Popeye: the real man

Everyone knows Popeye, the man who drew his strength from spinach. Few people know, however, that the fictional character was inspired by a real man of flesh and blood, a specialist in brawling and a fixture of an American bar.

A local legend in Chester, in the United States

Frank Fiegel was born in Germany, the second of a family of seven children. He worked from a very young age, notably in the ports, where he loaded and unloaded boats. He also took on odd jobs on farms, helping with the planting and the harvests. After hard days of work, he liked to treat himself to a few beers in the local saloon. As soon as a fight broke out, he was the first to settle the dispute with a few punches. He had, it must be said, herculean strength. He often ended his evenings in the arms of an armchair on the porch of the George Gozney Saloon, a corn cob pipe in his mouth and entirely under the influence of drink.

Frank Fiegel was well known in Chester in the 1920s, particularly for his prowess in a fight. He feared nothing and no one. Children were as frightened of him as they were in awe of him. Elzie Crisler Segar, a fine cartoonist, drew on him to create a plain-speaking sailor with heavily muscled arms, a pipe in the corner of his mouth and unequalled strength.

That is how Popeye was born, his name coming from "pop" and "eye", which might be rendered as "punched-out eye". The comic strips were a real success and the big-armed sailor became a landmark character.

An unusual destiny

Frank Fiegel was a big-hearted man. He often stopped to buy sweets to hand out to the children who regularly teased him. As for romance, the famous Olive of the comic strip is also said to have been inspired by a resident of Chester. Dora Paskel was tall and slender and ran a shop in the town. Their relationship, however, remained platonic. Once Popeye's father had become famous, he regularly sent Frank cheques to thank him for having been a valuable inspiration.