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Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar. He is portrayed as a gruff sailor with only one good eye (the other appearing to be permanently blinded), muscular arms, and somewhat bad manners, who outsmarts various villains with superhuman strength which he gains from eating spinach. The character made his debut on January 17, 1929 in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre, and his popularity grew to the point that he became the main focus, and the strip was eventually renamed after him.

Thimble Theatre was in its 10th year when Popeye made his debut, but after Popeye became the main focus, the strip 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.

In 1933, Max Fleischer adapted the Thimble Theatre characters into a series of Popeye the Sailor theatrical cartoon shorts for Paramount Pictures. These cartoons proved to be among the most popular of the 1930s, and Fleischer—and later Paramount's own Famous Studios—continued production through 1957. These cartoon shorts are now owned by Turner Entertainment and distributed by its sister company Warner Bros.

Over the years, Popeye has also appeared in comic books, television cartoons, video games, hundreds of advertisements, and peripheral products ranging from spinach to candy cigarettes. In 1980, he starred in his own live-action film directed by Robert Altman, where he was played by Robin Williams.

Charles M. Schulz said, "I think Popeye was a perfect comic strip, consistent in drawing and humor". In 2002, TV Guide ranked Popeye number 20 on its "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" list.

History with the Macy's Parade[]

Popeye's Boat-Float (1939)[]

The buffed-up, spinach-eating sailor man known as Popeye was first represented in the 16th Macy's Parade with a float. Designed by Tony Sarg, the float depicted his sailing vessel riding the high seas. This float would be retired after its inaugural appearance.

Popeye & Olive Oyl Float (1946, 1948)[]

7 year's later in the 1946 Parade, a new Popeye float made it's debut. The push float featured Popeye and his lover, Olive Oyl, represented as a giant wooden pull-toy, as they keep an over-sized can of spinach out of harm's way. The float was briefly retired after its inaugural appearance, but returned in the 1948 Parade. After this appearance, the float was permanently retired from the parade.

Popeye the Sailor Man Balloon (1957-1968)[]

Popeye wouldn't be represented in the Parade until nearly a decade later, when he would be more buff than ever, as he made his debut as a giant helium balloon in the 1957 Parade. Modeled off of the Cameo K.F.S Popeye Rubber Vinyl Figure at that time, The balloon was created by Goodyear engineer William Ludwick and draftsman Jack Grisak of Goodyear Tire and Rubber's Aviation Products Division.

Though the real Popeye was a 34-year-old serviceman who stood five foot six and weighted 154 pounds, Goodyear pumped him up tenfold to 56 feet, filling him with helium as opposed to spinach. Once assembled in Akron, Ohio, the Popeye balloon was test flown at the local Goodyear airfield.

Upon making its debut in late November, the Popeye balloon wowed audiences and instantly became a Parade classic, despite the end of production on the Popeye television series earlier that year.

The Popeye balloon would face its first major incident a year later in the 1958 Parade, when his left seven-foot forearm was punctured and torn off by a tree. Due to the damages, the balloon was pulled from the line of parade march.

The Popeye balloon suffered another mishap in the 1964 Parade when Goodyear workers forgot to reseal the inflation ports on the balloon after it had been filled with helium. As a result, the balloon was once again pulled from the Parade and was replaced by fellow Goodyear classic, Happy Dragon. The balloon would continue to make appearances until the 1967 Parade when it was retired. To commemorate the balloon, a retirement party was held following the conclusion of the Parade.

The following year, in the 1968 Parade, the Popeye balloon was placed across from the Macy's flagship department store in Herald Square, giving the illusion that the balloon was watching the Parade. After this appearance, the balloon was deflated one last time, and shipped back to the Macy's Parade Studio, with Popeye making a total of ten Parade appearances (eleven counting 1968.)

In 1972, the Popeye balloon's head was inflated for a segment on The TODAY Show, in a segment on how the Parade's larger-than-life inflatable icons were inflated. In 2005, Popeye, along with several other balloons, was cut up into swatches (minus his head).

Popeye: The Movie Float (1980)[]

In 1980, a float based on the live-action Popeye film was created for the Parade. The float represented the humble aboard of Popeye himself, portrayed on the float by comic legend, Robin Williams, and the magical town of New Haven, which was complete with the town's flag that could be lowered and raised. The float was retired after its inaugural appearance in the 1980 Parade.

When a brand-new Olive Oyl balloon was introduced in the 1986 Parade, her heroic hunk made sure not to miss it, as Popeye rode the classic Rocking Lobster float, escorting the Olive Oyl balloon in the route to 34th Street. Popeye would once again ride the Rocking Lobster in the 1996 Parade, now joined by his sweetheart, Olive Oyl.

The two characters would later make an appearance on both the Toon Balloon-Abration float, and the Hats Off To Our Heritage float, which celebrated the Parade's 75th and 85th anniversary in 2001 and 2011, respectively. After the 2011 appearance, the Parade has since been without a Popeye-themed unit

Trivia[]

  • The Popeye and Dino the Dinosaur (1st version) balloons are the only balloons to have a retirement party in their honor.
  • A second version was planned, but was scrapped.
  • Popeye was the first and only balloon to watch the Parade at Herald Square during its last flight in 1968.

See also[]

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