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Blondie (comic strip)
Encyclopedia
Blondie is an American
comic strip
created by cartoonist
Chic Young
. Distributed by King Features Syndicate
, the strip has been published in newspapers since September 8, 1930. The success of the strip, which features a well-endowed blonde and her sandwich-loving husband, led to the long-running Blondie
film series (1938–1950) and the popular Blondie
radio program (1939–1950).
Chic Young drew Blondie until his death in 1973, when creative control passed to his son Dean Young, who continues to write the strip. Young has collaborated with a number of artists on Blondie, including Jim Raymond
, Mike Gersher
, Stan Drake
, Denis Lebrun
and currently, John Marshall
. Through these changes, Blondie has remained popular, appearing in more than 2000 newspapers in 47 countries and translated into 35 languages. Since 2006, Blondie has also been available via email through King Features' DailyINK service.
girl who spent her days in dance hall
s. The name "Boopadoop" derives from the flapper catchphrase popularized by Helen Kane
in the 1928 song "I Wanna Be Loved by You" (with its tag line, "boop-boop-a-doop") and which was referenced for the flapper cartoon character named Betty Boop
, who first appeared in 1930 and was seen in her own King Features comic strip, drawn by Bud Counihan from 1934 to 1937.
, the son of a wealthy industrialist. Unfortunately, Dagwood's upper-crust parents strongly disapprove of his marrying beneath his class, and disinherit him. The check Dagwood uses to pay for his honeymoon bounces, and the Bumsteads are forced to become a middle-class suburban family. The catalog for the University of Florida's 2005 exhibition, "75 Years of Blondie, 1930-2005", notes:
," according to the August 1946 issue of The Joplin Globe
, citing Chic Young.
The Bumstead family has grown, with the addition of a son named Alexander (originally "Baby Dumpling") on April 15, 1934, a daughter named Cookie on April 11, 1941, a dog, Daisy, and her litter of five unnamed pups. In the 1960s, Cookie and Alexander grew into teenagers (who uncannily resemble their parents), but they stopped growing during the 1960s when Young realized that they had to remain teenagers to maintain the family situation structured into the strip for so many decades.
Dagwood slaves away at the office of the J. C. Dithers Construction Company under his dictatorial boss — Julius Caesar Dithers. Mr. Dithers is a "sawed-off, tin pot Napoleon" who is always abusing his employees, both verbally and physically. He frequently threatens to fire Dagwood when Dagwood inevitably botches or does not finish his work, sleeps on the job, comes in late, or pesters Dithers for a raise. Dithers characteristically responds by kicking Dagwood theatrically, and ordering him back to work. The tyrannical Dithers is lord and master over all he surveys, with one notable exception — his formidable and domineering wife, Cora.
Blondie and Dagwood's best friends are their next-door neighbors Herb and Tootsie Woodley, (although Dagwood and Herb's friendship is frequently volatile.) Lou is the burly, tattooed owner of Lou's Diner, the less-than-five-star establishment where Dagwood often eats during his lunch hour. Other regular supporting characters include the long-suffering mailman, Mr. Beasley, Elmo Tuttle, a pesky neighborhood kid who often asks Dagwood to play, and a never-ending parade of overbearing door-to-door salesmen.
There are several running gag
s in Blondie, reflecting the trend after Chic Young
's death for the strip to focus almost entirely on Dagwood as the lead character:
, Colonel Potterby and the Duchess, a pantomime strip displayed beneath Blondie each Sunday.
Dagwood no longer wears a hat when he goes to work, nor does Blondie wear her previous hat and gloves when leaving the house. Although some bedroom and bathroom scenes still show him in polka-dot boxer shorts, Dagwood no longer wears a bow-tie, or garters to hold up his socks. Around the house, he frequently wears sport shirts, and his standard dress shirt with one large button in the middle is slowly disappearing. Around the house, Blondie often wears slacks, and she is no longer depicted as a housewife since she teamed with Tootsie Woodley to launch a catering
business in 1991. Dagwood still knocks heads with his boss, Mr. Dithers, but now he does it in a more modern office at J.C. Dithers Construction Company. Their desk computers sport flat panel monitors, and Mr. Dithers, when in a rage, now attempts to smash his laptop into Dagwood's head instead of his old manual typewriter. The staff no longer punches in at a mechanical "time clock", nor do they wear green eyeshades and plastic "sleeve protectors". Telephones have changed from candlestick style to more modern dial phones, to Touch-Tone and on to cellphones. Dagwood now begins each morning racing to meet his carpool
rather than chasing after a missed streetcar or city bus. Even Mr. Beasley, the mail carrier, now dresses in short-sleeve shirts and walking shorts, rather than the military-style uniform of days gone by.
