Popeye the Sailor is an American cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar. The character first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929, and Popeye became the strip's title in later years. The character has also appeared in theatrical and television animated cartoons. Segar's Thimble Theatre strip was in its 10th year when Popeye made his debut, but the one-eyed sailor quickly became the main focus of the strip, and Thimble Theatre became one of King Features' most popular properties during the 1930s. After Segar died in 1938, Thimble Theatre was continued by several writers and artists, most notably Segar's assistant Bud Sagendorf. The strip continues to appear in first-run installments in its Sunday edition, written and drawn by Hy Eisman. The daily strips are reprints of old Sagendorf stories.
| First appearance | Thimble Theatre (1929) |
| Created by | E. C. Segar |
| Portrayed by | Gus Wickie (1933–1939 public appearances), Harry Foster Welch (1934–1940s public events and amusement parks, Pleasure Island), Robin Williams (1980 film), Will Jones (Brotherly Love), Víctor Laplace (Popeye y Olivia), Rodrigo David (Vale Cap commercial), Satoshi Ohno (Ajinomoto commercials) |
| Voiced by | English, William Costello (1933–1935), Detmar Poppen (1935–1936, radio only), Floyd Buckley (Be Kind To Aminals, 1936–1937 radio appearances, 1937 Bluebird Records records, 1945–1946 cartoons), Jack Mercer (1935–1945, 1947–1984), Mae Questel (1945, 1961), Harry Foster Welch (1946–1947, 1960s Peter Pan Records records), Candy Candido (I'm Popeye The Sailor Man/The Little White Duck), Allen Swift (Official TV Popeye Record Album, Popeye's Favorite Sea Shanties, Start commercial), Tex Brashear (Cocoa Puffs commercials), Maurice LaMarche (1987–1990), Jeff Bergman (Suzuki commercial, 1-900 Hotline commercial, Quaker Oats commercials, Center for Marine Conservation commercial, Ruffles commercial, United States Postal Service commercial, Darien Lake commercial), Sonny Melendrez (Dickinson Theatres commercials), Tim Kitzrow (Popeye Saves the Earth), Wally Wingert (Popeye and the Quest For the Wooly Mammoth, Popeye and the Sunken Treasure), Scott Innes (Campbell Soup commercial), Keith Scott (Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges, Pandemonium Cartoon Circus), Billy West (Minute Maid commercial, Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy, Drawn Together), Marc Biagi (Slots from Bally Gaming), Richard Halpern (Boop-Oop-a-Dooin '), Dave Coulier (Robot Chicken), Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy, Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy), Allen Enlow (United States Power Squadrons radio spots), Trey Parker (South Park), Kevin Shinick (Mad), Pete Holmes (The Pete Holmes Show), Tom Kenny (2014 animation test, 2016–present), Matt Hurwitz (Project Runway All Stars), Joe Newton (Popeye's Island Adventures), Japanese, Tetsuo Nishihama (Popeye the Sailorman/Olive and Bluto's Race Song), Hikaru Urano, Shigeo Takamatsu, Kenichi Ogata, Kaneta Kimotsuki, Chō, Wataru Takagi, Chosuke Ikariya, Kenji Utsumi, Kōichi Yamadera |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Sailor |
About Popeye
Fictional cartoon sailor known for his affinity for eating spinach. He cracks a can of spinach and inhales the contents to transform into a muscular strongman. He debuted in the King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre.
Achievement of Popeye
The character spawned a 1980 feature film starring Robin Williams as the titular character. In 2002, he ranked on TV Guide's 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time list.
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