addict Wimpy, the Crony Sea Hag, and the lovable Jeep. Popeye went on to appear in a classic series of cartoons for the Fleischer brothers, where generations of fans were first introduced to Popeye’s guttural, mumbling voice and Olive Oyl’s high-pitched fluttery whine.

Years after Segar’s death, another artistic iconoclast, Robert Altman, had the crazy notion of doing a live-action film based on the character, and was savvy enough to cast Robin Williams in the title role. Altman’s ‘Popeye’ (1980) was very much based on Segar’s original vision. Williams makes a wonderfully convincing Popeye, and Shelley Duvall is Olive Oyl personified – it is quite simply the role she was born to play. Popeye is one of the strangest musical comedies ever made, with an appropriately quirky score by Harry Nilsson, featuring such endearing oddities as Olive’s ode to Bluto, “He’s Large.” See it by clicking this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po2lG0hHFYY

A strange little movie that is a wacky universe unto itself, and a loving and respectful homage from one artistic iconoclast to another.