During the late 1990s and 2000–2001, Alexander worked part-time after high school at the order counter of a fast food restaurant, the Burger Barn. There are still occasional references to Cookie and her babysitting. Daisy, who once had a litter of puppies that lived with the family is now the only dog seen in the Bumstead household. Cookie and Alexander can be seen in modern clothing trends and sometimes use cellphones, reference current television shows and social networking site, while talking about attending rock concerts of popular current Rock, Pop, and Hip Hop
music acts.
Dagwood sometimes breaks the fourth wall
by delivering the punchline to the strip while looking directly at the reader, as in the above panel. Daisy occasionally does the same, though her remarks are limited to "?" and "!" with either a puzzled or a pained expression.
Recent strips have included references to recent developments in technology and communication, such as Facebook
, Twitter
, email
and text messaging
.
, Garfield
, Beetle Bailey
and Hägar the Horrible
, made appearances in Blondie. The strip Pearls Before Swine
made fun of the fact that their cast was not invited, and decided to invite themselves. This cross-over promotion began July 10, 2005, and continued until September 4, 2005.
. Beginning with Blondie
in 1938, the series lasted 12 years, through Beware of Blondie (1950). The two major roles were Penny Singleton
as Blondie and Arthur Lake
(whose first starring role was another comic strip character, Harold Teen
) as Dagwood. Faithfulness to the comic strip was a major concern of the creators of the series. Little touches were added that were iconic to the strip, like the appearance of Dagwood's famous sandwiches — and the running gag of Dagwood colliding with the mailman amid a flurry of letters, (which preceded the title sequence in almost every film).
As the series progressed, the Bumstead children grew from toddlers to young adults onscreen. Larry Simms as Baby Dumpling (later known as Alexander) reprised his role in all the films. Daughter Cookie was played by three different child actresses, beginning in 1942 with her first appearance (as an infant) in Blondie's Blessed Event, the eleventh entry in the series. Daisy had pups in the 12th episode, Blondie For Victory (1942). Rounding out the regular supporting cast, character actor Jonathan Hale
played Dagwood's irascible boss, J.C. Dithers (succeeded by Jerome Cowan
as George M. Radcliffe in Blondie's Big Moment). The Bumsteads' neighbors, the Woodleys, did not appear in the series until the final film, Beware of Blondie. They were played by Emory Parnell
and Isabel Withers.
radio program had a long run spanning several networks. Initially a 1939 summer replacement program for The Eddie Cantor Show
(sponsored by Camel Cigarettes), Blondie was heard on CBS until June 1944, when it moved briefly to NBC. Returning to CBS later that year, Blondie continued there under a new sponsor (Colgate-Palmolive
) until June 1949. In its final season, the series was heard on ABC from October 1949 to July 1950.
TV special featuring the characters was shown in 1987, with a second special, Second Wedding Workout, telecast in 1989. Blondie was voiced by Loni Anderson
, Dagwood by Frank Welker
. Both animated specials are available on the fourth DVD of the Advantage Cartoon Mega Pack.
animated Film, "Garfield Gets Real
". He first appeared in the cafeteria scene in which he is holding a sandwich. He was later seen behind a folding door taking a bath. He appeared in the auditorium scene watching Garfield and Odie. He finally appeared in a crowd cheering Garfield and Odie. He did not appear in the sequels, Garfield's Fun Fest
or Garfield's Pet Force.
issued two collectible figures of Dagwood and Blondie as part of their line of Classic Comic Characters — statues #19 and 20 respectively.
A counter-service restaurant called Blondie's opened at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure
in May 1999, and serves a traditional Dagwood-style sandwich. In fact, Blondie's bills itself as "Home of the Dagwood Sandwich." Lunch meats can be purchased at grocery stores featuring Dagwood and an assortment of meats.
On May 11, 2006, Dean Young announced the opening of the first of his Dagwood's Sandwich Shoppes over the coming summer in Clearwater, Florida
, and the comic strip characters discussed the notion of Dagwood opening his own sandwich shop. The official Dagwood sandwich served at Dagwood's Sandwich Shoppes has these ingredients: three slices of deli bread, hard salami, pepperoni, cappicola, mortadella
, deli ham, cotto salami, cheddar, Provolone
, red onion, green leaf lettuce, tomato, fresh and roasted red bell peppers, mayo, mustard and a secret Italian olive salad oil.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
created by cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
Chic Young
Chic Young
Murat Bernard Young , better known as Chic Young, was an American cartoonist who created the popular, long-running comic strip Blondie. His 1919 William McKinley High School Yearbook cites his nickname as Chicken, source of his familiar pen name and signature...
