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Elzie Segar, Creator of Popeye, grave and tombstone, Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery, Santa Monica, California, photo

Elzie Segar, Creator of Popeye, grave and tombstone, Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery, Santa Monica, California, photo

The grave and tombstone of Elzie Segar, the creator of the cartoon character, Popeye the Sailor, who attained super human strength after eating a can of spinach. Segar was born in Chester, Illinois on December 8, 1894. His cartoon strips first appeared in newspapers in 1916. During his lifetime, Segar usually signed his work as simply E. C. Segar or E. Segar. It was not until 1929 that Segar introduced the character of Popeye into his ongoing cartoon strip, Thimble Theatre. Popeye quickly became a favorite character of the series and included a wide variety of other popular characters including Olive Oyl, Swee' Pea, Wimpy, Bluto, Poopdeck Pappy and others. The comic strip quickly became one of most popular comics of the 1930's. Beginning in 1933, a series of animated Popeye cartoons further expanded the fame and popularity of Popeye and the extended cast of characters. After the death of Segar in 1938, the cartoon strip was continued by other artists.

Chester, Illinois (the county seat of Randolph County), the hometown of Segar, has honored his legacy with a series of statues featuring not only of Popeye but many of the other characters from the cartoon strip. These statues are located in numerous locations across the city. In addition, the city celebrates an annual Popeye Picnic during which an additional character statue is unveiled.

Elzie Segar died of leukemia on October 13, 1938 in Santa Monica, California at the age of 43. His remains are buried in Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery in Santa Monica, California.

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