Bluto (Brutus), according to E.C. Segar’s assistant Bud Sagendorf, was inspired by British actor Eric Campbell (1890-1917), who played the recurring “big brute” character in many Chaplin shorts (image 1). Another influence is said to be Tyrone Power’s Red Flack, from THE BIG TRAIL (1930) (image 2). An enthusiastic cinemagoer, Popeye creator E.C. Segar often found inspiration in the movies and actors of his day.
(Paul L. Smith of course played Bluto in the 1980 film—you can definitely see a link I think between his version and Power’s Red Flack.)
In Segar’s original comic, Bluto was a one-off character in a long line of villainous goliaths, not the first and not the last, basically a bully-of-the-month. His storyline (“The Eighth Sea”) ran around the time Fleischer Studios started adapting the Popeye comic into an animated series, which I suppose helped Bluto being picked as Popeye’s main rival. In the comic though, Popeye’s nemesis really is the sinister Sea Hag, who returns time and again to torment him. Her first appearance is the best I think—she’s a kind of nocturnal sea demon, haunting her own ship.
Speaking of which (speaking of “witch”). In one of Segar’s stories Eugene the Jeep appears to have killed the Sea Hag (the Jeep’s a mean little bastard). To pay his respects to his old foe, Popeye places the Hag’s lifeless body in a chair and puts a pillow in her back. It’s a weird, touching moment, played straight, and aeons removed from the later cartoons with their one-joke premise and goofy slapstick. Popeye cares about the Hag, who, like him, is at heart a lonely character, an outcast, forever adrift.
I couldn’t find a scan of the the panel online so I’m uploading my own:
Bendy – high-pitched nasally little guy with a vaguely New Jersey-ish accent. (Voiced by Wally doing a bad impersonation of Joey.)
Boris – somewhat deep, slightly muffled and has a very faint Russian accent. (Voiced by Sasha Fain (OC), a Russian immigrant who eats while voicing the character to make him more authentic.)
Alice (When voiced by Susie) – Chipper in tone, sweet, and very energetic.
Alice (when voiced by Allison) – Kinda spaced out and slightly muffled, lacking the energy but not the sweetness.
Charley – Sleazy gentleman con artist with a faint southern drawl. (Voiced by Norman Polk)
Barley – Popeye but evil. (Voiced by Jack Fain doing a pretty good Popeye impression.)
Edgar – nasally mix of Charley’s accent and Barley’s speech pattern. (Voiced by Jack impersonating Norman *and* Popeye while inhaling helium)
Miss Twisted – Catty, Harsh in tone like she’s always sneering at people when she speaks, and she has a Brooklyn accent. (Voiced by Susie after losing her role as Alice.)
The Brute – Deep, Gruff, and has a pronounced Russian accent. (Voiced by Sasha)
Cameraman – Nasally and condescending tone of voice with a faint British accent. (Voiced by Wally doing a bad Bertrum impression)
The Woolly Triplets – voiced by the recorded bleats of three random sheep.
Ruby Goldberg – middle aged lady who’s a little spaced out, but always has a trick up her sleeve and you can tell in her voice. (Voiced by Allison who’s having fun with the role)
Papa Pluto – loud, energetic, and hammed up on being evil, has a Slavic accent to mimic the speaking pattern of a stereotypical vampire. (Voiced by Joey Drew)
Gaskette – aggressive, pushy, sounds like he smoke a pack a day and has a heavy Brooklyn accent. (Voiced by Sammy Lawrence)
Chester – Sounds like a stereotypical pirate, but with a very faint German accent. (Voiced by Johnny Heisenberg)
Dewey – Obnoxious stuck-up snob whose voice is grating when you listen to it too long (Voiced by a different member of the band every time but given the instructions to ‘sound as annoying and smart as possible’.)
Canoodle – Voiced by a garbage disposal and Someone blowing raspberries into the microphone. When they need him to speak for real, they add subtitles.
Boswell Lotsobucks – voice has two emotions: smug pompous prick and loud, furious, temper-tantruming prick. (Voiced by Sammy pretending to be how he thinks obnoxiously wealthy white people act.)