. Distributed by King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers worldwide...
, the strip has been published in newspapers since September 8, 1930. The success of the strip, which features a well-endowed blonde and her sandwich-loving husband, led to the long-running Blondie
Blondie (film)
Blondie is a 1938 movie directed by Frank Strayer, based on the comic strip of the same name. The screenplay was written by Chic Young and Richard Flournoy....
film series (1938–1950) and the popular Blondie
Blondie (radio)
Blondie is a radio situation comedy adapted from the long-run Blondie comic strip by Chic Young. The radio program had a long run on several networks from 1939 to 1950....
radio program (1939–1950).
Chic Young drew Blondie until his death in 1973, when creative control passed to his son Dean Young, who continues to write the strip. Young has collaborated with a number of artists on Blondie, including Jim Raymond
Jim Raymond
Jim Raymond was a comic strip artist and the younger brother of Flash Gordon artist Alex Raymond.-Biography:Born in New Rochelle, New York, Raymond's first cartoons were published in his high school newspaper...
, Mike Gersher
Mike Gersher
Mike Gersher was formerly an artist on the Blondie comic strip. He started being credited as the head artist in late December 1981, after the death of the long serving Jim Raymond. Gersher had assisted Raymond for about seventeen years, although it is not known what exactly contributions he made...
, Stan Drake
Stan Drake
Stanley Albert Drake was an American cartoonist best known as the founding artist of the comic strip The Heart of Juliet Jones....
, Denis Lebrun
Denis Lebrun
Denis Lebrun is a comic strip artist best known for his collaboration with Dean Young on the Blondie comic strip.-Comic strips:...
and currently, John Marshall
John Marshall (cartoonist)
John Marshall is an American cartoonist, best known as the artist of the Blondie comic strip since 2005. He works closely with scripter Dean Young, son of the strip's creator, Chic Young....
. Through these changes, Blondie has remained popular, appearing in more than 2000 newspapers in 47 countries and translated into 35 languages. Since 2006, Blondie has also been available via email through King Features' DailyINK service.
Overview
Originally designed to follow in the footsteps of Young's earlier "pretty girl" creations Beautiful Bab and Dumb Dora, Blondie focused on the adventures of Blondie Boopadoop — a carefree flapperFlapper
Flapper in the 1920s was a term applied to a "new breed" of young Western women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior...
girl who spent her days in dance hall
Dance hall
Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub...
s. The name "Boopadoop" derives from the flapper catchphrase popularized by Helen Kane
Helen Kane
Helen Kane was an American popular singer; her signature song was "I Wanna Be Loved By You". Kane's voice and appearance were a likely source for Fleischer Studios animator Grim Natwick when creating Betty Boop, although It-girl Clara Bow is another possible influence.-Early life:Born as Helen...
in the 1928 song "I Wanna Be Loved by You" (with its tag line, "boop-boop-a-doop") and which was referenced for the flapper cartoon character named Betty Boop
Betty Boop
Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick. She originally appeared in the Talkartoon and Betty Boop film series, which were produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pictures. She has also been featured in...
, who first appeared in 1930 and was seen in her own King Features comic strip, drawn by Bud Counihan from 1934 to 1937.
Marriage
On February 17, 1933, after much fanfare and build-up, Blondie Boopadoop marries her boyfriend Dagwood BumsteadDagwood Bumstead
Dagwood Bumstead is a main character in comic artist Chic Young's long-running comic strip Blondie. He first appeared sometime prior to 17 February 1933....
, the son of a wealthy industrialist. Unfortunately, Dagwood's upper-crust parents strongly disapprove of his marrying beneath his class, and disinherit him. The check Dagwood uses to pay for his honeymoon bounces, and the Bumsteads are forced to become a middle-class suburban family. The catalog for the University of Florida's 2005 exhibition, "75 Years of Blondie, 1930-2005", notes:
- Blondie's marriage marked the beginning of a change in her personality. From that point forward, she gradually assumed her position as the sensible head of the Bumstead household. And Dagwood, who previously had been cast in the role of straight man to Blondie's comic antics, took over as the comic strip's clown.
Setting
"Dagwood Bumstead and family, including Daisy and the pups, live in the suburbs of Joplin, MissouriJoplin, Missouri
Joplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the US state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 50,150...
," according to the August 1946 issue of The Joplin Globe
The Joplin Globe
The Joplin Globe is a seven-day daily newspaper published in Joplin, Missouri, USA, covering parts of 14 counties in southwestern Missouri. Since 2002, it has been owned by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc....
, citing Chic Young.
