Winfield Bennett Mercer (January 31, 1910 – December 7, 1984), known professionally as Jack Mercer, was an American voice actor. He is best known as the voice of cartoon characters Popeye the Sailor Man and

Felix the Cat Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in 1919 by Otto Messmer and Pat Sullivan (film producer), Pat Sullivan during the silent film era. An anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic young black cat with white eyes, a black body, and a giant grin, ...

. The son of

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

and Broadway performers, he also performed on the vaudeville and legitimate stages.

Popeye the Sailor

Mercer began his work in

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...

s as an " inbetweener", an apprentice animator at

Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () was an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures in 1942, the parent company and the distri ...

. Mercer liked to imitate voices, including one close call when he mimicked the high-pitched and loud voice of the wife of one of the Fleischers after he mistakenly thought she had left the studio. When William Costello, the original cartoon voice of Popeye (1933–1935), became difficult to work with, he was dismissed. Mercer had begun imitating Costello's interpretation of Popeye, and he practiced it until his voice "cracked" just right and he had it down. Searching for a replacement for Costello, Lou Fleischer heard Mercer singing the Popeye theme song and gave him the job of doing the voice. Mercer's first cartoon was 1935's ''King of the Mardi Gras''. Mercer voiced Popeye for more than 40 years, first for the Fleischers, then for

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

Famous Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was established as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contr ...

cartoons (1942–1957), then for a series of television cartoons for

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is an American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product License, licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, columnist, newspape ...

(1961), and finally for a Saturday-morning cartoon show (1978-1983) produced by

William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator, voice actor, and musician who is best known for co-creating ''Tom and Jerry'' and providing the vocal effects for the series' title characters. Alongside Joseph B ...

and

Joseph Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator and cartoonist, best known as the co-founder of the animation studio Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian Americans, Italian immigrants in New York City, Bar ...

. Mercer also read the lines for the opening segment of the 1980 the live action film; the film's regular role of Popeye was played by

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 comedie ...

Other voice work

Mercer also did other cartoon voices. In the ''Popeye'' cartoons he also voiced Wimpy, Poopdeck Pappy, and Popeye's nephews. For Fleischer's feature film ''

Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', originally titled ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'', is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clerg ...

'' he voiced King Little, Twinkletoes the carrier pigeon, and the bumbling spies Sneak, Snoop, and Snitch. He played supporting characters Mr. Bumble and Swat (the Fly) for Fleischer's second feature ''

Mister Bug Goes to Town ''Mr. Bug Goes to Town'' (also known as ''Hoppity Goes to Town'' and ''Bugville'') is a 1941 American animated musical comedy film produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pictures. It was the second and final feature-length film ...

''. He was also regularly cast with Pinto Colvig (who voiced Gabby from ''Gulliver's Travels'' and the spinoff '' Gabby'' film series). Mercer also played numerous supporting characters in Fleischer's ''

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

'' series of 1941–1942. Mercer's natural voice was relatively high-pitched for a man, and he was able to do some of the female voices as well. Beginning in 1958 Mercer also provided all the voices for the ''

'' TV cartoons, including The Professor and Rock Bottom, produced by former Paramount animator Joe Oriolo. Mercer later worked with Oriolo on ''

The Mighty Hercules ''The Mighty Hercules'' is an animated television series based loosely on the Greek mythology character of Heracles, under his Roman name Hercules. It debuted on television in 1963. The show ran until 1966, coinciding with the sword-and-sandal ge ...

''. In addition to his vocal talents, Mercer was also a prolific comedy writer. He wrote hundreds of scripts for various cartoon series at

, including a number of ''Popeye'' episodes, as well as for television's ''

Deputy Dawg Deputy Dawg is a Terrytoons cartoon character, featured on the animated television series of the same name that aired from 1960 to 1964. Background The character of Deputy Dawg originated in 1959 as part of a projected series entitled ''Possible ...

'' and '' Milton the Monster''. Jack Mercer appeared as himself on a 1973 episode of ''

To Tell the Truth ''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...

'', receiving one of four possible votes.

Personal life

Mercer's first wife was

Margie Hines Margaret Louise Hines (October 15, 1909 – December 23, 1985), also known as Marjorie Hines or Margie Hines, was an American animation voice artist. She was known for her work at Fleischer Studios, where she was the original voice of Betty ...

, who provided the voice of

Olive Oyl Olive Oyl is a cartoon character created by E. C. 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 ...

from 1939 to 1944.Milestone column. Time Magazine March 20, 1939
/ref>"Florida Divorce Index, 1927-2001," database, ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VK7F-LKK : 22 December 2019), Jack W Mercer and Marjorie Mercer, 1950; from "Florida Divorce Index, 1927-2001," database and images, ''Ancestry'' (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing Dade, Florida, certificate 11372, volume 517, Florida Department of Health, Jacksonville. They were divorced in 1950. He later married Virginia Caroll, and the couple remained married until Mercer's death in 1984.
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' (December 9, 1984). Retrieved March 12, 2007. Originally a resident of New York City, Mercer moved to Miami, Florida, when Fleischer Studios relocated there in 1938. After Famous Studios took over the Popeye cartoons, Mercer moved back to New York by early 1944. In the late 1970s he lived briefly in Los Angeles but moved back to New York City to live in

Woodside, Queens Woodside is a neighborhood in the western portion of the borough (New York City), borough of Queens in New York City. It is bordered on the south by Maspeth, Queens, Maspeth, on the north by Astoria, Queens, Astoria, on the west by Sunnyside, ...

Death

He died at

Lenox Hill Hospital Lenox Hill Hospital (LHH) is a nationally ranked 450 bed non-profit, Tertiary care, tertiary, research and academic medical center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, servicing the tri-state area. LHH is one of the reg ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

on December 7, 1984, after

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...

-related problems.

Filmography

Voice acting

Writer

References

External links

* *
1939 publicity photo of Mercer and Hines announcing their marriage

Jack Mercer on ''To Tell the Truth''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercer, Jack 1910 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American screenwriters American male radio actors American male voice actors American television writers Animal impersonators Animators from Indiana Deaths from stomach cancer in New York (state) Famous Studios people Fleischer Studios people Hanna-Barbera people Male actors from Queens, New York Paramount Pictures contract players Popeye People from Woodside, Queens