Olive Oyl
Encyclopedia
Olive Oyl is a cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar in 1919 for his comic strip
Thimble Theatre. The strip was later renamed Popeye
after the sailor character that became the most popular member of the cast; however Olive Oyl was a main character for 10 years before Popeye's 1929 appearance.
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 fiancée of Harold Hamgravy
, 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 each other.
The version of Olive Oyl most widely familiar is the version from the theatrical animated cartoon
s, first created by Fleischer Studios
, and then produced by Famous Studios
. Unlike most modern damsels in distress
, Olive Oyl is tall and skinny, with tightly wound hair and enormous feet (the latter sometimes used to comedy effect). Popeye's comment about her measurements is that she is a perfect 57... 19-19-19. In more recent years, her breast size has been somewhat of a joke on other cartoon shows, suggesting that Olive Oyl should receive breast implants.
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 archrival for her affections, but Popeye always rescues her, winning her affection in the end.
In the cartoons, she helps take care of a baby named 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 or nephew that she has to take care of from time to time.
, used commonly in cooking or in salads. Segar's newspaper strips also featured a number of her relatives named after other oils, including her brother, Castor Oyl
, their mother, Nana Oyl (after "banana oil," a mild slang phrase of the time used in the same way as horsefeathers, i.e. "nonsense
"), their father, Cole Oyl, and Castor's estranged wife, Cylinda Oyl; more recently, Olive's nieces Diesel Oyl & Violet Oyl have appeared in the cartoons. Also among Olive's family are her two uncles, Otto Oyl and intrepid explorer Lubry Kent Oyl. Lubry Kent's gift to Castor and Olive, a lucky Whiffle Hen, led them into the adventure where they met Popeye. When Bobby London
took over the strip from 1986 to 1992, he added the sultry blonde Sutra Oyl, Olive's cousin.
The first two Popeye cartoons, Popeye The Sailor
(1933) and I Yam What I Yam
(1933), featured Bonnie Poe as the voice
of Olive Oyl. She was thereafter voiced by character actress
Mae Questel
(who also voiced Betty Boop
and other characters). Questel styled Olive's voice and delivery after that of actress ZaSu Pitts
.
In 1938, Margie Hines
took over as the voice of Olive Oyl, starting with the cartoon Bulldozing The Bull. Questel returned as her voice in 1944, starting with the cartoon The Anvil Chorus Girl. Questel would remain so until after the King Features Syndicate
made-for-TV Popeye shorts in 1960.
Marilyn Schreffler
replaced Mae Questel as Olive when Hanna-Barbera
obtained the rights to produce new made-for-TV Popeye cartoons for The All-New Popeye Hour
in 1978.
In the feature film Popeye
(1980), Olive is portrayed by Shelley Duvall
.
' first Technicolor
short Somewhere in Dreamland
as the poverty-stricken mother of two barefooted waif
s.
In 2006, King Features produced both a radio spot and industrial for the United States Power Squadrons
featuring Robyn Gryphe as Olive and Allen Enlow as Popeye.
Olive Oyl (along with Bluto and Popeye) was going to have a cameo
in Who Framed Roger Rabbit
, but the rights to the characters could not be obtained.
In July 2007, a live-animation TV commercial starring Olive Oyl aired as part of an advertising campaign for Campbell Soup Company
’s Prego
sauce
s. Olive’s ad is one in a series of five different ads for Prego, which features Spice Girl Emma Bunton
("Baby Spice"), Olympic Silver Medalist Lea Ann Parsley
, an average American couple named Rosemary and Herb and an Englishman named Basil. In each 15-second commercial, the "flavorful" characters wonder aloud about what spice to add to their simmering pot of sauce.
Olive Oyl appeared in the Robot Chicken
episodes "The Sack" and "Squaw Bury Shortcake" (voiced by Kelly Hu
).
Lil' Wayne mentions Olive Oyl in the song "I'm On One."
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....
Thimble Theatre. The strip was later renamed Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
after the sailor character that became the most popular member of the cast; however Olive Oyl was a main character for 10 years before Popeye's 1929 appearance.
Fictional character biography
In the strip as written by Segar, Olive was something of a coy flapperFlapper
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...
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 fiancée of Harold Hamgravy
Harold Hamgravy
Harold Hamgravy, better known as Ham Gravy, is a Thimble Theatre character created in 1919.Hamgravy was the original fiancé of the better-known character Olive Oyl, but was often attracted to other women who were considerably wealthy...
, a "lounge lizard" or slacker
Slacker
The term "slacker" is used to refer to a person who habitually avoids work. Slackers may be regarded as belonging to an antimaterialistic counterculture, though in some cases their behavior may be due to other causes ....
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 each other.
The version of Olive Oyl most widely familiar is the version from the theatrical animated cartoon
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
s, first created by Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios, Inc., was an American corporation which originated as an Animation studio located at 1600 Broadway, New York City, New York...