Cast of characters
- Blondie Bumstead (née Boopadoop): The eponymous leading lady of the comic strip. Blondie is a smart, sweet and responsible woman. She can be stressed at times when raising her family and because of Dagwood's antics and despite being usually laid-back and patient, Blondie does have a fiery temper when crossed.
- Dagwood BumsteadDagwood BumsteadDagwood Bumstead is a main character in comic artist Chic Young's long-running comic strip Blondie. He first appeared sometime prior to 17 February 1933....
: Blondie's husband. A kind yet naïve man whose cartoonish antics are the basis for the strip. He is a big fan of football and has a large, insatiable appetite for food. His continuous antagonistic and comical confrontations with his boss Mr. Dithers, for numerous reasons including laziness and silly mistakes,is a subplot that gets considerable attention in the strip. Another subplot deals with Bumstead and his neighbor Herb. He can also often be seen napping on his couch. - Alexander Bumstead: the eldest child of Blondie and Dagwood who is in his late teens, formerly referred to by pet name "Baby Dumpling". As a child, he was very mischievous and precocious.
- Cookie Bumstead: the younger child of Blondie and Dagwood who is her early teens. Cookie is portrayed as a typical teenage girl whose interests include dating, hanging out with friends and clothes.
- Daisy and her five pups (though the pups are seldom seen in recent years)
- Mr. Beasley the postman
- Mr. (Julius Caesar) Dithers
- Mrs. (Cora) Dithers
- Herb Woodley
- Tootsie Woodley
- Elmo Tuttle
- Lou the diner counterman
The Bumstead family has grown, with the addition of a son named Alexander (originally "Baby Dumpling") on April 15, 1934, a daughter named Cookie on April 11, 1941, a dog, Daisy, and her litter of five unnamed pups. In the 1960s, Cookie and Alexander grew into teenagers (who uncannily resemble their parents), but they stopped growing during the 1960s when Young realized that they had to remain teenagers to maintain the family situation structured into the strip for so many decades.
Dagwood slaves away at the office of the J. C. Dithers Construction Company under his dictatorial boss — Julius Caesar Dithers. Mr. Dithers is a "sawed-off, tin pot Napoleon" who is always abusing his employees, both verbally and physically. He frequently threatens to fire Dagwood when Dagwood inevitably botches or does not finish his work, sleeps on the job, comes in late, or pesters Dithers for a raise. Dithers characteristically responds by kicking Dagwood theatrically, and ordering him back to work. The tyrannical Dithers is lord and master over all he surveys, with one notable exception — his formidable and domineering wife, Cora.
Blondie and Dagwood's best friends are their next-door neighbors Herb and Tootsie Woodley, (although Dagwood and Herb's friendship is frequently volatile.) Lou is the burly, tattooed owner of Lou's Diner, the less-than-five-star establishment where Dagwood often eats during his lunch hour. Other regular supporting characters include the long-suffering mailman, Mr. Beasley, Elmo Tuttle, a pesky neighborhood kid who often asks Dagwood to play, and a never-ending parade of overbearing door-to-door salesmen.
Running gags
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
s in Blondie, reflecting the trend after Chic Young
Chic Young
Murat Bernard Young , better known as Chic Young, was an American cartoonist who created the popular, long-running comic strip Blondie. His 1919 William McKinley High School Yearbook cites his nickname as Chicken, source of his familiar pen name and signature...
's death for the strip to focus almost entirely on Dagwood as the lead character:
- Dagwood often collides with Mr. Beasley the mailman while running out the front door — late for work.
- Other variations of the late-for-work gag: Dagwood keeping his car pool waiting, running after their car or stuck in traffic. In earlier decades, he had been late for the bus or, even earlier in the strip's run, late for the streetcar.
- The famous, impossibly tall sandwichesSandwiches"Sandwiches" is a song by American electronic band Detroit Grand Pubahs. It reached number 29 in the Hot Dance Club Songs chart.- Track listing :...
Dagwood fixes for himself, which came to be known colloquially as the "Dagwood sandwichDagwood sandwichA Dagwood sandwich is a tall, multi-layered sandwich made with a variety of meats, cheeses and condiments. It was named after Dagwood Bumstead, a central character in the comic strip Blondie, who is frequently illustrated making enormous sandwiches...
". - Dagwood in his pajamas, having a midnight snack — with most of the refrigerator contents spread out on the kitchen table, (or balanced precariously on his extended arms, on the way to the table.)
- Dagwood's propensity to nap on the couch during the day, often interrupted by Elmo, who wants to ask him a question; or Blondie, who has a chore she wants him to do.
- Dagwood singing in the bathtub, or interrupted (usually by family members or Elmo) while he's trying to relax in the tub.
