Winfield Bennett Mercer (January 31, 1910 – December 7, 1984), known professionally as Jack Mercer, was an American voice actor. He is best known as the voice of cartoon characters Popeye the Sailor Man and Felix the Cat. The son of vaudeville and Broadway performers, he also performed on the vaudeville and legitimate stages.

Popeye the Sailor Mercer began his work in cartoons as an "inbetweener", an apprentice animator at Fleischer Studios. Mercer liked to imitate voices,As noted in an interview made around 2010, included on the DVD set Popeye the Sailor: 1938-1940, Volume 2 including one close call when he mimicked the high-pitched and loud voice of the wife of one of the Fleischers after he mistakenly thought she had left the studio.

When his predecessor William Costello, the original cartoon voice of Popeye (1933–1935), became difficult to work with, he was dismissed. Mercer had begun imitating Costello's interpretation of Popeye, and he practiced it until his voice "cracked" just right and he had it down. Searching for a replacement for Costello, Lou Fleischer heard Mercer singing the Popeye theme song and gave him the job of doing the voice. Mercer's first cartoon was 1935's King of the Mardi Gras.

Mercer voiced Popeye for more than 40 years, first for the Fleischers, then for Paramount's Famous Studios cartoons (1942–1957), then for a series of television cartoons for King Features Syndicate (1961), and finally for a Saturday-morning cartoon show (1978–1983) produced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Mercer also read the lines for the opening segment of the 1980 live action film; the film's regular role of Popeye was played by Robin Williams.

Other voice work Mercer also did other cartoon voices. In the Popeye cartoons he also voiced Wimpy, Poopdeck Pappy, and Popeye's nephews. For Fleischer's feature film Gulliver's Travels he voiced King Little, Twinkletoes the carrier pigeon, and the bumbling spies Sneak, Snoop, and Snitch. He played supporting characters Mr. Bumble and Swat (the Fly) for Fleischer's second feature Mister Bug Goes to Town. He was also regularly cast with Pinto Colvig (who voiced Gabby from Gulliver's Travels and the spinoff Gabby film series). Mercer also played numerous supporting characters in Fleischer's Superman series of 1941–1942. Mercer's natural voice was relatively high-pitched for a man, and he was able to do some of the female voices as well.

Beginning in 1958 Mercer also provided all the voices for the Felix the Cat TV cartoons, including The Professor and Rock Bottom, produced by former Paramount animator Joe Oriolo. Mercer later worked with Oriolo on The Mighty Hercules.

In addition to his vocal talents, Mercer was also a prolific comedy writer. He wrote hundreds of scripts for various cartoon series at Fleischer Studios and Famous Studios, including a number of Popeye episodes, as well as for television's Deputy Dawg and Milton the Monster.

Jack Mercer appeared as himself on a 1973 episode of To Tell the Truth, receiving one of four possible votes.

Personal life Mercer's first wife was Margie Hines, who provided the voice of Olive Oyl from 1939 to 1944.Milestone column. Time Magazine March 20, 1939"Florida Divorce Index, 1927-2001," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VK7F-LKK : 22 December 2019), Jack W Mercer and Marjorie Mercer, 1950; from "Florida Divorce Index, 1927-2001," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing Dade, Florida, certificate 11372, volume 517, Florida Department of Health, Jacksonville. They were divorced in 1950. He later married Virginia Caroll, and the couple remained married until Mercer's death in 1984."Jack Mercer, Provided Voice Of Popeye in Film Cartoons" (obituary) The New York Times (December 9, 1984). Retrieved March 12, 2007.

Originally a resident of New York City, Mercer moved to Miami, Florida, when Fleischer Studios relocated there in 1938. After Famous Studios took over the Popeye cartoons, Mercer moved back to New York by early 1944. In the late 1970s he lived briefly in Los Angeles but moved back to New York City to live in Woodside, Queens.

Death Mercer died at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan on December 7, 1984, after stomach cancer-related problems.

Filmography Voice acting Year Title Role Notes1935–1957 Popeye the Sailor Popeye Voice, uncredited1939 Gulliver's Travels King Little / Royal Chef / Snoop Voice, Uncredited1941 Mr. Bug Goes to Town Mr. Bumble / Swat / Insects Voice1942 Superman Office boy Voice, episode: Showdown1958–1961 Felix the Cat All characters Voice, 130 episodes1960–1963 Popeye the Sailor Popeye / Wimpy / Poopdeck Pappy Voice1963 The New Casper Cartoon Show Bear / Stork / Spooky Voice, 2 episodes1963–1964 The Mighty Hercules Newton / Daedalus / Teron / Additional voices Voice, 12 episodes1965–1968 Milton the Monster Additional voices Voice1972 Popeye Meets the Man Who Hated Laughter Popeye / Wimpy Voice1978–1983 The All New Popeye Hour Popeye / Poopdeck Pappy / Pipeye / Peepeye Voice, recurring role1980 Popeye Popeye - Animated Prologue Voice (final role)

Writer Year Title Notes1942–1957 Popeye the Sailor Story writer1960–1961 Popeye the Sailor 19 episodes1963 The Deputy Dawg Show 2 episodes1965–1968 Milton the Monster 1978 Dinky Dog 16 episodes1978–1981 The All-New Popeye Hour

References

Further reading Grandinetti, Fred and Braun, Dan. I Yam What I Yam: The Works Of Jack Mercer, Popeye's Voice

External links

1939 publicity photo of Mercer and Hines announcing their marriage Jack Mercer on To Tell the Truth