The Forgotten Rhode Islander Who Was the First Voice of Popeye

Some of my earliest memories of Saturday mornings involved watching Popeye the Sailor on TV with my older brother. In those days, kids rolled out of the sack, poured a bowl of Cap'n Crunch, Frosted Flakes or Quisp, and settled down on the carpet for hours of cartoon watching.

Saturday Mornings and Spinach: A Generation Remembers

Popeye, his gal pal Olive Oyl, Swee' Pea, Wimpy (who'd gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today), Bluto (also known as Brutus), Sea Hag, Alice the Goon, Poopdeck Pappy, and the rest of the strange bunch that inhabited his world premiered decades before my time, but old black-and-white reruns and new colorized stories continued for years.

Popeye was "strong to the finich 'cuz" he ate his spinach, giving him the strength he needed just in the nick of time to defeat the bad guy and save the day.

Created by Elzie Crisler "E.C." Segar, Popeye first appeared in the King Features Comic Strip Thimble Theater in 1929. By the early 1930s, Paramount made Popeye a cartoon star.

For many years, voice actor Jack Mercer provided the voice for Popeye, but he wasn't the first to do so.

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Who Was Popeye’s First Voice Actor?

William Arnold "Billy" Costello was the voice behind the first on-screen Popeye (1933-1935). Costello was a Rhode Islander, born in Providence on February 2, 1898. Costello used the name "Red Pepper Sam" when working as a vaudeville performer.

A Legacy of "I Yam What I Yam"

To this day, I think of Popeye whenever I eat spinach. I'm sure I'm not the only kid in America whose mother coerced them into eating spinach to grow up to be big and strong like Popeye.