- Dagwood contends with brazen or obnoxious salesmen at his door, selling undesirable or impossible-looking items.
- A variation of the above, has the salesmen calling on the telephone.
- Dagwood and Herb Woodley spending some weekend time together, which usually escalates into a brawl.
- Dagwood demanding a raise from Dithers, and failing to get it every time.
- Dagwood caught goofing off or sleeping at his desk in the office.
- Mr. Dithers firing Dagwood for being incompetent, or physically booting him out of his office.
- Dagwood getting a menu suggestion from Lou, the wry, blunt and/or sarcastic diner counterman.
- The Christmas shopping gag, where Dagwood is shown carrying Christmas packages that completely cover up his face and upper body.
- Herb borrowing small items—tools, small appliances, books and (more recently) videos—from Dagwood, then never returning them. Occasionally, Herb will loan a borrowed item to a third party, which is then usually passed on to a fourth, fifth, etc.
- Dagwood's hobby is household carpentryFurnitureFurniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
, but unfortunately his projects don't turn out well. Once, he builds a small cabinet for Blondie, actually accomplishing all construction steps perfectly; but the result still fails because it doesn't fit in the space Blondie intended for it.
Colonel Potterby and the Duchess
From 1935 to 1963, Young also drew a topperTopper (comic strip)
A topper in comic strip parlance is a small secondary strip seen along with a larger Sunday strip. In the 1920s and 1930s, leading cartoonists were given full pages in the Sunday comics sections, allowing them to add smaller strips and single-panel cartoons to their page.Toppers usually were drawn...
, Colonel Potterby and the Duchess, a pantomime strip displayed beneath Blondie each Sunday.
Modernization
While the distinctive look and running gags of Blondie have been carefully preserved through the decades, a number of details have been altered to keep up with changing times. The Bumstead kitchen, which remained essentially unchanged from the 1930s through the 1960s has slowly acquired a more modern look (no more legs on the gas range and no more refrigerators shown with the motor on the top).Catering
Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house , or other location.-Mobile catering:A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose...
business in 1991. Dagwood still knocks heads with his boss, Mr. Dithers, but now he does it in a more modern office at J.C. Dithers Construction Company. Their desk computers sport flat panel monitors, and Mr. Dithers, when in a rage, now attempts to smash his laptop into Dagwood's head instead of his old manual typewriter. The staff no longer punches in at a mechanical "time clock", nor do they wear green eyeshades and plastic "sleeve protectors". Telephones have changed from candlestick style to more modern dial phones, to Touch-Tone and on to cellphones. Dagwood now begins each morning racing to meet his carpool
Carpool
Carpooling , is the sharing of car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car....
rather than chasing after a missed streetcar or city bus. Even Mr. Beasley, the mail carrier, now dresses in short-sleeve shirts and walking shorts, rather than the military-style uniform of days gone by.
During the late 1990s and 2000–2001, Alexander worked part-time after high school at the order counter of a fast food restaurant, the Burger Barn. There are still occasional references to Cookie and her babysitting. Daisy, who once had a litter of puppies that lived with the family is now the only dog seen in the Bumstead household. Cookie and Alexander can be seen in modern clothing trends and sometimes use cellphones, reference current television shows and social networking site, while talking about attending rock concerts of popular current Rock, Pop, and Hip Hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
music acts.
Dagwood sometimes breaks the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
by delivering the punchline to the strip while looking directly at the reader, as in the above panel. Daisy occasionally does the same, though her remarks are limited to "?" and "!" with either a puzzled or a pained expression.
Recent strips have included references to recent developments in technology and communication, such as Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
and text messaging
Text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
.
75th anniversary
In 2005, the strip celebrated its 75th anniversary with an extended story arc in which characters from other strips, including CurtisCurtis (comic strip)
Curtis is a nationally syndicated comic strip written and illustrated by Ray Billingsley. It began on October 3, 1988 and is syndicated by King Features....
, Garfield
Garfield
Garfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis. Published since June 19, 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character, the cat Garfield ; his owner, Jon Arbuckle; and Arbuckle's dog, Odie...
, Beetle Bailey
Beetle Bailey
Beetle Bailey is an American comic strip set in a fictional United States Army military post, created by cartoonist Mort Walker. It is among the oldest comic strips still being produced by the original creator...
and Hägar the Horrible
Hägar the Horrible
Hägar the Horrible is the title and main character of an American comic strip created by cartoonist Dik Browne , and syndicated by King Features Syndicate. It first appeared in February 1973, and was an immediate success. Since Browne's retirement in 1988 , his son Chris Browne has continued the...
