Greetings from the Pyongyang Public Library here in Pyongyang, North Korea, (not really where I am at), where I wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day even though I personally despise this day with a passion.
Today, we thought we'd send Happy Valentine's Day greetings from Popeye who won over his love Olive Oyl the old-fashioned way by beating up his rival Bluto after taking in several cans of spinach. Obviously, doing such things in the real world can lead one to spend a night at the Mecklenberg County jail in Charlotte, NC.
There are at least two statues of Popeye in the United States: one is in Crystal City, Texas, and the other is in Chester, Illinois.
We actually have a vinyl copy of the above-pictured record which was originally released in the 1960s, though we got our particular copy as kids in the 1970s.
The cast of the record includes Jack Mercer as Popeye, Mae Questel as Olive Oyl and Jackson Beck as Bluto.
The original Popeye comic strips were released in 1919. The first cartoons came out in 1933. And, a film version directed by the late, great Robert Altman came out in 1980 with Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall in the title roles. Alas, the film did not get good reviews.
But, reportedly, a merry-do-round from the set of that film is a tourist destination in Malta, where the movie was filmed!
SIDEBAR: Tonight, in honor of Valentine's Day, Turner Classic Movies is showing the vintage Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musical "Top Hat" at 8:00 p.m., New York time.
Sidebar Two: The answer to our Rabbit Ears Quiz is D) 66, that is the age of Burt Ward who played Robin in the original "Batman" tv show in the 1960s.
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