Blondie
Blondie logo, featuring Dagwood, Blondie, Daisy the dog, son Alexander, and daughter Cookie.
Author(s)	Chic Young Dean Young & John Marshall
Current status / schedule	Running
Launch date	September 8, 1930
Syndicate(s)	King Features Syndicate
Genre(s)	Humor

Blondie is a popular comic strip created by Murat Bernard "Chic" Young and syndicated by King Features Syndicate. It has been published in newspapers since September 8, 1930. The success of the comic strip led to a long-run Blondie film series (1938-1950) and a popular Blondie radio program (1939-1950). Blondie or Blondi may mean Blondie (band), an American rock band Debbie Harry, lead singer of Blondie who is often incorrectly referred to by that name Blondie (album), the self-titled debut album from Blondie Blondie (comic strip), a long-running newspaper comic strip Blondie (film) (1938), a movie based... For other uses, see Author (disambiguation). ... Murat Bernard Young (9 January 1901 – 14 March 1973), known as Chic Young, was an American cartoonist known primarily as the creator and original artist of the comic strip Blondie. ... Dean Wayne Young (born July 2, 1938) is the head writer of the popular comic strip Blondie, which he inherited from his father Chic Young in 1973. ... John Marshall, an American cartoonist, began assisting Denis Lebrun on the Blondie (comic strip) in December 2002 and became head artist in May 2005. ... is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... King Features 1951 Christmas card King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers around the world. ... This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... Murat Bernard Young (9 January 1901 – 14 March 1973), known as Chic Young, was an American cartoonist known primarily as the creator and original artist of the comic strip Blondie. ... King Features 1951 Christmas card King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers around the world. ... is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Blondie is a 1938 movie directed by Frank Strayer, based on the comic strip of the same name. ... Blondie was a radio situation comedy adapted from the long-run Blondie comic strip by Chic Young. ...

Chic Young drew Blondie until his death in 1973, when the control of the strip passed to his son Dean Young. Dean Young has collaborated with a number of artists on the strip, including Jim Raymond, Mike Gersher, Stan Drake, Denis Lebrun and most recently, John Marshall. Through these changes, Blondie has remained popular, appearing in more than 2300 newspapers in 55 countries and translated into 35 languages, as of 2005. Blondie celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2005. Dean Wayne Young (born July 2, 1938) is the head writer of the popular comic strip Blondie, which he inherited from his father Chic Young in 1973. ... Jim Raymond (1917-1981) was a comic strip artist and the younger brother of Flash Gordon artist Alex Raymond. ... Mike Gersher was formerly an artist on the Blondie comic strip. ... Stanley Albert Drake (November 9, 1921-March 10, 1997) was a cartoonist, artist for the comic strips The Heart Of Juliet Jones and Blondie. ... Denis Lebrun was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1958. ... John Marshall, an American cartoonist, began assisting Denis Lebrun on the Blondie (comic strip) in December 2002 and became head artist in May 2005. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Characters

Originally, Blondie focused on the adventures of Blondie Boopadoop, a carefree flapper girl who spent her days in dance halls. On February 17, 1933, after much fanfare and build-up, Miss Boopadoop married her boyfriend Dagwood Bumstead, the son of a wealthy industrialist. Unfortunately for the Bumsteads, Dagwood was disowned by his upper-crust family for marrying beneath his class. Ever since, he has been slaving away at the office of the J. C. Dithers Construction Company under the direction of tyrannical boss Julius Caesar Dithers, who frequently threatens to fire Dagwood from his workplace when (as frequently happens) Dagwood either botches or does not finish his work, sleeps on the job, comes into work late, or pesters Dithers for a raise or promotion. For other uses, see Flapper (disambiguation). ... Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. ... is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dagwood Bumstead is a fictional character in the comic strip Blondie, who was introduced prior to February 17, 1933. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Business magnate. ...

