| Dagwood Bumstead | |
|---|---|
 Dagwood Bumstead and hisDagwood sandwich | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | King Features Syndicate |
| First appearance | September 8, 1930 |
| Created by | Chic Young |
Dagwood Bumstead is a main character in cartoonistChic Young's long-runningcomic stripBlondie. He debuted in the first strip on September 8, 1930.
He was originally heir to the Bumstead Locomotive fortune, but was disowned when he married Blondienée Boopadoop, aflapper whom his family saw as below hisclass. He has since worked hard at J. C. Dithers Construction Company asoffice manager to support his family. The Bumsteads' first baby, Alexander, was originally named Baby Dumpling. The name of his daughter, Cookie, was chosen by readers in a national contest. The family circle is rounded out by Daisy the dog.[1] The origin of both Dagwood's last name and Daisy's name came from Chic Young's long-time friend Arthur Bumstead and his dog, Daisy.[2]
His favorite things in life include his wife Blondie, his kids, naps on the sofa, long baths, and food. Dagwood is famous for concocting tall, multilayered sandwiches topped with an olive on a toothpick, and the term "Dagwood sandwich" has entered American English. Dagwood often made these sandwiches late at night.
Dagwood frequently has problems with door-to-door salesmen, rude telemarketers and store salespeople, crashing into the mailman (Mr. Beasley) as he rushes from home, getting ready before thecarpool leaves without him, getting to work on time, his bossJ.C. Dithers, and Cookie's many dates. He is often suspicious of her dates and keeps a close watch on them when they come to the house. Other characters in his universe include Elmo Tuttle, a pesky little neighborhood kid who wanders in and out of the Bumstead house; next-door neighbors Herb and Tootsie Woodley; Lou, the sarcastic cook in a local diner; and Mr. Dithers' domineering wife, Cora. Dagwood's birthday is July 20, or April 21, or February 15.[3][4]
Over the years, Dagwood has appeared not only in daily newspapers, but also incomic books,Big Little Books, Whitman novels for children and other print materials, as well as radio, film, and television.Arthur Lake played Dagwood in theBlondie film series (1938–50),radio series and the short-lived1957 TV series.Hal Le Roy portrayed Dagwood in the pilot for the 1957 series.Will Hutchins played him in the1968 TV series. He made severalcameo appearances inGarfield Gets Real, alongside Grimmy fromMother Goose and Grimm. Dagwood and his wife also made a cameo appearance in aGarfield strip originally published April 1, 1997. In afourth wall break, Garfield refers to this as "moving to a different comic strip".[5] Dagwood made another appearance inGarfieldcomic strips on August 20, 2005, to invite Jon and Garfield for Blondie and his anniversary party.
Dagwood also made a cameo appearance in the 1946 cartoonHollywood Canine Canteen, where his wife Blondie and he (named Dogwood in this short) are portrayed as anthropomorphic dogs working in a snack bar.Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake voiced these characters, respectively.
In the song "Homemade Mummy", alternative rapperAesop Rock briefly refers to Dagwood.[6]