By Fred Grandinetti
(left) The one-eyed sailor prepares to eat his spinach in "Popeye the Sailor" (Fleischer Studios, 1933).
Generations of children have been told by their parents, “Eat your spinach and you’ll be strong like Popeye the Sailor Man”.
It may come as a surprise to learn Popeye’s original source of strength was not the green vegetable.
Popeye first appeared in the Thimble
Theatre comic strip on January 17, 1929 created by E.C. Segar. During
his first adventure Popeye is shot multiple times by crime boss, Jack
Snork. The sailor then rubbed the feathers of the Whiffle Hen to
bring him luck. The hen’s powers healed the sailor’s injuries and
he knocked out Snork with a blow from his fist!
Popeye would continue to dazzle
newspaper audiences with feats of strength which pre-dated anything
Superman would accomplish. Segar eventually phased out The Whiffle
Hen and had to come up with another explanation for Popeye’s super
abilities. When asked, on June 26, 1931, “How are you able to do
such things?” Popeye replied, “Tha’s easy. I eats Spinach.”
(left) On June 26, 1931 Segar's Popeye announces the source of his strength.
Popeye’s association with spinach in
the public’s mind had little to do with the comic strip. Segar rarely
used it except in perilous situations. The green vegetable played a
much bigger role in the animated cartoons which debuted in 1933.
The Fleischer Studios were the first
to bring Popeye, his girlfriend Olive Oyl and Bluto, to the big screen
in a Betty Boop cartoon titled, “Popeye the Sailor.”
(right) Popeye shoves his spinach can down Bluto's throat in "Seein' Red, White and Blue" (Famous Studios, 1943).
When Bluto begins stomping on
Popeye’s back he casually pulls out a can of spinach, eats the contents
and wallops Bluto into a coffin.
It was Fleischer’s original
intention not to have spinach play a major role in the animated series.
However, Paramount Pictures, who financed the cartoons, objected and
spinach became an important plot device.
(above) Popeye is fed spinach by a Goon in "Popeye The Ugly Ducklin'" (Jack Kinney,1960)
In the animated cartoons anyone who
ate spinach gained strength! Some of the more memorable film
moments when characters other than Popeye consumed spinach include:
-
Adventures of Popeye (Fleischer, 1935) In a
live action sequence a little boy eats from a huge can of spinach to
defeat a bully after he’s encouraged by Popeye.
-
Never Kick A Woman (Fleischer Studios, 1936)
Popeye takes Olive Oyl to a gym so she can learn to defend
herself. A Mae West type gym teacher has her eye on Popeye and
proceeds to beat up Olive. Olive manages to grab Popeye’s can of spinach
from his pocket and pulverizes the gym teacher. She also beats up
the sailor for responding to the gym teacher’s romantic overtones.
-
The Twisker Pitcher (Fleischer Studios, 1937)
Popeye loses his spinach can while competing in a baseball game with
Bluto. The bearded bully finds the can and devours its
contents. Bluto stuffs Popeye’s cans with weeds and throws it back
to the unsuspecting sailor.
-
Hospitaliky (Fleischer, 1937) Popeye and
Bluto attempt to get injured to be cared for by nurse Olive Oyl. Popeye
holds Bluto down to force feed him spinach. When Bluto sees what is
happening he says, “Get away!” Popeye pours the spinach down
Bluto’s mouth muttering, “You’re going to eat the spinach this time.”
-
Lost and Foundry (Fleischer Studios, 1937)
Baby Swee’pea eats Popeye’s spinach to save the sailor and Olive Oyl
from being squashed by the equipment in a factory.
-
Goonland (Fleischer Studios, 1938) Popeye’s
father, Poopdeck Pappy, is held prisoner on Goon Island. When Popeye is
about to be crushed by a boulder Pappy eats spinach to rescue his son.
-
Flies Ain’t Human (Fleischer, 1941) A fly eats spinach to pester Popeye who just wants to take a nap.
-
Seein’ Red, White ‘N’ Blue (Famous Studios,
1943) Popeye and Bluto are beaten up by a gang of Japanese spies.
Popeye feeds himself spinach and gives the rest to Bluto including the
can! Together, for Uncle Sam, they clobber the spies and send a
powerful punch to The Emperor of Japan and Adolph Hitler!
-
Baby Wants Spinach (Famous Studios, 1950)
Cousin Swee’pea accidently swallows Popeye’s spinach and socks a gorilla
beating up the sailor man.
-
The Cure (Paramount Cartoon Studios,
1961)-While attempting to swear off eating hamburgers Wimpy eats
Popeye’s spinach and socks one of The Sea Hag’s goons!
-
Ballet-Hooey (Hanna Barbera, 1978) When
Popeye and Bluto interrupt Olive Oyl’s ballet performance she eats
Popeye’s spinach to teach the pair a lesson.
-
Unidentified Fighting Object (Hanna Barbera,
1979) Popeye’s nephews eat a bowl of spinach to thwart Bluto’s efforts
to capture their friend from outer space.
(above) Olive Oyl ate Popeye's spinach in the sailor's animated adventure.
