Bud Sagendorf
Encyclopedia
Forrest Cowles Sagendorf (March 22, 1915 – September 22, 1994), better known as Bud Sagendorf, was an American cartoonist
, notable for his work on King Features Syndicate
's Thimble Theatre Starring Popeye
comic strip
.
Born in Wenatchee, Washington
, Sagendorf was three years old when his father died. He arrived at age three in Santa Monica, California
with his sister Helen and his mother, who opened a beauty parlor. It was Helen who gave him the nickname Bud. His first job was as a newsboy, selling the Los Angeles Herald-Express on the street. He began his cartoon career while a teenager, working for $50 a week as the assistant of cartoonist E. C. Segar
on his Thimble Theatre and Sappo comic strips. Following Segar's death in 1938, Sagendorf moved to New York and began illustrating marketing materials for King Features, while also developing Popeye toys and games. In 1940, he married his high school sweetheart, Nadia Crandall, and they eventually moved to rural Connecticut.
. In 1959, he finally assumed command of the Thimble Theatre comic strip. In 1964, he explained his working methods:
A year after those remarks, he talked on television about Popeye when he appeared on What's My Line?
(December 5, 1965).
He continued the strip until 1986. Wanting to spend more time with his family and confronted with failing eyesight, Sagendorf reduced his output to Sunday strip
s while Bobby London
continued with the Popeye dailies. Sagendorf wrote and drew the Popeye Sunday strips until his death. King Features continues to run reprints of Sagendorf's daily strips, while artist Hy Eisman
writes and draws new Sunday strips.
Sagendorf was 79 when he died in Sun City, Florida
in 1994 of brain cancer, survived by his wife, Nadia, and three daughters.
In 2011, Craig Yoe wrote a biographical profile of Sagendorf and collected a selection of his outstanding comic book stories in Popeye: The Great Comic Book Tales by Bud Sagendorf.
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
, notable for his work on 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...
's Thimble Theatre Starring Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
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....
.
Born in Wenatchee, Washington
Wenatchee, Washington
Wenatchee is located in North Central Washington and is the largest city and county seat of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925...
, Sagendorf was three years old when his father died. He arrived at age three in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
with his sister Helen and his mother, who opened a beauty parlor. It was Helen who gave him the nickname Bud. His first job was as a newsboy, selling the Los Angeles Herald-Express on the street. He began his cartoon career while a teenager, working for $50 a week as the assistant of cartoonist E. C. Segar
E. C. Segar
Elzie Crisler Segar was an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of Popeye, a character who first appeared in 1929 in his comic strip Thimble Theatre. Asked how to say his name, he told The Literary Digest it was "SEE-gar". He commonly signed his work simply Segar or E...
on his Thimble Theatre and Sappo comic strips. Following Segar's death in 1938, Sagendorf moved to New York and began illustrating marketing materials for King Features, while also developing Popeye toys and games. In 1940, he married his high school sweetheart, Nadia Crandall, and they eventually moved to rural Connecticut.
Thimble Theatre
From 1948 to 1962, Sagendorf was the writer-artist of Dell's Popeye comic bookComic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
. In 1959, he finally assumed command of the Thimble Theatre comic strip. In 1964, he explained his working methods:
- Any part of my work can be interrupted for something important like golf or bowling. There are about 20 syndicated cartoonists living in my area, and they all enjoy dragging a fellow comic artist away from his drawing board. I hate to admit it, but I’m a deadline worker and do my best when my back is against the wall. In respect to ideas, I don’t buy gags; I do them myself… with the help of my family. My son, Brad, is developing into a great idea man. I made the mistake of paying him for an idea once, and he quickly lost his amateur standing. I do not like to write out a complete daily continuity too far in advance. When I have a continuity idea, I blab an outline into a small tape recorder and file it away until I’m ready for it. The day-to-day strips are done on a weekly basis. I feel that too-tight writing holds me down, and I lose the spontaneous ideas that always pop up when I’m working. As for my background, I started drawing at an early age because it was easier to make pictures than to learn to spell. I was born in Wenatchee, Washington. While I was still in high school I went to work for the late E. C. Segar, the creator of Popeye. I saw the birth of many wonderful characters: Swee’-pea, Eugene the Jeep, Alice the Goon and Poop-deck Pappy. In recent years I have added Granny and Betty Beasky. After Segar’s death in 1938, I was asked by King Features to continue the strip. Except for a period as an assistant comic editor, I have been doing the dailyDaily stripA daily strip is a newspaper comic strip format, appearing on weekdays, Monday through Saturday, as contrasted with a Sunday strip, which typically only appears on Sundays....
and Sunday Popeye ever since.
A year after those remarks, he talked on television about Popeye when he appeared on What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
(December 5, 1965).
He continued the strip until 1986. Wanting to spend more time with his family and confronted with failing eyesight, Sagendorf reduced his output to Sunday strip
Sunday strip
A Sunday strip is a newspaper comic strip format, where comic strips are printed in the Sunday newspaper, usually in a special section called the Sunday comics, and virtually always in color. Some readers called these sections the Sunday funnies...
s while Bobby London
Bobby London
Bobby London is an American underground comix and mainstream comics artist.-Biography:London created his underground newspaper comic strip Merton, in his native New York in 1969 and the raunchy Dirty Duck strip in 1971...
continued with the Popeye dailies. Sagendorf wrote and drew the Popeye Sunday strips until his death. King Features continues to run reprints of Sagendorf's daily strips, while artist Hy Eisman
Hy Eisman
Hy Eisman is an American cartoonist who wrote and drew the Sunday strips The Katzenjammer Kids and Popeye. In December 2008, Eisman was the first to introduce the character of Bluto to the Popeye Sunday page...
writes and draws new Sunday strips.
Sagendorf was 79 when he died in Sun City, Florida
Greater Sun Center, Florida
Greater Sun Center, known more commonly as Sun City Center, is an unincorporated census-designated place located in southern Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is located south of Tampa and north of Sarasota on I-75. As of the 2000 census, the population was 16,321...
in 1994 of brain cancer, survived by his wife, Nadia, and three daughters.
In 2011, Craig Yoe wrote a biographical profile of Sagendorf and collected a selection of his outstanding comic book stories in Popeye: The Great Comic Book Tales by Bud Sagendorf.
External links
- Markstein, Don. "Toonopedia: Popeye the Sailor". Retrieved August 26, 2007.