We were very rightfully brought up on that! And, hands up, we’ve also contributed to this, mentioning Helen Kane on Twitter and not also talking about Baby Esther. There are whole documentaries on Betty Boop’s creation that totally leave out Baby Esther. To this day, it’s near impossible to find Baby Esther mentioned in books on this era. There would be no revival of her work.īABY ESTHER HAD BEEN LITERALLY WHITEWASHED FROM HISTORY. No efforts were made to recompense her (or in her absence, her family).
#When did betty boop come out trial#
One from the woman they knowingly stole from, and one from the woman they unknowingly stole from.Īs for Helen Kane, she used the trial press to rebrand herself as "the Original Boop-Boop-A-Doop Girl," releasing records and even a rival cartoon under this moniker.Īnd Baby Esther? Well, after she’d served her purpose as a legal defence, she was dropped. By the the time the trial wrapped up, she was presumed dead.īetty Boop’s creators, Flieschman and Paramount, left the court on a high, effectively getting out of two lawsuits. You see, Baby Esther was nowhere to be found, never appearing in court. In fact, neither woman would win this fight. This revelation effectively ended any hope Helen had of winning the case. Lou not only explained how he and Esther had created and developed her "Boop Boop" style, BUT he also testified that Helen Kane had come to see Baby Esther perform, just before Helen debuted her "unique sound." They bought in Baby Esther’s manager, Lou Walton. Helen was suing Boop’s creators for $250,000 (roughly $3.5 million in today’s money), and with kind of money at stake, the defence came at Helen hard… Not looking quite so innocent now, Helen…īut the secret of Betty Boop’s true origins didn’t stay secret for long. Months later, Helen was performing those signature scats to adoring audiences. She listened to other Cotton Club artists, including greats like Louis Armstrong, to hone her signature scatting style.Īnd then in 1928, Helen Kane came to see Baby Esther perform. From a black singer named.Įnter Esther Jones, better known by her stage name, Baby EstherĮsther Jones had gotten the nickname "Baby Esther" thanks to the high-pitched, cutesey voice she sang in. A favorite of Harlem clubs like The Cotton Club, Esther was a rising star in the jazz world-both because of her voice, which managed to be adorable and sexy, AND her unique style of scatting: "Boop oop a doo."Įsther worked at her scatting by learning from the greats. You see, that act that made her so unique, the one she was fighting for…it wasn’t her act. So Helen took Betty Boop’s creators, Max Fleischer and Paramount, to court.įleischer claimed that Betty Boop was inspired by the likes of Clara Bow, as well as Helen Kane, but Helen argued that EVERYTHING about Betty was Helen: the look, the mannerisms, the voice! Helen’s case looked iron tight!īUT Helen had a secret. And she was angrier still that she wasn’t getting a dime from her!
Helen was understandably furious at her cartoon clone. Overnight, Helen and her boop-a-doops became the talk of the town. Months later, Helen sung what would become her (and Betty Boop’s) most well known hit, "I Wanna Be Loved By You" (signature boop-oop-a-doops included!).įilms soon followed Helen's stage success, and by 1930, she was one of America’s most-loved rising stars. Her quirky flapper sex appeal and unique singing style ensured that there was nobody quite like Helen Kane. Helen took to the stage and sang the then-popular song "That’s My Weakness Now" with a kind of coquettish knowing and humor that captivated the audience. Then, mid-song, Helen busted out something truly unexpected-scatting, "Boop boop a doop." She snagged a gig singing at The Paramount Theatre, right slap bang in the middle of New York’s Times Square. You name it, she’d done it.īut then in 1928, Helen landed her big break.
Vaudeville, singing troupes, and chorus lines. Helen Kane had been treading the boards for years before she got a break. But the story behind this gold mine is a dark one, steeped in racism, theft, and an infamous court case that saw a bloody battle for Betty Boop’s very soul.īelieve me when I say that wink is covering a LOT of scandal and wrongdoing
0 kommentar(er)