How Popeye began eating spinach was the subject of several
animated cartoons. Each offered different explanations why the
one-eyed sailor started chomping on the vegetable. Some of the
more notable films include:
-
The Football Toucher Downer (Fleischer
Studios, 1937) Popeye, trying to get lil’ Swee’pea to eat spinach,
explained he didn’t like it growing up. The sailor tells a story
from his childhood how spinach helped him win a football game against
Bluto.
-
Let's Stalk Spinach (Famous Studios,
1951)Popeye’s rendition of Jack and the Beanstalk is used to convince
his four nephews to eat spinach.
-
Lunch with a Punch (Famous Studios, 1952)
Popeye tells his nephews a story how spinach helped him as a child save
Olive’s life and defeat Bluto the bully.
-
Greek Mirthology (Famous Studios, 1954)
Popeye’s nephews refuse to eat spinach! The sailor tells them
about their Uncle Hercules and how he first discovered spinach.
-
Caveman Capers (Larry Harmon, 1960) Popeye remembers his prehistoric ancestor's discovery of spinach.
-
Popeye the Ugly Ducklin (Jack Kinney, 1960)
Popeye tells Swee’pea how the Goons taught him as a child to eat spinach
and gain confidence.
-
Popeye Thumb (Paramount Cartoon Studios,
1961) Swee’pea learns the story of Popeye Thumb and how his discovery of
eating spinach helped his family become the richest in the village.
The various writers of the Popeye
cartoon series would on occasion take a typical situation involving
spinach and give it a humorous spin. Films which included this
scenario include:
-
A Clean Shaven Man (Fleischer Studios, 1936)
Bluto drags Popeye on the ground and the sailor man pulls a can of
spinach out of his pocket. When Bluto sees what’s happening he
yells, “Hey none of that stuff!” and tosses the can away.
-
How Green is My Spinach (Famous Studios,
1950) Bluto finally realizes spinach is what gives Popeye the upper hand
in their fights. He creates a spray intending to wipe out the
world’s spinach supply.
-
Friend or Phony (Famous Studios, 1952)
Popeye’s spinach can literally takes on a life its own by galloping to
the sailor’s rescue after Bluto pounds him into the ground using
machinery.
-
Taxi
Turvy (Famous Studios, 1954) Popeye uses his pipe to latch on to his
spinach can when Bluto drives up in a taxi. The bearded brute
pulls the spinach can off his pipe and says, “Oh no! You ain’t eatin’ no
spinach in ‘dis picture!”
-
(right) "Oh, no! You ain't eatin' no spinach in 'dis picture!" From "Taxi Turvy" (Famous Studios, 1954)
-
Where There’s A Will (Gerald Ray, 1960) After
beating up Popeye Brutus tosses a can of spinach in the sailor’s
direction. As Brutus walks away the spinach eating theme plays and
the bully says to the audience, “Whoops I shouldn’t have done that!”
-
County Fair (Paramount Cartoon Studios, 1961)
Popeye and Brutus are farmers competing in various contents. The
last is the spinach eating contest and the test to prove its
strength. Both contestants each have a bowl of spinach to
eat. Brutus flings Popeye aside and looks straight at the viewing
audience and says, “You didn’t think I was gonna play fair with that
runt and take a chance against his spinach!”
-
Popeye’s Self Defense (Hanna Barbera, 1979)
Olive forces Popeye to join a gym because he relies on his spinach to
often when he’s in trouble.
(above) Ralph Stein offered an
explanation why Popeye refrained from eating spinach in the cartoon
strip, published on June 17, 1957
As previously noted Popeye didn’t
rely on eating spinach to gain strength in the comic strip. When Ralph
Stein began writing the daily strip on December 6, 1954 he decided to
address this issue.
On June 17, 1957 Popeye is seen
securely chained to a wall. His captors unknowingly give him spinach to
eat. While gobbling down the spinach Popeye says, “I ain’t et any of it
fer years-makes me too strong an’ dangerous!”
When the Popeye theatrical cartoons
debuted on television in September of 1956 they became a huge
success. Their popularity led to the sailor’s frequent consumption
of spinach in the strip and comic books.
(above) On March 12, 1992, Bobby London referred to what happened when Popeye ate his spinach in the movies.
From 1986 to 1992 Bobby London
handled the daily strip and derived humor referring to Popeye’s animated
career involving his favorite vegetable.
On
March 12, 1992 Wimpy is anxious to witness Popeye’s muscles “bounce
about and do funny things” after the sailor consumed a can of
spinach. Popeye explained, ‘At was jusk in the movies.”
(left) Popeye statue erected on March 26, 1937 in Crystal City, Texas.
Popeye’s association with spinach
would go beyond both print and film. Crystal City proclaimed itself
"World Spinach Capital" and paid tribute to Popeye by erecting a
full-color statue of him on March 26, 1937.
Alma, Arkansas also proclaimed itself “Spinach Capital of the World” and unveiled a Popeye statue in 2007.
For more information on the latest Popeye statue go to http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/15404.
(left) 1986 Allen Canning Company and King Features Syndicatem, Inc.
Allen’s Popeye brand spinach was
sold in supermarkets for several years. It is now being distributed by
Sager Creek Vegetable Company.
Today on all sorts of clothing you can still see Popeye holding a can of spinach declaring:
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man, I'm Popeye the Sailor Man.
I'm strong to the finich, cause I eats me spinach.
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man.
A Popeye T-shirt.