Blondie and Dagwood live in suburbia, next door to Herb and Tootsie Woodley. The Bumstead family has grown, with the addition of a son named Alexander (originally "Baby Dumpling") in 1934, a daughter named Cookie in 1941 (both permanently frozen in their late teens as of 2006), and a dog named Daisy. Alexander and Cookie have grown into teenagers who uncannily resemble their parents. Other regular characters include Mr. Beasley the mailman, Elmo Tuttle, a pesky neighborhood 5-year-old who often asks Dagwood to play, Cora Dithers, the domineering wife of Julius Dithers, and Lou, owner of Lou's Diner where Dagwood frequently eats on his lunch break. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Suburb. ... Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris The dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is a domestic subspecies of the wolf, a mammal of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. ...

Running Gags

There are several running gags in this strip. The running gag is a popular hallmark of comic and serious forms of entertainment. ...

• An impossibly tall sandwich Dagwood often fixes for a snack, which came to be known as a Dagwood sandwich.

Dagwood seen with a sandwich which he has just created.

• Dagwood's propensity to fall asleep on the couch during the day.
• He is repeatedly shown colliding with Mr. Beasley while rushing out the front door each morning, or to be interrupted by other characters while he is relaxing in the bathtub.
• Goofing off or sleeping at his desk in the office.
• Mr. Dithers firing him for being incompetent, or physically booting him out of his office.
• Dagwood demanding a raise from Dithers and failing to get it every time.
• Dagwood meeting salesmen at his house door selling impossible looking items.
• The car pool gag, with various variations, with Dagwood keeping his car pool waiting, running after their car, or stuck in traffic.
• Having a midnight snack.
• The Christmas shopping gag, where Dagwood is shown holding up a a number of Christmas packages that completely covers up his face and upper body.
• J.C.Dithers is a tryant at the office, but plays "Dagwood Bumstead" to his wife Cora Dithers!

This article is about the food item. ... A Dagwood sandwich is a thick multi-layered sandwich made up of a wide variety of meats, cheeses, and condiments. ...

75th anniversary

In 2005 the strip celebrated its 75th anniversary. In preparation of the anniversary the artists started the longest running serial ever, starting on 10 July, 2005, and running till 4 September, 2005. During this period they only ran preparation for the anniversary daily cartoons ^[1]. Characters from several other strips, including Garfield, Beetle Bailey and Hagar the Horrible, made appearances ^[2]. This article is about the comic strip. ... A page from the comic book version of Beetle Bailey. ... Hägar the Hørrible is the title and the name of the main character of a syndicated comic strip, created in 1973, by Dik Browne, distributed to 1,900 newspapers in 58 countries, in 13 languages. ...

Changing times

While the distinctive look and running gags of Blondie have been carefully preserved through the decades, a number of details have been altered to keep up with changing times. The Bumstead kitchen, which remained essentially unchanged from the 1930s through the 1960s has slowly acquired a more modern look (no more legs on the gas range, for instance).

Clothing has slowly kept pace with times, most notably when Blondie began wearing pants and traded her high-heeled pumps for flat shoes (although in recent years she has reverted to mostly wearing skirts). Today, neither Blondie nor Dagwood wears a hat when leaving the house.

In keeping up with the times, Dagwood is shown using a computer with a flat panel monitor at home. (Seen standing behind him is his son Alexander.)

The telephone in the hall now has push buttons instead of a dial, the water cooler and time clock at the office have given way to computers on the desks. Even Mr. Beasley wears walking shorts on his mail route during the warm weather months.

Blondie herself is no longer a housewife. She and Tootsie Woodley started a catering business in 1991. Dagwood still knocks heads with his boss, Mr. Dithers, but now he does it in a more modern office at J.C. Dithers Construction Company. Their desk computers sport flat panel monitors and Mr Dithers has a laptop on his table. Dagwood now begins each morning racing to meet his carpool rather than chasing after a just-missed streetcar or city bus. A stereotypical housewife A homemaker is a person whose prime occupation is to care for their family and home. ... A professionally catered event Catering is the business of providing food service at a remote site. ... For the 1996 film, see Carpool (film). ... a historic postcard showing electric trolley-powered streetcars in Richmond, Virginia, where Frank J. Sprague successfully demonstrated his new system on the hills in 1888 A streetcar is a railway vehicle designed to carry passengers on tracks, usually laid in city streets. ...

