FRANK ‘ROCKY’ FIEGAL DORA PASKEL
AKA POPEYE & OLIVE OYL
Popeye and Olive Oyl were real people. Well, they were based on real people.
When Elzie Segar introduced Popeye in a 1929 comic strip, he drew his inspiration for the sailor from a character from his hometown of Chester, Illinois – a one-eyed man named Frank ‘Rocky’ Fiegal. Olive Oyl was based on another of Segar’s neighbours – a very tall, slim woman named Dora Paskel, who usually wore her hair in a bun.