, made appearances in Blondie. The strip Pearls Before Swine
Pearls Before Swine (comic strip)
Pearls Before Swine is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Stephan Pastis, who was formerly a lawyer in San Francisco, California. It chronicles the daily lives of four anthropomorphic animals, Pig, Rat, Zebra, and Goat, as well as a number of supporting characters...
made fun of the fact that their cast was not invited, and decided to invite themselves. This cross-over promotion began July 10, 2005, and continued until September 4, 2005.
Awards
- In 1948, Chic Young's work on the strip won him the National Cartoonists SocietyNational Cartoonists SocietyThe National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...
's Billy DeBeck Award for Cartoonist of the Year. When the award name was renamed the Reuben Award in 1954, all the prior winners were given Reuben statuettes. - In 1995, the strip was one of 20 included in the Comic Strip ClassicsComic Strip ClassicsThe Comic Strip Classics series of commemorative postage stamps was issued by the US Postal Service in 1995 to honor the centennial of the newspaper comic strip....
series of United States Postal ServiceUnited States Postal ServiceThe United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
commemorative postage stamps.
Comic books
- Chic Young's Blondie (1947–1949) David McKay/King Comics, 15 issues
- Dagwood Splits the Atom (1949) King Features (Public services giveaway)
- Blondie Comics Monthly (1950–1965) Harvey Publications, 148 issues
- Chic Young's Dagwood Comics (1950–1965) Harvey, 140 issues
- Daisy and Her Pups (1951–1954) Harvey, 18 issues
- Blondie & Dagwood Family (1963–1965) Harvey, four issues
- Chic Young's Blondie (1965–1966) King ComicsKing ComicsKing Comics, a short-lived comic book imprint of King Features Syndicate, was an attempt by King Features to publish comics of its own characters, rather than through other publishers. The line ran for approximately a year-and-a-half, with its series cover-dated from August 1966 to December 1967...
, 12 issues - Blondie (1969–1976) Charlton ComicsCharlton ComicsCharlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...
, 46 issues
Film
Blondie was adapted into a long-running series of 28 low-budget theatrical B-features, produced by Columbia PicturesColumbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
. Beginning with Blondie
Blondie (film)
Blondie is a 1938 movie directed by Frank Strayer, based on the comic strip of the same name. The screenplay was written by Chic Young and Richard Flournoy....
in 1938, the series lasted 12 years, through Beware of Blondie (1950). The two major roles were Penny Singleton
Penny Singleton
Penny Singleton was an American film actress. Born Marianna Dorothy Agnes Letitia McNulty in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania she was the daughter of an Irish-American newspaperman Benny McNulty — from whom she received the nickname "Penny" because she was "as bright as a penny".During her sixty...
as Blondie and Arthur Lake
Arthur Lake (actor)
Arthur Lake was an American actor known best for bringing Dagwood Bumstead, the bumbling husband of Blondie, to life in film, radio and television.-Early life and career:...
(whose first starring role was another comic strip character, Harold Teen
Harold Teen
Harold Teen was a popular, long-running comic strip written and drawn by Carl Ed . Publisher Joseph Medill Patterson may have suggested, and certainly approved, the strip's concept, loosely based on Booth Tarkington's successful novel Seventeen. Asked in the late 1930s why he had started the strip,...
) as Dagwood. Faithfulness to the comic strip was a major concern of the creators of the series. Little touches were added that were iconic to the strip, like the appearance of Dagwood's famous sandwiches — and the running gag of Dagwood colliding with the mailman amid a flurry of letters, (which preceded the title sequence in almost every film).
As the series progressed, the Bumstead children grew from toddlers to young adults onscreen. Larry Simms as Baby Dumpling (later known as Alexander) reprised his role in all the films. Daughter Cookie was played by three different child actresses, beginning in 1942 with her first appearance (as an infant) in Blondie's Blessed Event, the eleventh entry in the series. Daisy had pups in the 12th episode, Blondie For Victory (1942). Rounding out the regular supporting cast, character actor Jonathan Hale
Jonathan Hale
Jonathan Hale was a Canadian-born film and television actor.-Career:Born Jonathan Hatley in Ontario, Canada, Hale was well known as Dagwood Bumstead's boss, Julius Caesar Dithers, in the Blondie film series in the 1940s. He is also notable for playing Inspector Farnack in various The Saint films...
played Dagwood's irascible boss, J.C. Dithers (succeeded by Jerome Cowan
Jerome Cowan
Jerome Palmer Cowan was an American film and television actor. At eighteen he joined a travelling stock company, shortly afterwards enlisting in the navy in World War I. After the war he returned to the stage and became a vaudeville headliner, then gained success on the New York stage...
as George M. Radcliffe in Blondie's Big Moment). The Bumsteads' neighbors, the Woodleys, did not appear in the series until the final film, Beware of Blondie. They were played by Emory Parnell
Emory Parnell
Emory Parnell was an American vaudevillian and actor who appeared in over 250 films in his 36 year career...
and Isabel Withers.
