The Mario/Popeye connection + Mario wearing a wig?

[Dr. Toreibo]

Donkey Kong was originally set to be a Popeye arcade game. Mario was Popeye, Pauline was Olive Oyl, and DK was Bluto. The hammer power-ups were even spinach! Nintendo lost the license to make said Popeye game, but Miyamoto (being a huge fan of Popeye,) did not want to drop the project, so he filled in the blanks with his own characters. This is why Mario/JumpMan, without his famous mustache, looks so much like the cartoon sailor.



It should also be noted that due to the characters' similarities, Mario was originally drawn with balding black hair beneath his hat. Artists continued to draw him this way until the NES era, where his hair was suddenly made brown, and the shape of the sideburns beneath his hat also changed. With full, brown hair (but his old black 'stache remaining,) is it possible that our Mario is wearing a wig?