"Got a Pop History/Pop Culture question from the 60's, 70's, 80's or 90's?" Just askmrpophistory@mrpophistory.com

The Smurfs

From Grace W – Mr. Pop – I have a bet with my mom. She says those little blue “Smurf” cartoon characters came from the 1960’s, but I remember them as something from the 1980’s. Thanks for your web site.

Mr. Pop History – The characters were created by Pierre Culliford – better known by his pen name “Peyo” and he introduced the comic strip back in October of 1958. It took a while, but NBC was finally sold on the little guys and debuted “The Smurfs” cartoon in 1981 – where they became wildly famous. I see it as two debuts – the second to a much larger audience. If you said the Smurfs were an “80’s thing – you’re not wrong.