12 Facts About Gus Wickie

Gus Wickie was one of the voices of Bluto in the animated series, Popeye the Sailor, by Fleischer Studios.

Gus Wickie became a US citizen as a child when his father was naturalized.

Gus Wickie was living in West New York, when he registered for the World War I draft in 1917.

Gus Wickie was a member of various harmony singing and comedy groups, including The Texas Four, which had broken up by 1926; The Westerners, which became active at around that time; and the Shanley Trio.

Gus Wickie appeared in Boston in Here and There by director and producer R H Burnside in 1929.

Two years later, Gus Wickie was on Broadway in the musical comedy Ballyhoo of 1930, which ran for 68 performances, from December 1930 to February 1931, at Oscar Hammerstein's Hammerstein Theatre.

Gus Wickie was the voice of Bluto in the Fleischer Studios' Popeye cartoons from 1935 until 1938.

When Fleischer Studios moved from New York City to Miami, Florida, in 1938, Gus Wickie stayed behind and continued working in the entertainment industry.

An oft-cited biographical error is that Gus Wickie was a baritone, recordings of his voice indicate he was a bass singer according to his dark timbre and vocal range, which go down to at least low C, as do published reports contemporary with his rediscovered later career according to research by David Gerstein.

Gus Wickie was known for his nightclub performances around New York City, particularly at Bill's Gay Nineties, a venue run by Bill Hardy, but at Radio Franks Club.

Gus Wickie was listed in Billboard's February 19,1944, list of performers who appeared under the aegis of the American Theatre Wing to entertain the troops.

Gus Wickie died in Belleville, New Jersey, on January 3,1947, at the age of 61.