<P> Blondie is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Chic Young . The comic strip is distributed by King Features Syndicate, and has been published in newspapers since September 8, 1930 . The success of the strip, which features the eponymous blonde and her sandwich - loving husband, led to the long - running Blondie film series (1938--1950) and the popular Blondie radio program (1939--1950). </P> <P> Chic Young drew Blondie until his death in 1973, when creative control passed to his son Dean Young, who continues to write the strip . Young has collaborated with a number of artists on Blondie, including Jim Raymond, Mike Gersher, Stan Drake, Denis Lebrun, and John Marshall . Despite these changes, Blondie has remained popular, appearing in more than 2,000 newspapers in 47 countries and translated into 35 languages . Since 2006, Blondie has also been available via email through King Features' DailyINK service . </P> <P> Originally designed to follow in the footsteps of Young's earlier "pretty girl" creations Beautiful Bab and Dumb Dora, Blondie focused on the adventures of Blondie Boopadoop--a carefree flapper girl who spent her days in dance halls along with her boyfriend Dagwood Bumstead, heir to a railroad fortune . The name "Boopadoop" derives from the scat singing lyric that was popularized by Helen Kane's 1928 song "I Wanna Be Loved by You ." </P> <P> On February 17, 1933, after much fanfare and build - up, Blondie and Dagwood were married . After a month - and - a-half - long hunger strike by Dagwood to get his parents' blessing, as they strongly disapproved of his marrying beneath his class, they disinherited him . Left only with a check to pay for their honeymoon, the Bumsteads were forced to become a middle - class suburban family . The marriage was a significant media event, given the comic strip's popularity . The catalog for the University of Florida's 2005 exhibition, "75 Years of Blondie, 1930--2005," notes: </P>

What was blondies name before she married dagwood