posted 07-31-2004 07:03 PM         

.....Jackson Beck, the voice of "BLUTO" in over 300 Popeye cartoons from 1944 to 1957 passed away July 29.......he was also the narrator in Superman....."It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Superman" was also the same voice as were other cartoon voices thru the years....

"take care of him Charles"

posted 08-01-2004 11:29 PM         

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Originally posted by ALLEY CAT:
He ate well,,,and always wanted to boynk Olive, lol.

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posted 08-02-2004 12:05 AM         

Popeye made his first public appearance Jan. 17, 1929, in Elzie Segar's then 10-year-old comic strip, "Thimble Theatre," which originally revolved around Olive Oyl's family. Although he was introduced as a minor walk-on character, Popeye quickly "muskled" his way into the limelight and eclipsed the older characters to become the star of "Thimble Theatre." With Popeye came a host of new, off-beat funny folks such as Swee'Pea, the "infink" Popeye adopted; J. Wellington Wimpy, the world's most hamburger-obsessed moocher; and Bluto, the hairy "heavy" with the glass jaw.

Segar had a genius for creating strong, memorable characters the entire world knows and loves. "Not even Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse or Warner Bros.' Bugs Bunny can top Popeye in the high profile department ... (because) both the Rodent and the Wabbit have known long stretches of inactivity between film appearances ... (but) the monocular seafarer has seldom been caught without a new adventure in the works," wrote Michael H. Price of The New York Times News Service.

Popeye made the jump to the silver screen in a 1933 Betty Boop cartoon entitled, Popeye the Sailor from the Fleischer Studios. Nearly 750 Popeye cartoons were made and many are available on video.

In 1980, Paramount Pictures released a live-action musical motion picture in which Popeye was portrayed by Robin Williams and Olive Oyl played by Shelley Duvall. In 1993, Ted Turner's Cartoon Network celebrated the 60th anniversary of the sailorman's film debut with "Popumentary," a series of six prime-time specials.

Known as Iron Arm in Italy, Karl Alfred in Sweden and Skipper Skraek or "Terror of the Sea" in Denmark, Popeye continues to appear in comic books published around the world.

Interestingly, Popeye's spinach obsession began in the Thimble Theatre strip but became an indispensable plot device in his later animated adventures. Spinach capital Crystal City, Texas, erected a statue in 1937 to honor E.C. Segar and Popeye for their influence on America's eating habits, making Popeye the first cartoon character ever immortalized in public sculpture. The spinach growers credited Popeye with a 33 percent increase in U.S. spinach consumption — and saving the spinach industry in the 1930s!

Today the sailorman has made Popeye-brand canned spinach the No. 2 brand behind Del Monte and he has his own brand of fresh spinach, salads and fresh vegetable snacks. He has also punched up supermarket sales of everything from Pepsi to popcorn, not to mention millions of T-shirts, caps, jackets, collectors' watches. In fact, Popeye was the first character to invade, in an important way, the toy and novelty field. From tin wind-up toys to puzzles and kazoo pipes, early Popeye novelty merchandise now carries staggering price tags in antique shops and flea markets.

And, speaking of collectibles, the U.S. Postal Service featured Popeye in its "American Comic Classics" collection of postage stamps issued to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the comic strip.

Popeye continues to be one of the most widely recognized and beloved characters in the world. It's amazing what a little spinach can do!

posted 08-02-2004 10:16 AM         

My 12 year old son recently bought a Popeye driver cover at one of the major golf retail centers and the manager said that it's their best seller surpassing the Caddyshack gopher.

Popeye is cool, but Foghorn Leghorn is my favorite.

posted 08-02-2004 12:19 PM         

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Originally posted by tangled up in BLUE:
....did Popeye, Olive Oyl, Bluto or Wimpy have any last names ???.....

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... yeah, think they were all from West Virginia & tangled up in a certain color --
oh! yeah! 'BLUE' hehe