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Mr. Tillbox was the underhanded boxing manager of Kid Kabbage, who tried to trick Popeye into losing the match against Kid.
Character history
Creation and development in Thimble Theatre
Mr. Tillbox was created by Bud Sagendorf in 1948 for the first issue of the comic book Popeye.
Biography
"Shame on You!"
Kid Kabbage and his manager Mr. Tillbox came to Popeye's hometown in hopes of challenging him to a boxing match, however, they knew of the sailor's mighty prowess in battle, so they concocted a plan to ensure that Popeye would be easy pickings in the ring. Kid started off the plan by chopping down trees with his bare fists in the park where Popeye was in hopes of intimidating the sailor, which proved ineffective but managed to get Popeye's attention. Kid then went to the Rough House Cafe and beat up everyone there in another failed attempt to intimidate Popeye, yet Kid and Mr. Tillbox believed that Popeye truly had been "shaken-up" by Kid's feats of strength.
Mr. Tillbox has Mike sell tickets to the fight.
This is when Mr. Tillbox decided to try a new scheme involving Popeye's girlfriend Olive Oyl to ensure that Popeye would temporarily quit fighting, in order for him to make a "grand comeback" - in which Kid would finish him. Tillbox then invited Olive to his office and tricked her into thinking she was now the president of the "Anti-Fisticuff League", knowing that she would use her new position to discourage Popeye from fighting. The results proved successful for Tillbox and Kid as Popeye ended up looking like a coward in the eyes of everyone in town when he was forced to refuse Mr. Tillbox's request for a match against Kid Kabbage.
Kid and Tillbox's comeuppance.
With Popeye now declared a coward, Kid and Tillbox moved on to the next step of their plan by angering Popeye into accepting the match for "grand comeback". To do this, Kid posed as a member of the Anti-Fisticuff League (under the alias "Mr. Huggle") in order to woo Olive and make Popeye jealous enough to challenge him whilst Tillbox's lackey Mike sold tickets by the dozens. However, when Popeye saw them at the park, he promptly told Olive who "Huggle" really was. Kid Kabbage then confessed and challenged Popeye to the match, thinking that his and Tillbox's plan was still going accordingly. But in the end, both Kid and Tillbox's plan fell apart when Popeye's jealousy and Olive's anger riled them up enough to beat up both Kid Kabbage and Tillbox, respectively, out on the street where everyone could see. The now-beaten Tillbox angrily scolded Kid Kabbage for not having been as strong as he had hoped. Tillbox and Kid Kabbage were then forced to give back all the money they had earned on ticket sales.