Olive Oyl

Olive Oyl is a cartoon character created by E. C. Segar in 1919 for his comic strip Thimble Theatre.[22] 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.[23]

Olive Oyl
Popeye character
Olive Oyl in Little Swee'Pea (1936)
First appearanceThimble Theatre (1919)
Created byE. C. Segar
Portrayed byShelley Duvall
Voiced byEnglish
Bonnie Poe (1933–1934)
Mae Questel (1933–1938, 1944–1962, 1983)
Harry Foster Welch (1934–1940s public events, 1960s Peter Pan Records records)[1][2]
Olive LaMoy (1935–1936 radio appearances, 1937 Bluebird Records records)[3]
Miriam Wolfe (1936–1937, radio only)
Kate Wright (1938)[4]
Marge Hines (1938–1943)
Jack Mercer (1960 Popeye's Zoo LP)[5]
Corinne Orr (Popeye Meets the Man Who Hated Laughter)[6]
Marilyn Schreffler (1978–1988)
Cherry Davis (Quaker Oats commercials)[7][8]
Zofia Bil (Popeye Saves the Earth promotional video)[9][10]
Cheryl Chase (Popeye and the Quest For the Wooly Mammoth, Popeye and the Sunken Treasure)[11][12]
Sandy Fox (Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges)[13][14]
Lani Minella (Slots from Bally Gaming)[15]
Shannon Cullem (Boop-Oop-a-Dooin')[16]
Tabitha St. Germain (Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy)
Kelly Hu/Tara Strong/Seth Green (Robot Chicken)[17]
Robyn Gryphe (United States Power Squadrons radio spot)
Diane Michelle (Prego commercial)[18]
Jamie Lee (The Pete Holmes Show)[19]
Grey DeLisle (animated film, 2016–present)[20]
Sarah Stiles (Fleischerei)[21]
Alex Borstein (some commercials)
Japanese
Hisako Kyoda
Yoshiko Yamamoto
Rika Fukami
Emiko Kanno
Yuko Mizutani
Kotono Mitsuishi
Mariko Mukai
Gara Takashima
Michi Yamamura
Mayumi Shinozuka
Sakiko Uran
In-universe information
GenderFemale
FamilyCastor Oyl (brother)
Cole Oyl (father)
Nana Oyl (mother)
Popeye (boyfriend)
NationalityAmerican

Fictional character biography

In the strip as written by Segar, Olive was something of a coy flapper 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 is the youngest sibling of Castor Oyl and Crude Oyl. 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. Olive and Popeye actually hated each other when they first met (her first words to him were "Take your hooks offa me or I'll lay ya in a scupper"); they fought bitterly—and hilariously—for weeks until finally realizing that they had feelings for each other.

The version of Olive Oyl most widely familiar is the version from the theatrical animated cartoons created by Fleischer Studios and continued 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 comedic effect). Popeye's comment about her measurements is that she is a perfect 57... 19-19-19.

In the films and later television cartoons, Olive Oyl is usually Popeye's girlfriend, although she could be extremely fickle, depending on who could woo her the best or had the flashier possessions, and she was prone to become angry with Popeye over seemingly minor issues. She constantly gets kidnapped by Bluto (aka Brutus), who is Popeye's archrival for her affections; when she gets angry with Popeye for whatever goes wrong, it's usually as a result of Bluto's trickery, but Popeye always rescues her and wins back her affection in the process.

In the cartoons, she helps take care of a baby named Swee'Pea or she usually asks Popeye to take care of him if she's too busy; it's unknown if Swee'Pea is Olive Oyl's biological or adopted son. 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.

Like Popeye, there are times where Olive gains superhuman strength from eating spinach.

History

Olive Oyl is named after olive oil, used commonly in cooking or in salads.[24] 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 and Violet Oyl have appeared in the cartoons. Also among Olive's family are her two uncles, Otto (Auto) 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, and Standard Oyl, a distant relative who was an extremely wealthy corporate magnate.

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).[25] Questel styled Olive's voice and delivery after those of actress ZaSu Pitts.[26]

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.[27]

Marilyn Schreffler became the new voice of Olive when Hanna-Barbera obtained the rights to produce made-for-television Popeye cartoons for The All-New Popeye Hour in 1978. Questel auditioned to reprise her role, but was rejected in favor of Schreffler. Despite being officially replaced by Schreffler, Questel later returned to voice Olive Oyl for a 1983 commercial promoting the Popeye video game.[28]

In the 1980 musical live-action feature film Popeye, Olive is portrayed by Shelley Duvall opposite co-star Robin Williams as her lover Popeye.[29][30]

Appearance

In her Famous Studios version, Olive Oyl is given more hair, smaller feet, wider eyes, more feminine face, a tomboyish streak and a slightly less silly personality. She had black hair with a red bow. She wears a red shirt with short sleeves, black skirt with a red line on the bottom and brown tall flat boots. Olive Oyl is foolish, full of energy, enthusiasm, and the joy of living.

