Olive Oyl is a cartoon character created by E. C. Segar in 1919 for his

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

Thimble Theatre Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Popeye'' after the sailor character that became the most popular member of the cast; however, Olive Oyl was a main character for a decade before Popeye's 1929 appearance.

Fictional character biography

In the strip as written by Segar, Olive was a feisty, temperamental young woman (her age varying between her late teens and 24) 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. OliveOyl and Hamgravy

Debuting on December 19, 1919, Olive was the childhood sweetheart and more-or-less fiancée of original ''Thimble Theatre'' protagonist

Harold Hamgravy Harold Hamgravy, better known as Ham Gravy, is an American comics character from the ''Thimble Theatre'' (later ''Popeye'') series, created in 1919 by E. C. Segar. Ham Gravy was the original fiancé of the better-known character Olive Oyl, but ...

, 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, leading her to (in a storyline run in mid-1928) succumb 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 Hamgravy on-and-off until Popeye's appearance. Olive and Popeye initially greeted each other with animosity (her first words to him being "take your hooks offa me or I'll lay ya in a scupper"), leading them to fight bitterly for weeks before finally realizing that they had feelings for each other. Following a series of Sunday strips run in March 1930, Popeye would definitively supersede Hamgravy as Olive's lover, a position he occupies within the comic into the present; Hamgravy had largely vanished from the daily strip six months earlier, although Popeye and Olive's relationship would nonetheless not be emphasized within the daily strip's continuity until the height of the Clint Gore story arc in January 1931. The version of Olive Oyl most widely familiar is the coyer and more nervous 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 Bluto, at times known as Brutus, 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 (later renamed ''Popeye''). Bluto made his fi ...

(aka Brutus), who is Popeye's arch-rival 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 Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either f ...

History of the character

Olive Oyl is named after

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: ...

, 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 is a fictional character, created in 1920 by cartoonist Elzie Crisler Segar for his comic strip ''Thimble Theatre'', now known as ''Popeye''. Castor Oyl is Olive Oyl's older brother, debuting in ''Thimble Theatre'' on January 14, 1 ...

, 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 Robert "Bobby" London (born June 29, 1950) is an American underground comix and mainstream comics artist. His style evokes the work of early American cartoonists like George Herriman and Elzie Crisler Segar. Biography As a child, London was "p ...

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.

Voice artists

The first two ''Popeye'' cartoons, ''

Popeye the Sailor Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.I Yam What I Yam ''I Yam What I Yam'' is the second ''Popeye'' theatrical cartoon short, starring William "Billy" Costello as Popeye, Bonnie Poe as Olive Oyl and Charles Lawrence as Wimpy. The source of the quote is the comic strip, Thimble Theatre by E. C. Se ...

'' (1933), featured Bonnie Poe as the

voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound producti ...

of Olive Oyl. She was thereafter voiced by character actress Mae Questel (who also voiced

Betty Boop Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick.Pointer (2017) She originally appeared in the ''Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleisc ...

and other characters). Questel styled Olive's voice and delivery after those of actress

ZaSu Pitts Zasu Pitts (; January 3, 1894 – June 7, 1963) was an American actress who starred in many silent dramas, including Erich von Stroheim's epic 1924 silent film ''Greed'', and comedies, transitioning successfully to mostly comedy films with the ...

. 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 King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editori ...

made-for-TV ''Popeye'' shorts in 1960. Marilyn Schreffler became the new voice of Olive when

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

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 and in the 1988 film ''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American Live-action animated film, live-action/animated comedy film, comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall (filmmaker), Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely ad ...

'' In the 1980 musical live-action feature film '' Popeye'', Olive is portrayed by Shelley Duvall opposite co-star

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

as her lover Popeye.

Appearance

In her Famous Studios appearance, Olive is given more hair, smaller feet, wider eyes, a 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 black pumps. In later animated cartoons from King Features and Hanna-Barbera, while they would occasionally retain aspects of her Famous Studios incarnation, such as her hairstyles, Olive generally reverted to her original pinned-back with a bun hairdo and tall flat brown boots. In four of her theatrical appearances, ''Wotta Nitemare'' from the Fleischer era and the remaining three produced under Famous Studios, she wears sandals bare-footed throughout - in the case of ''Wotta Nitemare'', in a dream Popeye has where he envisions her as a wholesome angel. She notably appears especially passionate and more willing to confront Bluto herself in said appearances, implying having her toes in the open reinforces her invigorating side.

Personality

* Olive Oyl is absent-minded, sweet, flirtatious, short-tempered, romantic, headstrong, foolish, shallow, pompous, sassy, inattentive, fickle, demanding, and selfish. She is usually depicted as a stereotypical "damsel-in-distress" character and often blames others for her own mistakes when confronted. * She frequently says "Oh, dear!" in a way that resembles film actress

Other media

* In 1936, Olive Oyl appeared in Fleischer Studios' first three-strip Technicolor short ''

Somewhere in Dreamland ''Somewhere in Dreamland'' is a 1936 animated short in Max Fleischer's Color Classics series. The film was produced by Max Fleischer, directed by Dave Fleischer, co-directed by Dawn Fleischer, and was animated by Fleischer veterans Seymour Kneite ...

'' 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. * In 1998, Olive Oyl appeared in the video game ''Popeye and the Sunken Treasure'', voiced again by Cheryl Chase. * 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 Popeye, Bluto, and Wimpy) was going to have a cameo in ''

'', 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. * In July 2007, a live-animation TV commercial starring Olive Oyl aired as part of an advertising campaign for Campbell Soup Company's

Prego Prego (Italian for "You're welcome!") is a trade mark brand name pasta sauce of Campbell Soup Company. It was introduced internationally in 1981. Varieties Prego offers many different varieties. The traditional pasta sauce is available in nine ...

sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...

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 Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining ...

mentions Olive Oyl in the song "I'm On One". * In ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original ser ...

'', Pam Beesly (portrayed by Jenna Fischer) dresses up as Olive Oyl during the season 7 episode " Costume Contest". * 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 Mad, mad, or MAD may refer to: Geography * Mad (village), a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia * Mád, a village in Hungary * Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, by IATA airport code * Mad River (disambiguation), several ...

'' #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, ).

References

External links

Popeye: The Home of Popeye the Sailor Man
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oyl, Olive Animated human characters Comics characters introduced in 1919 Female characters in comics Female characters in animation Popeye characters