, and then produced by Famous Studios
Famous Studios
Famous Studios was the animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount acquired the aforementioned studio and ousted its founders, Max and Dave Fleischer, in 1941...
. Unlike most modern damsels in distress
Damsel in distress
The subject of the damsel in distress, or persecuted maiden, is a classic theme in world literature, art, and film. She is usually a beautiful young woman placed in a dire predicament by a villain or monster and who requires a hero to achieve her rescue. She has become a stock character of fiction,...
, Olive Oyl is tall and skinny, with tightly wound hair and enormous feet (the latter sometimes used to comedy effect). Popeye's comment about her measurements is that she is a perfect 57... 19-19-19. In more recent years, her breast size has been somewhat of a joke on other cartoon shows, suggesting that Olive Oyl should receive breast implants.
In the films and later television cartoons, Olive Oyl is Popeye's girlfriend
Girlfriend
Girlfriend is a term that can refer to either a female partner in a non-marital romantic relationship or a female non-romantic friend that is closer than other friends....
, 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
Bluto
Bluto is a cartoon and comics character created in 1932 by Elzie Crisler Segar as a one-time character, named "Bluto the Terrible", in his Thimble Theatre comic strip . Bluto made his first appearance September 12 of that year...
(aka Brutus), who is Popeye's archrival for her affections, but Popeye always rescues her, winning her affection in the end.
In the cartoons, she helps take care of a baby named Swee'Pea
Swee'Pea
Swee'Pea is a character in E.C. Segar's comic strip Thimble Theatre/Popeye and in the cartoon series derived from it. His name refers to the flower known as the Sweet Pea...
; it is not made clear if Swee'Pea is Olive Oyl's own son or an adopted foundling
Child abandonment
Child abandonment is the practice of relinquishing interests and claims over one's offspring with the intent of never again resuming or reasserting them. Causes include many social and cultural factors as well as mental illness. An abandoned child is called a foundling .-Causes:Poverty is often a...
. 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 or nephew that she has to take care of from time to time.
History
Olive Oyl is named after olive oilOlive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
, used commonly in cooking or in salads. Segar's newspaper strips also featured a number of her relatives named after other oils, including her brother, Castor Oyl
Castor Oyl
Castor Oyl is a fictitious character, created in 1919 by cartoonist Elzie Crisler Segar for his comic strip Thimble Theater, now known as Popeye....
, their mother, Nana Oyl (after "banana oil," a mild slang phrase of the time used in the same way as horsefeathers, i.e. "nonsense
Nonsense
Nonsense is a communication, via speech, writing, or any other symbolic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. Sometimes in ordinary usage, nonsense is synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous...
"), their father, Cole Oyl, and Castor's estranged wife, Cylinda Oyl; more recently, Olive's nieces Diesel Oyl & Violet Oyl have appeared in the cartoons. Also among Olive's family are her two uncles, Otto Oyl and intrepid explorer Lubry Kent Oyl. Lubry Kent's gift to Castor and Olive, a lucky Whiffle Hen, led them into the adventure where they met Popeye. When Bobby London
Bobby London
Bobby London is an American underground comix and mainstream comics artist.-Biography:London created his underground newspaper comic strip Merton, in his native New York in 1969 and the raunchy Dirty Duck strip in 1971...
took over the strip from 1986 to 1992, he added the sultry blonde Sutra Oyl, Olive's cousin.
The first two Popeye cartoons, Popeye The Sailor
Popeye the Sailor (1933 cartoon)
Popeye the Sailor is a 1933 Fleischer Studios animated short, directed by Dave Fleischer. While billed as a Betty Boop cartoon, it actually starred Popeye the Sailor in his first animated appearance.-Summary:...
(1933) and I Yam What I Yam
I Yam What I Yam
I Yam What I Yam is a Popeye theatrical cartoon short, starring William "Billy" Costello as Popeye, Bonnie Poe as Olive Oyl and Charles Lawrence as Wimpy...
(1933), featured Bonnie Poe as the voice
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
of Olive Oyl. She was thereafter voiced by character actress
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
Mae Questel
Mae Questel
Mae Questel was an American actress and vocal artist best known for providing the voices for the animated characters, Betty Boop and Olive Oyl. She began in vaudeville, and played occasional small roles in films and television later in her career, most notably the role of Aunt Bethany in 1989's...
(who also voiced Betty Boop
Betty Boop
Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick. She originally appeared in the Talkartoon and Betty Boop film series, which were produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pictures. She has also been featured in...
and other characters). Questel styled Olive's voice and delivery after that of actress ZaSu Pitts
ZaSu Pitts
ZaSu Pitts was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas and comedies, transitioning to comedy sound films.-Early life:ZaSu Pitts was born in Parsons, Kansas to Rulandus and Nellie Pitts; she was the third of four children...
