Popeye The Sailor Man

People of a certain age would look at the title of this post and think, “Ah, I remember Popeye the Sailor Man.” As it happens I am of that certain age. And yes, I do remember Popeye the Sailor Man. One of the real popular cartoons when I was a mere slip of a lad youngster. Many reading this though will now be scratching their heads and thinking, “what has Popeye the Sailor Man got to do with Chester here in the UK?” And what a good question. There will be some who already know the answer, but for those that don’t, carry on reading.

Popeye The Sailor Man

A brief bit of a background to this particular new category. In the very early days of developing this website, one of the first pages I created was “Famous People From Chester.” This page has developed over time. But it is felt that to keep up to date with famous people from Chester latest news etc; it would be better to introduce a blog category. The “Famous People From Chester” page is OK for a quick mention.

But to keep abreast of up to date snippets and so on, welcome to my new category, “Famous Chester Celebrities.” A slight change in the title, but there’s method in the madness. A duplicated category title to the original would create a conflict for one thing. And for another, there isn’t only people identified on the original page.

What do you mean, “is that right, I didn’t know that!!” You mean you haven’t read the original? Shame on you. No excuses now, the link is above. Hang your heads in shame, how could you not be aware of Brutus the Morrison’s Cat? And Boris from Chester Zoo.

Also, worth a mention is that along the way I added a post entitled “We Are Not Alone.” This wasn’t an article of any spooky or extra-terrestrial goings on. Nope, that’s not the case. Sorry ET – you’re not from Chester anyway!! No, the article is about other Chester’s in the world. Places like, for instance, Chester in Illinois in the USA. And who is one of Chester in Illinois most famous sons? Yep, you’ve got it, Popeye the Sailor Man.

Phew, I’m glad I cleared that up.

So, let’s continue.

Popeye The Sailor Man From Chester Illinois

As you’ve now no doubt sussed – Popeye the Sailor Man is from Chester, Illinois. Or, to be more precise, the cartoon character’s orginator, E.C. Segar was from Chester, Illinois. Which of course, makes Popeye himself a Chester resident. I wonder if Chester, Illinois people are known as Cestrians?

But hang on a mo, the Chester connection goes even further. And, the connection with Chester Lifestyle goes even further in a sort of tenuous way. How so? Again, carry on reading to find out more.

It is known that Popeye the Sailor Man was based on a real life Chester, Illinois character by the name of Frank Fiegel. And Frank was from Polish origins. Actually born in Poland in fact. How spooky is that, a Frank with Chester connections, with Polish origins. Now where have I come across a Chester, Polish Frank before?

Anyway, more about Frank Fiegel.

Frank “Rocky” Fiegel

Frank “Rocky” Fiegel, was born in Poland on January 27th, 1868. He died on 24th March 1947. Making him 79 when he passed away by my calculations. A good age without a doubt. Frank, was a real-life person from E.C Segar’s home town of Chester, Illinois who (like J. William Schuchert and Dora Paskel) inspired a Thimble Theatre character. In this particular instance, Popeye.

Frank Fiegel, nicknamed “Rocky”, was a well-known Chester individual. Something of a local legend (ah….that’s where the similarities end. The Polish, Chester Frank I know of isn’t a local legend), he supposedly had an inordinate strength and often liked a bit of a rough and tumble. In other words, he participated in fights. Like Popeye, he smoked a pipe and was toothless. He is also said to have been kind to children as well. It was also reported that he worked as a bit of a bouncer in local bars. Not sure if he feasted on spinach though.

Almost 50 years after his death, in 1996 in fact, his gravestone bears an engraving of Popeye’s face as he first appeared in Thimble Theatre.

A fascinating bit of Chester, Illinois history there. And who would have thought that Popeye descended from a Pole called Frank.

No doubt this category will be populated as time goes on with more updates about Famous Chester Celebrities. So watch this space as they say.

If you would like to know some more about Chester, Illinois then why not check out this link to the Chester Illinois Facebook page.

Chester Lifestyle Blog Posts

Thanks for reading my latest blog post – Popeye The Sailor Man. To see all of my other blog posts on a variety of topics, then visit HERE.

And going off on a complete tangent and as this is Chester related website. Here’s the “help support a local small business” section. 

Chester Wall Art

As this is a Chester related website, you may be looking for the ideal Chester related gift for your loved ones. If so, then have a look at my Chester section of my new Etsy store. You can find out more about my Etsy store HERE.

Plenty of originally created downloadable digital artwork for you to have a look at HERE. And, as I say, a variety of Chester related products to choose from. Go on….you know you want to!!

Simple instantly downloadable images – an ideal gift for any occasion…..

Gifts like……an instantly downloadable image of Eastgate Street as seen from the Eastgate Clock.