Blondie and Dagwood Still Popular and Loved
The Bumsteads are Still Family Favorites in the Comic Strips
Feb 23, 2009
The Blondie comic strip was created in 1930 by Chic Young. It has remained a very popular comic strip today, and has retained the original story and themes with little change. According to Dean Young, son of creator Chic Young, Blondie and Dagwood still appear as a loving and happy family in some 2,300 newspapers throughout the world. The cartoon is translated into 35 different languages in 55 countries (“The Blondie Story”, Blondie and Dagwood - the Official Website, King Features.)
The Wedding
On February 17, 1933, Blondie Boopadoop married Dagwood Bumstead. This really was a romantic story about the power of love. In the earliest strips, Blondie was a “flapper” with many suitors, and Dagwood was a rich playboy, although a bit clumsy and awkward. His parents objected to this marriage. Dagwood went on a 28 day hunger strike to protest his parents' opposition to the marriage to Blondie. The couple did marry, but Dagwood was promptly disinherited from the money. But this was acceptable. Dagwood said he would get a job to support them, and Blondie said their love alone would sustain them. It was a true romance, although a tragic story of how social class and elitism can negatively influence lives.
For more than 75 years the story of Blondie and Dagwood have been family favorites. Each day some 280 million people follow the story of Blondie and Dagwood, their children Alexander and Cookie, their neighbors Herb and Tootsie Woodley, the family dog Daisy, Dagwood's boss Mr. Dithers, and others.
Blondie continues to be a loving wife and caring mother. Dagwood, although somewhat still bungling, continues to try hard at work for Mr. Dithers although at home he’s a little more relaxed. Of course Mr. Dithers still fires him from time to time, and he or Blondie asks for his job back. Fans loved his famous “Dagwood Sandwich”, would watch him run into the mailman who would spill all the mail, and readers were shocked when in 1990 Blondie became a working woman by starting her own catering business.
Movies, Television, Radio and a New Book
Many people remember Lucille Ball and Gracie Allen, but actually Penny Singleton was one of the most popular actresses of the 1940s. She played Blondie along with Arthur Lake as Dagwood in 28 movies produced by Columbia. These included movies such as Blondie on a Budget, Blondie Plays Cupid, and Blondie Goes to College.
As with the movie series and comic strip which were so popular, the radio show was also a hit when it began on CBS radio in 1939. Arthur Lake and Penny Singleton continued with their roles there too. The radio show lasted almost as long as the movie series which ended in 1950.
There were almost 30 other Blondie movies made during this period with other actors and actresses as well. The Blondie series was resurrected a short time beginning in 1957 as a television series (with Pamela Britton as Blondie and Arthur Lake as Dagwood), but the television series did not have the same appeal as the movies or comic strip and was cancelled after only nine months.
The newest Blondie book that has been released is Blondie: The Bumstead Family History, (Dean Young and Melena Ryzik, Thomas Nelson, September 2007.) This is a full color pictorial of the Bumsteads and offers much for Blondie aficionados.
Superior Entertainment
For humorous entertainment, no other story has done as well as Blondie and Dagwood. They have been featured in a comic strip - still strong after 75(+) years, a radio show, a television series, and some 58 movies. People across the world still love the Bumsteads, and still open up the “funnies” to see the latest Bumstead family story.
Resources
Blondie and Dagwood: The Official Website
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