GUS WICKIE

Gus Wickie

I'M IN THE ARMY NOW (Popeye, 1935)

Gus Wickie is bass singer and voice actor well-known for providing the voice for Popeye's arch rival Bluto. His real name was August Wickie, and he immigrated from Germany around the turn of the century with his father. He was an entertainer who had appeared on the Broadway stage before being drafted into WWI in 1917 - he was 32 at the time. After the war, in the 1920's, Wickie worked in various comedy groups, and he sang with some harmony groups. In the early days of sound cartoons Wickie found a job doing voice work for a one-off animated short film from Van Beuren Studios - A Close Call. By 1930 he was back on Broadway, appearing in the musical comedy Ballyhoo of 1930. By 1931 he was recruited by Fleischer Studios to provide the voice for various characters in their animated shorts, and in 1935 he took over the voicing of Bluto in the Popeye series. He continued voicing Bluto, as well as counterpart characters like Sinbad and Abu Hassan, until 1938 when Fleischer Studios relocated to Miami, Florida. He did, however, do various voice work for later Fleischer films, such as Gulliver's Travels, Superman and Hoppity Goes To Town. He also did voice work for a Walt Disney short, a Porky Pig short, and a couple of Mighty Mouse cartoons. Apparently, like his renowned counterpart Bluto, Wickie was one-eyed, and a tough guy.