Dagwood Bumstead
Encyclopedia
Dagwood Bumstead is a main character
in comic artist Chic Young
's long-running comic strip
Blondie
. He first appeared sometime prior to 17 February 1933.
He was originally heir to the Bumstead Locomotive fortune but was disowned when he married a flapper
(originally known as Blondie Boopadoop) whom his family saw as below his class
. He has since worked hard at J.C. Dithers & Company (currently as the construction company's office manager) to support his family. The Bumsteads' first baby, Alexander, was originally named Baby Dumpling. The name of his younger sister, Cookie, was chosen by readers in a national contest. The family circle is rounded out by Daisy the dog.
His favorite things in life include his wife Blondie, his kids, naps on the sofa, long baths and food. Dagwood was famous for concocting tall, multi-layered sandwiches topped with an olive on a toothpick, and the term "Dagwood sandwich
" has entered American English. He frequently has problems with door-to-door salesmen, rude telemarketers and store salespeople, crashing into the mailman (Mr. Beasley) as he rushes from home, getting ready before the carpool
leaves without him, getting to work on time, his boss Mr. J.C. Dithers, and Cookie's many dates (he is often jealous of them and keeps a close watch on them when they come to the house). Other characters in his universe include Elmo Tuttle, a pesky little neighborhood kid who wanders in and out of the Bumstead house, next-door neighbors Herb and Tootsy Woodley, Lou, the sarcastic cook in a local diner, and Mr. Dithers' domineering wife, Cora.
s, Big Little Books, Whitman novels for children and other print materials, as well as radio, film and television. Arthur Lake
played Dagwood in the Blondie film series (1938-50), and Will Hutchins
played Dagwood in a TV series (1968-69). He makes several cameo appearance
s in Garfield Gets Real
, alongside Grimmy from Mother Goose and Grimm
. Dagwood and his wife also made a cameo appearance in a Garfield strip originally published April 1, 1994. On a fourth wall
break, Garfield refers to this as "moving to a different comic strip".
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in comic artist Chic Young
Chic Young
Murat Bernard Young , better known as Chic Young, was an American cartoonist who created the popular, long-running comic strip Blondie. His 1919 William McKinley High School Yearbook cites his nickname as Chicken, source of his familiar pen name and signature...
's long-running comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Blondie
Blondie (comic strip)
Blondie is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Chic Young. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, the strip has been published in newspapers since September 8, 1930...
. He first appeared sometime prior to 17 February 1933.
He was originally heir to the Bumstead Locomotive fortune but was disowned when he married a flapper
Flapper
Flapper in the 1920s was a term applied to a "new breed" of young Western women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior...
(originally known as Blondie Boopadoop) whom his family saw as below his class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
. He has since worked hard at J.C. Dithers & Company (currently as the construction company's office manager) to support his family. The Bumsteads' first baby, Alexander, was originally named Baby Dumpling. The name of his younger sister, Cookie, was chosen by readers in a national contest. The family circle is rounded out by Daisy the dog.
His favorite things in life include his wife Blondie, his kids, naps on the sofa, long baths and food. Dagwood was famous for concocting tall, multi-layered sandwiches topped with an olive on a toothpick, and the term "Dagwood sandwich
Dagwood sandwich
A Dagwood sandwich is a tall, multi-layered sandwich made with a variety of meats, cheeses and condiments. It was named after Dagwood Bumstead, a central character in the comic strip Blondie, who is frequently illustrated making enormous sandwiches...
" has entered American English. He frequently has problems with door-to-door salesmen, rude telemarketers and store salespeople, crashing into the mailman (Mr. Beasley) as he rushes from home, getting ready before the carpool
Carpool
Carpooling , is the sharing of car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car....
leaves without him, getting to work on time, his boss Mr. J.C. Dithers, and Cookie's many dates (he is often jealous of them and keeps a close watch on them when they come to the house). Other characters in his universe include Elmo Tuttle, a pesky little neighborhood kid who wanders in and out of the Bumstead house, next-door neighbors Herb and Tootsy Woodley, Lou, the sarcastic cook in a local diner, and Mr. Dithers' domineering wife, Cora.
Appearances in other media
Over the years, Dagwood has appeared not only in daily newspapers but in comic bookComic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s, Big Little Books, Whitman novels for children and other print materials, as well as radio, film and television. Arthur Lake
Arthur Lake (actor)
Arthur Lake was an American actor known best for bringing Dagwood Bumstead, the bumbling husband of Blondie, to life in film, radio and television.-Early life and career:...
played Dagwood in the Blondie film series (1938-50), and Will Hutchins
Will Hutchins
Will Hutchins is an American actor most noted for playing the lead role of the young lawyer Tom Brewster in the Warner Brothers Western television series Sugarfoot on ABC from 1957-1961.-Biography:...
played Dagwood in a TV series (1968-69). He makes several cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s in Garfield Gets Real
Garfield Gets Real
Garfield Gets Real is a 1999 CGI movie starring Garfield. It was produced by Paws, Inc. in cooperation with Davis Entertainment and The Animation Picture Company and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It was written by Garfield's creator Jim Davis, who started working on the script in the fall of 1996...
, alongside Grimmy from Mother Goose and Grimm
Mother Goose and Grimm
Mother Goose and Grimm is an internationally syndicated comic strip by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Mike Peters. It was first syndicated in 1984 and is distributed by King Features Syndicate to more than 800 newspapers...
. Dagwood and his wife also made a cameo appearance in a Garfield strip originally published April 1, 1994. On a fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
break, Garfield refers to this as "moving to a different comic strip".