- Blondie (1938)
- Blondie Meets the Boss (1939)
- Blondie Takes a Vacation (1939)
- Blondie Brings Up Baby (1939)
- Blondie on a Budget (1940)
- Blondie Has Servant Trouble (1940)
- Blondie Plays Cupid (1940)
- Blondie Goes Latin (1941)
- Blondie in Society (1941)
- Blondie Goes to College (1942)
- Blondie's Blessed Event (1942)
- Blondie for Victory (1942)
- It's a Great Life (1943)
- Footlight Glamour (1943)
- Leave It to Blondie (1945)
- Life with Blondie (1946)
- Blondie's Lucky Day (1946)
- Blondie Knows Best (1946)
- Blondie's Big Moment (1947)
- Blondie's Holiday (1947)
- Blondie in the Dough (1947)
- Blondie's Anniversary (1947)
- Blondie's Reward (1948)
- Blondie's Secret (1948)
- Blondie's Big Deal (1949)
- Blondie Hits the Jackpot (1949)
- Blondie's Hero (1950)
- Beware of Blondie (1950)
Radio
Singleton and Lake reprised their film roles for radio; the BlondieBlondie (radio)
Blondie is a radio situation comedy adapted from the long-run Blondie comic strip by Chic Young. The radio program had a long run on several networks from 1939 to 1950....
radio program had a long run spanning several networks. Initially a 1939 summer replacement program for The Eddie Cantor Show
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
(sponsored by Camel Cigarettes), Blondie was heard on CBS until June 1944, when it moved briefly to NBC. Returning to CBS later that year, Blondie continued there under a new sponsor (Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American diversified multinational corporation focused on the production, distribution and provision of household, health care and personal products, such as soaps, detergents, and oral hygiene products . Under its "Hill's" brand, it is also a manufacturer of...
) until June 1949. In its final season, the series was heard on ABC from October 1949 to July 1950.
Television
Two Blondie TV sitcoms have been produced to date, each lasting only one season.- The first ran on NBC for 26 episodes in 1957, with Lake reprising his film and radio role and Pamela BrittonPamela BrittonPamela Britton was an American actress best known for appearing as "Loralee Brown" in the television series My Favorite Martian . She also starred in the film noir classic D.O.A. .-Early career:...
as Blondie. - The secondBlondie (1968 TV series)Blondie is a short-lived American sitcom that aired on CBS during the 1968-1969 television season. The series is an updated version of the 1957 TV series that was based on the comic strip of the same name. The series starred Will Hutchins as Dagwood Bumstead and Jim Backus as his boss Mr...
, broadcast on CBS in the 1968–69 season, had Patricia Harty and Will HutchinsWill HutchinsWill Hutchins is an American actor most noted for playing the lead role of the young lawyer Tom Brewster in the Warner Brothers Western television series Sugarfoot on ABC from 1957-1961.-Biography:...
in the lead roles and veteran comic actor Jim BackusJim BackusJames Gilmore "Jim" Backus was a radio, television, film, and voice actor. Among his most famous roles are the voice of Mr...
portraying Mr. Dithers.
Animation
An animated cartoonAnimated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
TV special featuring the characters was shown in 1987, with a second special, Second Wedding Workout, telecast in 1989. Blondie was voiced by Loni Anderson
Loni Anderson
Loni Kaye Anderson is an American actress who played the role of Jennifer Marlowe on the television sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati.- Early life :...
, Dagwood by Frank Welker
Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
. Both animated specials are available on the fourth DVD of the Advantage Cartoon Mega Pack.
Garfield Gets Real
Dagwood appeared in the CGIComputer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
animated Film, "Garfield Gets Real
Garfield Gets Real
Garfield Gets Real is a 1999 CGI movie starring Garfield. It was produced by Paws, Inc. in cooperation with Davis Entertainment and The Animation Picture Company and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It was written by Garfield's creator Jim Davis, who started working on the script in the fall of 1996...
". He first appeared in the cafeteria scene in which he is holding a sandwich. He was later seen behind a folding door taking a bath. He appeared in the auditorium scene watching Garfield and Odie. He finally appeared in a crowd cheering Garfield and Odie. He did not appear in the sequels, Garfield's Fun Fest
Garfield's Fun Fest
Garfield's Fun Fest is a 2008 CGI movie starring Garfield. It was produced by Paws, Inc. in cooperation with The Animation Picture Company and distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. It was written by Garfield's creator Jim Davis as a sequel to Garfield Gets Real in 1999. The DVD...
or Garfield's Pet Force.
