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Though most people won’t know Baby Esther’s name, her contribution to the arts is priceless. It’s strange to think that the original Betty Boop is so obscure that only one photo shows up on Google when you search her name. After all, she was the driving force behind one of pinup’s earliest cartoon icons. Helen Kane, eat your heart out!
But, 1932 also marked a very bad time for the Betty Boop creators. This was the year when Helen Kane had filed a lawsuit against Fleischer, claiming that he was exploiting her image and personality. The lawsuit was for $250,000 - which would be the equivalent of a $4 million lawsuit today.
The case was put to rest in 1934, with Baby Esther’s legacy restored. However, by the time the case had been opened, Esther herself had died. That being said, the U.S. court system said that the “baby” singing style that Boop was known for wasn’t Kane’s, nor did Kane create Boop’s appearance. (That was credited to actress Clara Bow!)
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So, technically, Betty Boop was based on a bunch of different people. She had the eyes and lips of Clara Bow. But, she had the mannerisms of one of the most influential female singers of the Harlem Renaissance. With a little bit of extra pinup, what ended up being created was Betty Boop - the lovable cartoon that made its own print in history.
It was during this time that the original Boop came to light. Lou Walton had testified that Helen Kane had seen Baby Esther’s act in the late 20s and decided to emulate it. It’s also at this point when Kane’s “Boop” catchphrase also came into light. Only a few weeks after seeing Baby Esther perform, Kane had started “booping” just like Esther.
Over the years, many people have wondered who the inspiration behind Betty Boop was. The most common theory behind it was that it was a quirky woman by the name of Helen Kane, whose catchphrase was “boop boo a-doop!” Others believed it was Clara Bow, thanks to her large eyes and thin brows. But, the fact is that the character really wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for an obscure jazz artist…
The real Betty Boop was a 1920s jazz singer by the name of Esther Jones. The African American jazz singer was also known as Baby Esther. As her name suggested, her singing voice was very baby-like. At times, it almost sounded childlike and pouty, much like Betty Boop’s voice in cartoons does.
Walton basically annihilated Kane’s ability to claim that fame. He even explained how he taught Esther to sing scat. Kane’s plan to rise to fame as the original Betty Boop just unraveled. To make matters worse, her career wasn’t just plateauing - it was declining!
Despite everything, Kane still made a strong point to keep her image as the original Betty Boop. It was, in fact, one thing that most people think of when they think of her. Kane’s name would have faded into total obscurity had she not made such a huge deal about being the original Betty Boop. You can’t blame her for wanting that.
Original creators admitted in interviews that Baby Esther was the original Betty Boop. What’s shocking about this is that Helen Kane had gone out of her way to silence that and take the credit for the character’s creation herself. Here’s where it gets very strange, and where legend tends to blend into fact.
Because of Baby Esther’s untimely death, there wasn’t much people did to protect her name. Despite Baby Esther being the real spark behind the Betty Boop character, no one really did much to protect her legacy outside of the courts. So, while Kane kept working to keep her name living on, Baby Esther faded into obscurity.
Max Fleischer said that Betty Boop was supposed to be an exaggerated version of Helen Kane. But the thing is that Kane was actually just copying Baby Esther’s mannerisms, looks, and singing voice to launch her own musical career. Had Kane not seen Baby Esther, she wouldn’t have been a major name in jazz - or an inspiration for Boop.
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