1935: Popeye Airs on the Radio

Popeye the Sailor first appeared as a newspaper comic in 1927. In 1933, he made it to the big screen in a series of theatrical shorts and on this day in 1935, Popeye began his first thrice-weekly, 15-minute radio program on NBC. The show was initially sponsored by Wheatnena breakfast cereal which replaced much of the spinach references. The show lasted three years, but switched networks three times. Of the 204 episodes that aired, it is estimated that only 20 of them still exist.