Also, for a time in the late 1990s and around 2000/2001, Blondie and Dagwood's teenage son Alexander worked part-time outside of high school at the order counter of a fast food restaurant, the Burger Barn. There are still occasional references to Cookie and her baby-sitting. Daisy, who once had a litter of puppies that lived with the family is now the only dog seen in the Bumstead household. Cookie and Alexander can be seen in modern clothing trends and sometimes use cell phones. Motorola T2288 mobile phone A mobile phone is a portable electronic device which behaves as a normal telephone whilst being able to move over a wide area (compare cordless phone which acts as a telephone only within a limited range). ...

Sandwich shop

On May 11, 2006 Dean Young announced the opening of the first of his Dagwood's Sandwich Shoppes over the coming summer in Clearwater, Florida. Recently in the comics, the characters have all been either jokingly or seriously talking about Dagwood opening his own sandwich shop. A counter service restaurant called Blondie's opened at Universal Orlando's Islands of Adventure in May 1999, and serves a traditional Dagwood-style sandwich. In fact, Blondie's bills itself as "Home of the Dagwood Sandwich." Lunch meats can be purchased at grocery stores featuring Dagwood and an assortment of meats. is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Clearwater is a city located in central Pinellas County, Florida, USA, nearly due west of Tampa. ... Universals Islands of Adventure is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. ...

Awards and recognition

Chic Young was awarded a Reuben in 1948 for his work on the strip. Coincidentally, the award shares the name with a sandwich that makes the strip famous. The Reuben Awards, named for Rube Goldberg, are presented each year by the National Cartoonists Society. ...

In 1995, the strip was one of 20 included in the Comic Strip Classics series of commemorative postage stamps. [1] The Comic Strip Classics series of commemorative postage stamps was issued by the US Postal Service in 1995 to honor the centennial of the newspaper comic strip. ... A selection of Hong Kong postage stamps A postage stamp is evidence of pre-paying a fee for postal services. ...

Adaptations in other media

Blondie was adapted into a series of 28 theatrical films, beginning with Blondie in 1938 and running through Beware of Blondie in 1950. Penny Singleton played the titular character, with Arthur Lake as Dagwood; the two also starred in a Blondie radio show that was broadcast on several networks from 1939 to 1950. Two Blondie television series were also produced, each lasting only one season. The first ran for fourteen episodes in 1957, and had Lake reprising his film and radio role, but cast Pamela Britton as Blondie. The second, broadcast in the 1968-69 season, had Patricia Harty and Will Hutchins in the lead roles. Penny Singleton (September 15, 1908 – November 12, 2003) was a Hollywood actress best known for her role in the series of motion pictures and subsequent radio comedy based on the comic strip Blondie. ... Notable people who have been named Arthur Lake include: Arthur Lake (1569–1626) Bishop of Bath and Wells. ... Blondie was a radio situation comedy adapted from the long-run Blondie comic strip by Chic Young. ... Pamela Britton (March 19, 1923, Milwaukee, Wisconsin - June 17, 1974, Arlington Heights, Illinois) was an actress best known for appearing as Lorelei Brown in the television series My Favorite Martian (1963-1966). ... Will Hutchins (born May 5, 1932) is an American actor most noted for playing the lead role of Tom Brewster in the Warner Brothers western television series Sugarfoot (1957). ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 326th day of the year (327th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 196th day of the year (197th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 326th day of the year (327th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Blondie: The Movie Series
• Blondie and Dagwood - The Official Website
• King Features: Blondie
• Daily Blondie Comic from ArcaMax Publishing
• Blondie Gets Married! - An Exhibition in The Library of Congress
• Article on Blondie from Toonopedia
• Comic Book Awards Almanac
• Article on Blondie from Virtue Magazine
• Dagwood's Sandwich Shoppes