OLIVE OYL
Name: Olive Oyl
Olive Oyl is a cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar in 1919 for his
comic strip "Thimble Theater." "Thimble Theater" later became Popeye after the
sailor character became the most popular member of the comic strip's cast. Olive
Oyl was a character in the strip for 10 years before the first appearance of
Popeye in 1929.
In the strip as written by Segar, Olive was something of a coy flapper whose
extremely thin build lent itself well to the fashions of the time; her long
black hair was usually rolled in a neat bun, like her mother's. She was the more-or-less
fiancee of Ham Gravy, a "lounge lizard" or slacker type who did as little work
as possible and was always borrowing money. His attraction to other women particularly
if they were rich naturally incensed Olive, and she once succumbed to a fit of "lunaphobia"
(a kind of angry madness) over one of his amours. (When she recovered, she
continued to pretend to have the disorder to win him back.) She was not immune
to flattery from other men, but remained committed to Ham until Popeye's
appearance. The two did not fall in love at once (her first words to him were "Aw,
shut up, you bilge rat!"), but instead fought bitterly (and hilariously) for
weeks, before realizing they cared for one another.
The version of Olive Oyl most widely familiar is the version from the theatrical
animated cartoons, first created by Fleischer Studios, and then produced by
Famous Studios. Unlike most modern damsels in distress, Olive Oyl has short hair,
is tall, skinny, with enormous feet, and not particularly attractive. In the
films and later television cartoons, Olive Oyl is Popeye's girlfriend, although
she could be extremely fickle, depending on who could woo her the best or had
the flashier possessions, and was prone to get angry over the tiniest things.
She constantly gets kidnapped by Bluto (aka Brutus), who is Popeye's rival for
her affections, but Popeye always rescues her, winning her affection in the end.
In the cartoons, she helps to take care of a baby named Little Swee'Pea; it is
not made clear if Swee'Pea is Olive Oyl's own son or an adopted foundling. In
the comics, Swee'Pea is a foundling under Popeye's care. Later sources (mostly
in the cartoon series) say that Swee'Pea is Olive Oyl's cousin that she has to
take care of from time to time.
Name: Olive Oyl
Olive Oyl is a cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar in 1919 for his
comic strip "Thimble Theater." "Thimble Theater" later became Popeye after the
sailor character became the most popular member of the comic strip's cast. Olive
Oyl was a character in the strip for 10 years before the first appearance of
Popeye in 1929.
In the strip as written by Segar, Olive was something of a coy flapper whose
extremely thin build lent itself well to the fashions of the time; her long
black hair was usually rolled in a neat bun, like her mother's. She was the more-or-less
fiancee of Ham Gravy, a "lounge lizard" or slacker type who did as little work
as possible and was always borrowing money. His attraction to other women particularly
if they were rich naturally incensed Olive, and she once succumbed to a fit of "lunaphobia"
(a kind of angry madness) over one of his amours. (When she recovered, she
continued to pretend to have the disorder to win him back.) She was not immune
to flattery from other men, but remained committed to Ham until Popeye's
appearance. The two did not fall in love at once (her first words to him were "Aw,
shut up, you bilge rat!"), but instead fought bitterly (and hilariously) for
weeks, before realizing they cared for one another.
The version of Olive Oyl most widely familiar is the version from the theatrical
animated cartoons, first created by Fleischer Studios, and then produced by
Famous Studios. Unlike most modern damsels in distress, Olive Oyl has short hair,
is tall, skinny, with enormous feet, and not particularly attractive. In the
films and later television cartoons, Olive Oyl is Popeye's girlfriend, although
she could be extremely fickle, depending on who could woo her the best or had
the flashier possessions, and was prone to get angry over the tiniest things.
She constantly gets kidnapped by Bluto (aka Brutus), who is Popeye's rival for
her affections, but Popeye always rescues her, winning her affection in the end.
In the cartoons, she helps to take care of a baby named Little Swee'Pea; it is
not made clear if Swee'Pea is Olive Oyl's own son or an adopted foundling. In
the comics, Swee'Pea is a foundling under Popeye's care. Later sources (mostly
in the cartoon series) say that Swee'Pea is Olive Oyl's cousin that she has to
take care of from time to time.