Olive Oyl

Not to be confused with Olive oil.

Olive Oyl
Olive Oyl in Little Swee' Pea (1936).
Created by	E. C. Segar
Voice actors	Bonnie Poe (Debut) Mae Questel (1933–1938,1944-the sixties) Marge Hines (1938–1943) Marilyn Schrefler (1978-her death in 1988) Shelly Duvall (Live-action film) Ginnifer Goodwin/Kristin Chenoweth (Robot Chicken) Tabitha St. Germain (The Quest for Pappy)

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.

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 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 cartoons, 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.^[1][2]

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.

History

Olive Oyl is named after olive oil, 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 Schrefler 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.

Other media

In 1936, Olive Oyl appeared in Fleischer Studios' first Technicolor short Somewhere in Dreamland as the poverty-stricken mother of two barefooted waifs.

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 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."

References

1. ^ "Robot Chicken Synopses at MROB". Mrob.com. http://www.mrob.com/pub/film-video/robot-chicken.html. Retrieved January 25, 2011. 
2. ^ "TWoP Forums > Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law". Forums.televisionwithoutpity.com. http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/lofiversion/index.php/t3113506-150.html. Retrieved January 25, 2011. 

External links

	Fictional characters portal
	United States portal

• Official Home Port of Popeye the Sailor and his Friends website