Maybe
Popeye owes his longevity to all
that vitamin-rich spinach.
The "Ugg, ugg, ugg"-ing cartoon sailorman who gets his
superior punching power by guzzling
greens from a tin can is celebrating his 75th anniversary Saturday.
King Features Syndicate, which owns the rights to Popeye, is planning
a yearlong series of events to relaunch
interest in the pipe-tooting mariner
with the outsized forearms,
including a new 3-D animated TV special written by "Mad About
You" comedian Paul Reiser.
That special is set for broadcast next holiday season.
Meanwhile, this weekend in New York City, the Empire State Building
plans to shine its tower lights green from sundown to midnight "in
honor of Popeye's enormous love of spinach," according to King
Features.
Popeye began life in 1929 in the popular "Thimble Theatre"
comic strip as a limited story
line guest. He graduated to movie
shorts, many by the renowned animator Max Fleischer.
Popeye battled everything from sassy goats to the bloated bad-guy
Bluto while pursuing the affection of girlfriend Olive Oyl. He even
appeared in a video game in the 1980s, collecting falling hearts
from his rail-shaped love.
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