.
In 1938, Margie Hines
Margie Hines
Margie Hines is an American film actress. She is best known for her work as a voice artist at Fleischer Studios, where she voiced Olive Oyl in the Popeye the Sailor cartoons from 1938 to 1943....
took over as the voice of Olive Oyl, starting with the cartoon Bulldozing The Bull. Questel returned as her voice in 1944, starting with the cartoon The Anvil Chorus Girl. Questel would remain so until after the King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers worldwide...
made-for-TV Popeye shorts in 1960.
Marilyn Schreffler
Marilyn Schreffler
Marilyn Schreffler was an American actress, who provided voice-overs for several animated TV programs, mostly for Hanna-Barbera Productions.-Life:Born in Concordia, Kansas, and had an affinity for cartoons since age 6...
replaced Mae Questel as Olive when Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
obtained the rights to produce new made-for-TV Popeye cartoons for The All-New Popeye Hour
The All-New Popeye Hour
The All-New Popeye Hour is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and King Features Syndicate. Starring the popular comic strip character Popeye, the series aired from 1978 to 1983 on CBS.-Production:...
in 1978.
In the feature film Popeye
Popeye (film)
Popeye is a 1980 live-action film adaptation directed by Robert Altman and adapted from E. C. Segar's Thimble Theatre aka Popeye comic strip.Marketed with the tagline, "The sailor man with the spinach can!", the film is a musical...
(1980), Olive is portrayed by Shelley Duvall
Shelley Duvall
Shelley Alexis Duvall is an American film and television actress best known for her roles in The Shining, Popeye, Thieves Like Us and 3 Women....
.
Other media
In 1936, Olive Oyl appeared in Fleischer StudiosFleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios, Inc., was an American corporation which originated as an Animation studio located at 1600 Broadway, New York City, New York...
' first Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
short Somewhere in Dreamland
Somewhere in Dreamland
Somewhere in Dreamland was a 1936 film based on the titular song. This film was part of Max Fleischer's Color Classics series.-Plot:A young brother and sister carry a wagon with pieces of wood, gathering them for their stove. They pass by three merchants' shops: a tinker's, a butcher's, and a baker's...
as the poverty-stricken mother of two barefooted waif
Waif
A waif is a living creature removed, by hardship, loss or other helpless circumstance, from his original surroundings...
s.
In 2006, King Features produced both a radio spot and industrial for the United States Power Squadrons
United States Power Squadrons
The United States Power Squadrons is a non-profit educational organization, founded in 1914, whose mission is to improve maritime safety and enjoyability through classes in seamanship, navigation, and other related subjects. The USPS comprises approximately 45,000 members organized into 450...
featuring Robyn Gryphe as Olive and Allen Enlow as Popeye.
Olive Oyl (along with Bluto and Popeye) was going to have a cameo
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...
in Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...
, but the rights to the characters could not be obtained.
In July 2007, a live-animation TV commercial starring Olive Oyl aired as part of an advertising campaign for Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup Company , also known as Campbell's, is an American producer of canned soups and related products. Campbell's products are sold in 120 countries around the world. It is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey...
’s Prego
Prego
Prego is a trade mark brand name pasta sauce of Campbell Soup Company. It was introduced internationally in 1981-Varieties:...
sauce
Sauce
In cooking, a sauce is liquid, creaming or semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a French word taken from the Latin salsus, meaning salted...
s. Olive’s ad is one in a series of five different ads for Prego, which features Spice Girl Emma Bunton
Emma Bunton
Emma Lee Bunton is an English pop singer/songwriter and TV and radio presenter. She was a member of the 1990s girl group, the Spice Girls, in which she was known as Baby Spice as she was the youngest member. In 2010, she joined the judging panel on ITV's Dancing on Ice...
("Baby Spice"), Olympic Silver Medalist Lea Ann Parsley
Lea Ann Parsley
Lea Ann Parsley is a retired American skeleton racer from Granville, Ohio. She was the first female skeleton athlete to win a world cup medal for the United States and earned a silver medal in the women's skeleton event, a first in Olympic history, during the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games...
, an average American couple named Rosemary and Herb and an Englishman named Basil. In each 15-second commercial, the "flavorful" characters wonder aloud about what spice to add to their simmering pot of sauce.
Olive Oyl appeared in the Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
episodes "The Sack" and "Squaw Bury Shortcake" (voiced by Kelly Hu
Kelly Hu
Kelly Ann Hu is an American actress and former fashion model. She was Miss Teen USA 1985 and Miss Hawaii USA 1993.-Early life:Hu was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the daughter of Juanita, an engineering drafter for Honolulu, and Herbert Hu, a salesman and exotic bird breeder; the two divorced during...
).
Lil' Wayne mentions Olive Oyl in the song "I'm On One."