Olive Oyl is the girlfriend of Ham Gravy, the original protagonist of the ''Thimble Theatre'' comic strip. She is also the sister of recurring character Castor Oyl. Their parents are Cole Oyl and Nana Oyl.

According to the ''Comics Kingdom'' author, “Their adventures usually concentrate on acquiring undeserved status or wealth, and often end in futile embarrassment and defeat.” Olive Oyl seems to have been presented as something of a homebody, although some strips portray her as a dancer, a cook and even a surgeon, and the comic strips from 1919 portray her as an actress performing a role. She is sometimes also portrayed as a “damsel in distress” from antagonist Willie Wormwood.

In a later arc, she would accompany Castor and Ham on their voyage voyage to Dice Island, where she would happen to meet Castor's hired captain Popeye for the first time. However, their initial interaction did not go well, with both of them finding each other repulsive in their respective positions. Even her first words to him were harsh: "Take your hooks offa me or I'll lay ya in a scupper". This constant bickering would continue on for months, even after Popeye saved her and her friends from the corrupt casino manager John Snork.

Now fabulously wealthy from the trio's excursion to Dice Island, Olive is sought and courted by the shady equivocator Julius Herringbone, inciting Ham's envy and leading Castor to enlist Popeye to apprehend Herringbone.

* Thimble Theater Comic Strip (1919-1938)

* All the Funny Folks (1926)

{|
|style="vertical-align: top;"|
* I'm in the Army Now (Fleischer, 1936)*
* Little Swee'Pea (Fleischer, 1936)
* Popeye meets Sinbad the Sailor (Fleischer, 1936)
* I Never Changes My Altitude (Fleischer, 1937)
* The Paneless Window Washer (Fleischer, 1937)
* Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves (Fleischer, 1937)
* A Date to Skate (Fleischer, 1938)
* Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp (Fleischer, 1939)
* Quick On the Vigor (1950)
* Big Bad Sindbad (Famous, 1952) (archived footage)
* Ancient Fistory (Famous, 1953)
* Bride and Gloom (Famous, 1954)
* Floor Flusher (Famous, 1954)
* Fright to the Finish (Famous, 1954)
* Private Eye Popeye (Famous, 1954)
* Popeye's 20th Anniversary (Famous, 1954)*
|style="vertical-align: top;"|
* Taxi-Turvy (Famous, 1954)
* Cookin' with Gags (Famous, 1955)
* Assault and Flattery (Famous, 1956) (archived footage)*
* A Haul in One (Famous, 1956)
* I Don't Scare (Famous, 1956)
* Out to Punch (Famous, 1956)
* Parlez Vous Woo (Famous, 1956)
* Popeye for President (Famous, 1956)
* The Crystal Brawl (Famous, 1957)*
* Nearlyweds (Famous, 1957)
* Spooky Swabs (Paramount, 1957)
* Barbecue for Two (TV pilot, 1960)
* Matinee Idol Popeye (TV episode, 1960)
* Weight for Me (TV episode, 1960)
* Dog-Gone Dog-Catcher (TV episode, 1960)
* Potent Lotion (TV episode, 1960)
* The Billionaire (TV episode, 1961)
|}
* These shorts contain clips from cartoons that are still under copyright. Only the original animation is in the public domain.

* King Features Syndicate own the trademark for the name ''Olive Oyl'', so her name can only appear in the interior of any story.
* Despite many Popeye cartoons being in the public domain, some elements of the shorts that were renewed properly including some characters and designs (as well as the theme song by Sammy Lerner) which debuted after January 1, 1930 will remain under copyright until 95 full years after their original publication. However King Features only renewed the specific strip where Popeye debuted as artwork, alongside one strip from January 11th 1930 and one from 1935. Certain elements from those comics between 1930-1936 that weren't renewed also has later characters such as Bluto and Wimpy also being public domain.
** Also as stated above some contain clips from cartoons that are still under copyright. Only the original animation in each of those shorts is in the public domain.
* In the early days, Thimble Theatre would have a description at the top indicating what role Ham Gravy, Olive Oyl, and others would be playing. For example, in the January 2, 1920 comic, Ham and Olive portrayed a married couple while in the December 31, 1919 comic, they were cast as siblings. Once the concept of the characters playing different roles was dropped, Ham was just simply Olive's boyfriend. Ham was eventually dropped from the strip sometime in 1930 and Popeye would later become Olive Oyl's love interest for the rest of the Segar run and onward.
* ''Matinee Idol Popeye, Dog-Gone Dog-Catcher,'' ''Potent Lotion'', ''The Billionare,'' & ''Weight for Me'' entered the public domain due to an incorrect copyright date, MCMXL (1940) rather than MCMLX (1960).

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Oyl Wikipedia]
*[http://popeye.wikia.com/wiki/Olive_Oyl Popeye Wikia]
*[http://www.oliveoyl.com/ Official Website]
*[http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0029555/ IMDB]

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