Licensing
Over the years, Blondie characters have been merchandised as dolls, coloring books, toys, salt and pepper shakers, paint sets, paper doll cutouts, coffee mugs, cookie jars, neckties, lunchboxes, puzzles, games, Halloween costumes, Christmas ornaments, music boxes, refrigerator magnets, lapel pinbacks, greeting cards and other products. In 2001, Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
issued two collectible figures of Dagwood and Blondie as part of their line of Classic Comic Characters — statues #19 and 20 respectively.
A counter-service restaurant called Blondie's opened at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure
Islands of Adventure
Universal's Islands of Adventure is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. It opened May 28, 1999 as part of an expansion that, along with CityWalk Entertainment District, the Portofino Bay Hotel, and Hard Rock hotel, converted Universal Studios Florida into the Universal Orlando Resort...
in May 1999, and serves a traditional Dagwood-style sandwich. In fact, Blondie's bills itself as "Home of the Dagwood Sandwich." Lunch meats can be purchased at grocery stores featuring Dagwood and an assortment of meats.
On May 11, 2006, Dean Young announced the opening of the first of his Dagwood's Sandwich Shoppes over the coming summer in Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, US, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St. Petersburg. In the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and in the east lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787. It is the county seat of...
, and the comic strip characters discussed the notion of Dagwood opening his own sandwich shop. The official Dagwood sandwich served at Dagwood's Sandwich Shoppes has these ingredients: three slices of deli bread, hard salami, pepperoni, cappicola, mortadella
Mortadella
Mortadella is a large Italian sausage or cold cut made of finely hashed or ground, heat-cured pork sausage, which incorporates at least 15% small cubes of pork fat . Mortadella is a staple product of Bologna, Italy...
, deli ham, cotto salami, cheddar, Provolone
Provolone
Provolone is an Italian cheese that originated in Southern Italy, where it is still produced in various shapes as in 10 to 15 cm long pear, sausage, or cone shapes. A variant of Provolone is also produced in North America and Japan...
, red onion, green leaf lettuce, tomato, fresh and roasted red bell peppers, mayo, mustard and a secret Italian olive salad oil.
Further reading
There are numerous book collections reprinting the strip, including:- Blondie and Dagwood in Footlight Folly (1947) Dell (An original paperback novel, not illustrated. Unnumbered, but usually considered part of Dell's mapbackMapbackMapback is a term used by paperback collectors to refer to the earliest paperback books published by Dell Books, beginning in 1943. The books are known as mapbacks because the back cover of the book contains a map that illustrates the location of the action. Dell books were numbered in series...
series) - Blondie's Family (1954) Treasure/Wonder Book (a full-color storybook for children)
- Blondie #1 by Chic Young (1968) Signet
- Blondie #2 by Chic Young (1968) Signet
- Blondie (No. 1) by Dean Young and Jim Raymond (1976) Tempo
- Blondie (No. 2) by Dean Young and Jim Raymond (1977) Tempo
- The Best of Blondie by Dean Young, et al. (1977) Tempo
- Blondie: Celebration Edition by Dean Young and Jim Raymond (1980) Tempo
- Blondie & Dagwood's America (1981) Harper & Row ISBN 0060909080 (Dean Young and Rick MarschallRick MarschallRick Marschall is a writer/editor and comic strip historian, described by Bostonia magazine as "America's foremost authority on pop culture." Marschall has served as an editor for both Marvel and Disney comics, plus several syndicates.Marschall has written and edited more than 62 books on cultural...
's collaboration, providing an historical background of the strip) - Blondie (No. 3) by Dean Young and Jim Raymond (1982) Tempo
- Blondie (No. 4): A Family Album by Dean Young and Mike Gersher (1982) Tempo
- Blondie: More Surprises! by Dean Young and Mike Gersher (1983) Tempo
- Blondie Book 1 (1986) by Dean Young and Stan Drake (1986) Blackthorne
- Blondie: Mr Dithers, I Demand a Raise!! by Dean Young and Jim Raymond (1989) Tor
- Blondie: But Blondie, I'm Taking a Bath!! by Dean Young and Jim Raymond (1990) Tor
- Blondie: The Bumstead Family History by Dean Young and Melena Ryzik (2007) Thomas Nelson Pub. ISBN 140160322X
- Blondie Goes to Hollywood: The Blondie Comic Strip in Films, Radio & Television by Carol Lynn Scherling (2010) BearManor Media ISBN 978-1-59393-401-9
- Blondie: Volume 1 by Chic Young (2010) IDW Publishing ISBN 1600107400 (First of a projected series)