Popeye,
the (Polish) Sailor Man
“I am what I am and that’s all that I am.”
Many people claim the character Popeye the Sailor Man created by E.C. Segar was based on a real-life person, one of the citizens of Segar’s hometown, Chester, Illinois. The man in question is said to have been Frank ‘Rocky’ Fiegel, whose parents were both born in Poland. Because of his hardened physique, Frank was known as ‘Rocky.’ His angular jaw and familiar corn-cob pipe could have made a strong impression on the prospective cartoonist who was much younger than Rocky. The Polish American Fiegel, was born in 1868. He was said to have had a heart of gold for children, selflessly helping Chester kids, giving them money, and protecting them from bullies. This was clearly an example of Popeye’s good guy image.
In a 1979
article Chester Man Accepted as Real-Life Popeye was a Brawler, Loved Kids,
(The Southern Illinoisan newspaper) a columnist wrote.
“Fiegel, a was a
bartender and general laborer around Chester, seldom had steady work and was
often seen loafing around the town’s saloons. He lived with his mother until
she died, then continued living in the house alone …”
But it is not,
of course, the lack of regular employment that is said to have inspired E.C.
Segar. Frank Fiegel was a local brawler, famous for his fist-fighting skills
and this is where we really start seeing resemblance to the cartoon Popeye. In
the article Rocky’s nephew, recounts a story of his uncle visiting a saloon:
Whether Rocky
himself knew that he became the inspiration for Popeye is uncertain. Some say
that he learned of this only after Segar’s death in 1938. Others say Rocky
received checks from Segar on a regular basis, as a sort of thank-you for the
success of the hero based on him. What backs the story of Rocky being the
inspiration is that several early-20th-century Chester locals looked much like
other characters Segar created. Olive Oyl is said to have been modelled after
Dora Paskel, a store owner who was ‘unusually tall and thin and wore a bun at
the nape of her neck,’ as the New York Times puts it. The chubby,
hamburger-loving J. Wellington Wimpy was supposedly based on William Schuchert,
the heavyset manager of the Chester Opera House (where Segar had worked for a
while) and a known lover of burgers.
Inspiration often comes from people you meet and events in your everyday life.
Walt Disney got
the inspiration for Mickey Mouse from a tame mouse at Laugh-O-Gram Studio in
Kansas City, Missouri. He wanted to call the cartoon mouse Mortimer. His wife
disagreed and suggested the name Mickey.
Is it certain
that Segar used Frank (“Rocky”) as a model for Popeye? We just do not know.
Segar never said he did or that he did not. What is beyond any doubt is the
epitaph on Frank Fiegel’s gravestone. Fiegel passed away in 1947 and was buried
in Chester’s Saint Mary’s Catholic Cemetery with this inscription on the marker.
Frank
‘Rocky’ Fiegel
Inspiration
for Popeye the Sailor Man
Well, Blow me
down.
God Bless
America
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