Blondie (comic strip) over all he surveys, with one notable exception—his formidable and domineering wife, Cora. Blondie and Dagwood's best friends are their next-door neighbors Herb and Tootsie Woodley, although Dagwood and Herb's friendship is frequently volatile. Lou is the burly, tattooed owner of Lou's Diner, the less-than-five-star establishment where Dagwood often eats during his lunch hour. Other regular supporting characters include the long-suffering mailman, Mr. Beasley; Elmo Tuttle, a pesky neighborhood kid who often asks Dagwood to play; and a never-ending parade of overbearing door-to-door salesmen. There are several running gags in "Blondie", reflecting the trend after Chic Young's death for the
Arthur Lake (actor) (1930). During this early sound film era, he typically played light romantic roles, usually with a comic "Mama's Boy" tone to them, in films such as "Indiscreet" (1931), which starred Gloria Swanson. He also had a substantial part as the bellhop in the 1937 film "Topper". Arthur Lake is best known for portraying the "Blondie" comic strip character of Dagwood Bumstead in twenty-eight Blondie films produced by Columbia Pictures from 1938 to 1950. He was also the voice of Dagwood on the radio series, which ran from 1938 to 1950, earning him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame