| November 14th, 2004 08:52 PM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
Toot, toot! Popeye the sailor man turns 75
By LARRY McSHANE
Associated Press Writer
November 13, 2004, 2:31 PM EST
NEW YORK -- Put away the cake. Pass the spinach.
Popeye celebrates his 75th birthday this year, animated evidence that a steady diet of leafy green vegetables and pipe smoking can guarantee you Hulk Hogan forearms as a septuagenarian. To honor the veteran sailor man, the Museum of Television and Radio unveiled a retrospective Saturday featuring rarities and collectibles from the cartoon hero's career.
"There are very few characters that are that old and still in the public consciousness," said Barry Monush, curator of the exhibit. "It's quite impressive to stick around that long and stay recognizable."
Recognizable? Who could forget that face, with its jutting jaw and permanently squinting right eye? Or those arms, with the signature anchor tattoos?
The exhibit at the midtown Manhattan museum features five flat-screen televisions running a loop of classic cartoons, with Popeye proudly proclaiming, "I yam what I yam." He's joined, as always, by the usual cast of sidekicks: love interest Olive Oyl, nemesis Bluto, the ever-indigent Wimpy and baby Swee' Pea.
Popeye was launched in 1929, debuting in a minor role in the comic strip "Thimble Theater." The sailor was an immediate hit with readers, and artist E.C. Segar converted him into the star of the strip within two years.
Several of the "Thimble Theater" strips, including one from the Dec. 12, 1931, New York Evening Journal, are on display.
But it was the Max Fleischer short films, 109 in all, that ingrained the spinach-chomping sailor into the national consciousness. The first one debuted in 1933, and Popeye became such an instant icon that spinach consumption in the United States jumped 33 percent during the 1930s.
In the 1950s, the Fleischer cartoons arrived on television and created a whole new generation of Popeye fans. New Popeye cartoons debuted in the 1970s, although that incarnation was more politically correct: He didn't smoke a pipe, and was far less likely to pound Bluto into a pulp.
He was, however, still strong to the finish. And he still ate his spinach _ although no one is really quite sure why.
"I've never read anywhere why spinach was chosen," said curator Monush. "Maybe it was something that Segar liked. Or hated. Maybe it was just a big joke."
Segar died in 1938, taking the secret to his grave. But his death did nothing to slow down the Popeye phenomenon around the world: kids in Denmark knew the character as Skipper Skraek, while Italian children were treated to cartoons with Bracchio Di Ferro (Iron Arm).
The retrospective also features a variety of Popeye memorabilia, from comic books to an original 1933 production cell to the "Official Popeye Pipe," still in its original package with the promise "It toots!"
"Well, Blow Me Down!: 75 Years of Popeye" runs through Jan. 30 at the museum. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for senior citizens and $5 for children under 14. And no _ you cannot pay Tuesday for a tour today.
Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press
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| November 14th, 2004 09:08 PM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
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| November 14th, 2004 09:10 PM |
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| gypsy |
I like Bluto/Brutus...why did they change his name? What's wrong with Bluto? Maybe it didn't sound as threatening as Brutus. |
| November 14th, 2004 09:44 PM |
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| glencar |
Arafat was also 75 but now he's dead. |
| November 15th, 2004 02:51 AM |
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| F505 |
Tintin is also 75 years old! (The best comic strip in the world)
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| November 15th, 2004 01:53 PM |
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| jb |
The Robin Williams film was dreadful...who was that skinny actress playing Olive Oil..she has a Stones connection, but has been out of site for years!!! |
| November 15th, 2004 03:37 PM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
gypsy wrote:
I like Bluto/Brutus...why did they change his name? What's wrong with Bluto? Maybe it didn't sound as threatening as Brutus.
I never understood that either. But artists do crazy shit sometimes. For example noone can seem to agree on Wilma Flintstone's maiden name. But what I really want to know is who is Swee' Pea's father? I mean by looks I'd say Popeye or at least someone in Popeye's family.
Yes, that Robin Williams film sucked.
[Edited by Ten Thousand Motels] |
| November 15th, 2004 03:57 PM |
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| F505 |
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| November 15th, 2004 04:06 PM |
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| L&A |
quote:
F505 wrote:
Tintin is also 75 years old! (The best comic strip in the world)
F505, you like Tintin, Arno and dEUS. If you also enjoy a good beer, real chocolate and Jacques Brel, you must have some belgian roots, lol  |
| November 15th, 2004 04:09 PM |
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| F505 |
quote:
L&A wrote:
F505, you like Tintin, Arno and dEUS. If you also enjoy a good beer, real chocolate and Jacques Brel, you must have some belgian roots, lol
Wish you were right: sometimes I regret I am not a Belgian.... (and yes: i do love belgian beer, chocolate and Brel) |
| November 15th, 2004 04:16 PM |
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| L&A |
quote:
F505 wrote:
Wish you were right: sometimes I regret I am not a Belgian.... (and yes: i do love belgian beer, chocolate and Brel)
Ben je zeker ?
http://www.standaard.be/Nieuws/Binnenland/ |
| November 15th, 2004 04:19 PM |
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| F505 |
quote:
L&A wrote:
Ben je zeker ?
http://www.standaard.be/Nieuws/Binnenland/
.....but sometimes I don't...... |
| November 15th, 2004 06:00 PM |
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| gypsy |
jb, it was Shelley Duvall. She was in "The Shining" too. One ugly woman. Not too ugly for Mick to do though, as she is Mackenzie Phillips-ish in her looks. |
| November 15th, 2004 06:03 PM |
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| Mr. D |
Yea, she was def the scariest thing in "The Shining"...except that creepy ass scene where the door opens and some guy in a bear outfit is blowing the bartender. I still to this day have no idea what was going on there. Just horrifying. |
| November 15th, 2004 06:22 PM |
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| Snappy McJack |
Anyone remember the Popeye canned spinach? When I was a kid I asked my mom to buy me a can, ya know, because I thought I could be like Popeye and get some guns. Man, what a bunch of crap. Nasty, slimey, wilted spinach.
Now I like spinach, however, not the canned type. |
| November 15th, 2004 06:43 PM |
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| gypsy |
If joey would eat more spinach, he probably wouldn't need Lamby to uncake him anymore. |
| November 15th, 2004 08:19 PM |
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| Mr. D |
I'd really love me some cream n spinach right now. Thats a big favorite of mine. |
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