![]() She is, however, mentioned in many documentaries and books about the Harlem Renaissance, and her legendary way of singing does live on in the iconic Betty Boop character. During her entire career, she was mostly only known locally in the New York City area, and she reportedly died at a very young age. In fact, she never even really achieved mainstream success. ![]() Meanwhile, the very woman who inspired the character, Baby Esther, was never compensated in any way. It's estimated that the Betty Boop franchise generated millions of dollars in revenue from televison networks and sales of merchandise. ![]() But soon after, she was transformed into a white woman and remained so until her character was finally retired. She appeared in at least one animated scene in the popular Popeye The Sailor Man series. Initially, Betty Boop was shown in cartoons as an African American woman. That very same style was heavily imitated by the Betty Boop animated character. Her stage name was "Baby Esther", but unfortunately, when her character become the first and most famous sex symbol in animation she was whitewashed with most people having no idea where the original inspiration came from.īaby Esther had a popular cabaret act at the infamous Cotton Club in Harlem, New York where she sang with a unique vocal style that featured “boop-boop-a-doops” and other similar scat sounds. Throughout history, there is a trend, now often brought to light as social and equity justice movements increase, of minorities, especially Black minorities, not being credited for their work in multiple fields.PBS has confirmed that Betty Boop, the popular cartoon character introduced to the world by cartoonist Max Fleischer in 1930, was actually inspired by a real-life African American jazz singer and entertainer from Harlem named Esther Jones. In "The History of Animation," author Charles Solomon, argues "Fleisher won the case by proving that a black entertainer named Baby Esther had previously used the phrase before either Kane or Questel." Betty Boop herself plays a part in also increasing the interest in Jazz music at the time. My favorite song with my 2nd favorite character is great creation uwu Thanks to my brother form making this beautiful birthday gift for me, hopefully, we can. As for Jones herself, there is no evidence suggesting she testified at the trial since her manager at the time could not pinpoint her location.Īlthough she may not have personally been active in the case, Jones' influence within the jazz community can be found through the development of scatting. admitted that Kane served as a visual model reference for the animated character known as Betty Boop, but verbal inspiration stemmed from Esther Jones. did not publicly acknowledge Jones' influence on Betty Boop outside of the trial. Shortly after, Fleischer and Fleischer Studios Inc. also brought out the first recordings of Jones' vocal performance, now evidence that had been deemed as lost, which lost the case for Kane During which Fleischer and Fleischer Studios Inc. The trial consisted of other witnesses, including those who produced the recorded voices of Betty Boop, testifying inspiration did not stem from Kane but rather from other figures. Walton had coached Jones on how to scat, allowing her to develop her own vocal signature. Lou Walton, Jones' manager, testified in the case claiming that Kane had seen Jones' performance and developed her rendition of "Boop-oop-a-doo." ![]() Kane filed a New York Supreme Court lawsuit in May of 1932 against Max Fleischer, the Fleischer Studios, Inc., and the Paramount Publix Corporation.Īs the lawsuit's popularity grew and Helen Kane's fame drew attention, Esther Jones was cast aside alongside her influential work. Kane was an American singer and actress in the 1920s, famously known for her song "I Wanna Be Loved By You," which features a similar rendition of Jones' " Boop-oop-a-doo." This signature "Boop-oop-a-doo" expression landed Betty Boop in a court trial in the 1930s- the plaintiff being Helen Kane. Jones used scat, a singing technique used in jazz composed of dynamic and nonsensical syllables instead of words, which can, at times, sound similar by comparison to create the " Boop-oop-a-doo " performance. Yet, her child-sounding voice and popular " Boop-oop-a-doo " performance at Harlem's Cotton Club landed her a recognizable role in the musical community. Jones' musical compositions fell under the growing Jazz community. Esther Lee "Baby Esther" Jones, a Black Chicago woman and well-known singer of the 1920s, is the initial inspiration for the cartoon character, Betty Boop, who first appeared in the 1930s.
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