The Real People Who Inspired Timeless Fictional Characters

The Real Popeye The Sailor Man

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On January 17, 1929, Elzie Crisler Segar came out with her first Popeye comic in the daily King Features comic strip. Popeye is the pipe smoking, spinach eating, muscular bad boy that grew from a small hand-drawn cartoon into a television show, advertisements, and more.

However, Segar didn’t just come up with the idea for Popeye out of thin air. She admitted that it is loosely based on a man named Frank “Rocky” Fiegel from her hometown in Chester, Illinois. He was a pipe smoking tough guy as well and Segar ended up sending him money after her success with the cartoon.

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