Personality

  • Olive Oyl is absent-minded, short-tempered, foolish, shallow, inattentive, fickle, demanding and selfish. She is usually depicted as a stereotypical "damsel-in-distress" character and often blames others for her own mistakes.
  • She frequently says "Oh, dear!" in a way that resembles film actress ZaSu Pitts.

Other media

  • In 1936, Olive Oyl appeared in Fleischer Studios' first three-strip Technicolor short Somewhere in Dreamland as the poverty-stricken mother of two barefooted waifs.
  • In the 1980 Disney live-action production directed by Robert Altman, Olive Oyl is played by actress Shelley Duvall. Shelley Duvall has mentioned that she was teased in school as Olive Oyl because of her physical resemblance to the character.
  • Olive Oyl made a non-speaking cameo in the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode "Droopy Botox".
  • In 1997, Olive Oyl appeared in the video game Popeye and the Quest For the Woolly Mammoth, voiced by Cheryl Chase.[31]
  • In 1998, Olive Oyl appeared in the video game Popeye and the Sunken Treasure, voiced again by Cheryl Chase.[31]
  • 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 2002, Olive Oyl appeared in the video game Slots from Bally Gaming, voiced by Lani Minella.[31]
  • In July 2007, a live-animation TV commercial starring Olive Oyl aired as part of an advertising campaign for Campbell Soup Company's Prego sauces. 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".
  • In The Walking Dead, Daryl Dixon calls Lori Grimes "Olive Oyl".
  • In the comic strip Bizarro, the image of Olive Oyl (or occasionally the abbreviation "O2") began appearing as one of the hidden symbols in the artwork in May 2017.

Parodies

In MAD Magazine #21 (1951), a parody of Olive called "Mazola Oil" appeared in Poopeye. Mazola supplies Poopeye with various spinach recipes to help Poopeye defeat other comic strip characters such as "Mammy Jokeum" (a parody of "Mammy Yokum" from Li'l Abner), "Melvin of the Apes" (a parody of Tarzan) and "Superduperman" (a parody of Superman). The story was reprinted in the paperback MAD Strikes Back (1962), which was later reprinted in a 50th Anniversary Edition (iBooks, Inc., New York, ISBN 0-7434-4478-7).

References

  1. "Who Is Harry Welch – and Was He Ever The Voice of Popeye?". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  2. "Popeye Records – with the mysterious Harry F. Welch". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  3. "Sing Me A Cartoon #16: More Sailor Man Rhythm". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  4. "Olive Oyl". Betty Boop Wiki. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  5. "Celebrating the 111th Birthday of "Mercer, the Popeye Man"". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  6. "Popeye Meets the Man Who Hated Laughter". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  7. "Quaker Oats". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  8. "Cherry Davis". Cherry Davis. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  9. "Popeye Saves the Earth". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  10. "Popeye Saves the Earth Promotional Video". YouTube. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  11. "Popeye and the Quest For the Wooly Mammoth". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  12. "Popeye and the Sunken Treasure". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  13. Scott, Keith. "Popeye's Bilge-Rat Barges".
  14. "Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  15. "Slots from Bally Gaming". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  16. "Boop-Oop-a-Dooin'". Betty Boop Wiki. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  17. "Voice(s) of Olive Oyl in Robot Chicken". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  18. "Prego". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  19. "The Pete Holmes Show". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
  20. "Popeye (2016)". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  21. "Fleischerei". Betty Boop Wiki. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  22. "Popeye: 10 things you never knew". Telegraph. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  23. Wheeler, Lesley (17 August 2017). Voicing American Poetry: Sound and Performance from the 1920s to the Present. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0801474422. Retrieved 17 August 2017 via Google Books.
  24. Orey, Cal (30 December 2014). The Healing Powers of Olive Oil: A Complete Guide To Nature's Liquid Gold. Kensington Books. ISBN 9781617734540. Retrieved 17 August 2017 via Google Books.
  25. Taylor, James D. (17 August 2017). The Voice of Betty Boop, Mae Questel. Algora Publishing. ISBN 9781628942422. Retrieved 17 August 2017 via Google Books.
  26. Stumpf, Charles (22 January 2010). ZaSu Pitts: The Life and Career. McFarland. ISBN 9780786460236. Retrieved 17 August 2017 via Google Books.
  27. "Mae Questel, Actress, Voice Of Betty Boop, Olive Oyl". Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  28. Taylor, James D. (2016). The Voice of Betty Boop, Mae Questel. Alford Publishing. ISBN 978-1628942408. P.135-136. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  29. LLC, New York Media (29 December 1980). "New York Magazine". New York Media, LLC. Retrieved 17 August 2017 via Google Books.
  30. Gunden, Kenneth Von (1 February 1989). Flights of Fancy: The Great Fantasy Films. McFarland. ISBN 9780786412143. Retrieved 17 August 2017 via Google Books.
  31. "Olive Oyl Voice - Popeye franchise | Behind The Voice Actors". behindthevoiceactors.com. Retrieved 16 January 2019. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources.
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