The Polish Roots of Popeye (Link)
‘Oh, I’m Popeye the Sailor Man!’ Most people know Popeye as a tough, spinach-eating sailor, a cartoon character created by American cartoonist E. C. Segar. But did you know who the real-life inspiration behind the strong sailor was? Culture.pl explores the sailor man’s Polish roots!
The character of Popeye was created by Elzie Crisler Segar, an American cartoonist from the town of Chester, Illinois. In 1919, the draughtsman created a comic strip in New York’s Evening Journal, called Thimble Theatre. In 1929, Popeye made his debut as a new character in the strip.
Portrait of Frank ‘Rocky’ Fiegel, image: Dagmara Smolna
The 1979 article Chester Man Accepted as Real-Life Popeye was a Brawler, Loved Kids ran by the Southern Illinoisan newspaper mentions that some citizens of Chester considered Rocky ‘a bum.’ It goes on to explain how this came to be:
Fiegel, a bartender and general laborer around Chester, seldom had steady work and was often seen loafing around the town’s saloons. He lived with his mother until she died, then continued living in the house alone (…)
But it isn’t, of course, the lack of regular employment that’s said to have inspired E.C. Segar. Frank Fiegel was a local brawler, famous for his fist-fighting skills and this is where we really start seeing resemblance to the cartoon Popeye. In the article Rocky’s nephew, Clyde Feegie, recounts a story of his uncle visiting a saloon:
"They had two big guys inside who said you had to buy drinks for the house or put on the gloves. They had a big bruiser waiting to fight, but he (Fiegel) put on the gloves and knocked their guy out".
‘Oh, I’m Popeye the Sailor Man!’ Most people know Popeye as a tough, spinach-eating sailor, a cartoon character created by American cartoonist E. C. Segar. But did you know who the real-life inspiration behind the strong sailor was? Culture.pl explores the sailor man’s Polish roots!
The character of Popeye was created by Elzie Crisler Segar, an American cartoonist from the town of Chester, Illinois. In 1919, the draughtsman created a comic strip in New York’s Evening Journal, called Thimble Theatre. In 1929, Popeye made his debut as a new character in the strip.
Portrait of Frank ‘Rocky’ Fiegel, image: Dagmara Smolna
The 1979 article Chester Man Accepted as Real-Life Popeye was a Brawler, Loved Kids ran by the Southern Illinoisan newspaper mentions that some citizens of Chester considered Rocky ‘a bum.’ It goes on to explain how this came to be:
Fiegel, a bartender and general laborer around Chester, seldom had steady work and was often seen loafing around the town’s saloons. He lived with his mother until she died, then continued living in the house alone (…)
But it isn’t, of course, the lack of regular employment that’s said to have inspired E.C. Segar. Frank Fiegel was a local brawler, famous for his fist-fighting skills and this is where we really start seeing resemblance to the cartoon Popeye. In the article Rocky’s nephew, Clyde Feegie, recounts a story of his uncle visiting a saloon:
"They had two big guys inside who said you had to buy drinks for the house or put on the gloves. They had a big bruiser waiting to fight, but he (Fiegel) put on the gloves and knocked their guy out".
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