You got me wondering about the word 'lummox,' so I looked it up. "A clumsy and stupid person." Brutus was pretty dumb, but not so clumsy, as he gave about what he took from Popeye, at least until the spinach can was popped. The earliest usage was early 19th century, origin unknown but may have been derived from 'lummock,' meaning a large chunk of food. Hmmmm... Lummox's rhyming partner, flummox, also a word that could describe Brutus when Popeye ran circles around him, had a later origin, mid-19th century, and is also tagged with 'origin unknown.' I'd be willing to bet it comes from the word 'flummock,' meaning a large chunk of bewilderment.
Now you're hitting home in MY state. I was in a discussion with a co-worker today concerning the Popeye cartoon. I said that it was weird that Popeye and Bluto were best friends and both were, on occasion, co-sailors (nuff said), but they always fought over the ugliest, spindliest woman in town when they were in port. And that she had a child and wasn't married, well, that was even weirder in 1930's Cartoonia. Of course, Sweet Pea, turns out, was an orphan, so Olive wasn't a loose woman (though she did court two men at once). But, getting to Brutus/Bluto, we both remembered that the large oafish (lummox) character that was Popeye's friend/rival was named both, though I am still doubtful of "Brutus" as his name. What gives, mon frer? Bluto or Brutus. I'm confused. Et tu?
Bluto is the original. When the cheapo cartoons came out in the 1960's, King Featurers thought that Paramount owned the name 'Bluto,' so they changed it to Brutus. Strange, since King Features were the first to run Popeye in the strip "Thimble Theatre." There was also a cheap British version that used Brutus. Long after you or I paid any attention (the 1980's) someone came out with a comic featuring twin brothers. Guess what their names were. Yup; Bluto and Brutus. And yeah, Sweet Pea was a bastard, but whose were Peepeye, Pupeye, Pipeye and Poopeye?
5 comments:
It took me only a second (really), but I got it. Oh, it made me laff a big one.
Eat me too, Brutae...
..then again, don't.
They don't call him Brutus for nothing.
Though I always got him confused with the big lummox on "Popeye."
You got me wondering about the word 'lummox,' so I looked it up. "A clumsy and stupid person." Brutus was pretty dumb, but not so clumsy, as he gave about what he took from Popeye, at least until the spinach can was popped. The earliest usage was early 19th century, origin unknown but may have been derived from 'lummock,' meaning a large chunk of food. Hmmmm...
Lummox's rhyming partner, flummox, also a word that could describe Brutus when Popeye ran circles around him, had a later origin, mid-19th century, and is also tagged with 'origin unknown.' I'd be willing to bet it comes from the word 'flummock,' meaning a large chunk of bewilderment.
Now you're hitting home in MY state. I was in a discussion with a co-worker today concerning the Popeye cartoon. I said that it was weird that Popeye and Bluto were best friends and both were, on occasion, co-sailors (nuff said), but they always fought over the ugliest, spindliest woman in town when they were in port. And that she had a child and wasn't married, well, that was even weirder in 1930's Cartoonia.
Of course, Sweet Pea, turns out, was an orphan, so Olive wasn't a loose woman (though she did court two men at once).
But, getting to Brutus/Bluto, we both remembered that the large oafish (lummox) character that was Popeye's friend/rival was named both, though I am still doubtful of "Brutus" as his name.
What gives, mon frer? Bluto or Brutus. I'm confused.
Et tu?
Bluto is the original. When the cheapo cartoons came out in the 1960's, King Featurers thought that Paramount owned the name 'Bluto,' so they changed it to Brutus. Strange, since King Features were the first to run Popeye in the strip "Thimble Theatre." There was also a cheap British version that used Brutus. Long after you or I paid any attention (the 1980's) someone came out with a comic featuring twin brothers. Guess what their names were. Yup; Bluto and Brutus. And yeah, Sweet Pea was a bastard, but whose were Peepeye, Pupeye, Pipeye and Poopeye?
The quad were Popeye's nephews, which means he had (has) a brother or sister, neither of which I'm aware.
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