'Feiffer The Sailor Man!'

On Saturday, May 28, Keyes Art in Sag Harbor teams up with Sag Harbor Cinema for a special night honoring legendary cartoonist, screenwriter and author Jules Feiffer. Following a 4 p.m. screening of Robert Altman’s film “Popeye,” which Feiffer wrote, Keyes Gallery will host “Feiffer the Sailorman!” a one-night reception and exhibition from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Jules Feiffer was one years old in 1929 when Popeye first appeared in nationally syndicated cartoonist Elzie Segar’s popular comic strip “Thimble Theatre.” The love-sick, spinach-fueled mariner appeared daily in newspapers and on Sundays splashed with color.

During the depression, the Max Fleischer Studio, already famous for Felix the Cat and Betty Boop, also produced an animated version of “Popeye the Sailorman” complete with a memorably jaunty opening anthem and a tooting pipe. Segar’s Popeye, with paramour Olive Oyl, bete noir Brutus, and good friend Wimpy inspired Feiffer’s remarkably early aspirations and achievements as a cartoonist.

From the age of five, Feiffer wanted to be a cartoonist and littered the family living room with sketches of Popeye, crime-fighters, super-villains and other characters he found in the “funny pages.” He collected comic books and created his own for family and friends.

Thankfully, his mother saved some of his earliest artistic productions although the chalk caricatures he sketched on Brooklyn sidewalks are long gone.

Feiffer went on to forge his own career as a syndicated cartoonist, writing novels, theatrical scripts and screenplays, becoming one of the most celebrated and versatile satirists in America. He achieved critical success in Hollywood, particularly after close friends Mike Nichols and Elaine May used his provocative script for their controversial film “Carnal Knowledge,’ based loosely on characters from his comic strip “Feiffer,” and starring Ann Margaret and Jack Nicholson.

Film producer Rob Evans soon asked Feiffer to script a movie based on the life of Popeye. Feiffer responded, “… it depends on which Popeye you mean. If you want the Max Fleischer Popeye, the animated Popeyes — I hated them and I wasn’t interested in it. If you want to do the E.C. Segar Popeye — Segar was the original author of Popeye in the newspapers. I said, I’m your guy because I think they’re works of genius.”

Feiffer received Altman’s go-ahead and the film opened in winter 1980 after numerous script changes, weather delays and other production challenges created by the director’s decision to build an entirely self-contained replica wooden seaport on the island of Malta complete with housing for the actors and production personnel.

Some film critics were quick to criticize Altman’s remarkable live-action cartoon movie musical, yet time has corrected their harsh judgment as the film, featuring Robin Williams and Shelley Duval in signature roles, has evidently become a much-loved classic enjoyed across generations.

Keyes Art is at 45 Main Street in Sag Harbor. For more information visit juliekeyesart.com.