Compelling evidence exists that the inspiration to the Popeye the Sailor Man cartoon was inspired by a real-life sailor who hung around the Santa Monica Pier in California, reported the Santa Monica Daily Press newspaper.
Trouble is, a small town on the Mississippi River in Illinois that is the creator’s hometown also makes a strong claim as the “birthplace” of Popeye.
Elzie Crisler Segar created the “Popeye” comic strip in 1929, along with a host of other memorable characters — Olive Oyl, Bluto, Wimpy — that spawned animated shorts, television shows, a Hollywood movie starring Robin Williams and scads of memorabilia for more than 80 years.
The newspaper reports the spinach-chomping, quick-fighting sailor man was inspired by a sailor, Olaf Olsen, who spent his last years on the Santa Monica Pier. Segar, conveniently enough, lived in Santa Monica when the comic strip launched. Pier historian Jim Harris and Pier restaurant owner Greg Morena both made their cases:
Olsen was a local character, a Norwegian immigrant, who fought net fishing in the Santa Monica Bay, rented boats off the end of the pier, and, before moving to Santa Monica, survived a wild storm off the Oregon Coast.
“He retired here in Santa Monica and promptly unretired seeing that there were boating operations happening at the end of the pier,” Harris said. “He opened up couple of day boats and fishing barges. It was a career after a career and he became a very recognizable and beloved fixture at the pier. He had a very thick accent but he loved to tell stories to children. As I understand it, the children could never understand the stories because of his accent but he was so funny telling them that they just loved visiting with him.”
Segar also rented boats on the pier and often met Olsen. When Olsen died in 1950, newspapers at the time reported he was an inspiration to Popeye. Old versions of the official Popeye website also said Popeye was born off the coast of Santa Monica.
But the folks of Chester, Illinois, won’t allow the Santa Monica claim as the character’s birthplace without a fight. The town on the Mississippi River south of St. Louis has laid claim to the Popeye inspiration for decades because of a certain bachelor. According to the Popeye fan site:
[P]eople believed that the character Popeye was based on a local man named Frank “Rocky” Fiegel (shown above). He was born on January 27, 1868 and lived as a bachelor until his death on March 24, 1947. Local townsmen believed that Frank “Rocky” Fiegel is the inspiration for Popeye because he is extremely skillful with his fists. It was also noted later that Elzie Crisler Segar used to send Frank “Rocky” Fiegel checks regularly until his death in 1938.
Furthermore, scholars also believe that the character, Popeye, is a clear depiction of the United States as a country as the shared characteristics are eerily comparable.
More Internet sleuthing reveals Fiegel was a Polish immigrant, possessed inordinate strength, was toothless and, like Olsen, smoked a pipe and was kind to children.
Chester has a statue of Popeye near the river, a large souvenir store, and Fiegel’s gravestone includes a likeness of Popeye himself.
My take is Popeye is a composite of both Olsen and Fiegel. Creative people often borrow from several sources to fashion one memorable character. I have little doubt Segar did the same.
Whether the Santa Monica Pier is the true birthplace of Popeye will forever be in doubt. But it least can claim to be the traditional western endpoint for many Route 66 travelers, and that’s certainly good enough.
(Excerpt from a “Popeye” comic strip by Jon Lebkowsky via Flickr)