A year later, she had transitioned into a human character, her flappy ears morphing into her now-famous hoop earrings. She first appeared in 1930 as an anthropomorphic cartoon canine in the short Dizzy Dishes, where she sang, danced, and wagged her ears. Yet behind her there’s a ghost, a figure who follows her everywhere, but who’s hardly ever seen: The all-too-often-forgotten African-American cabaret singer named “Baby” Esther who, arguably, truly gave birth to the cartoon character, yet rarely receives credit for it, and whose story, in many ways, tells a larger tale about America itself.īetty Boop began as both a parody and a powerful symbol of unabashed sexuality, a combination she would retain, to varying degrees, throughout her lifespan in the media. Betty Boop, it seems, continues to dance across the stages of media, makeup, and memories alike. Last month, Posen also unveiled two new dresses inspired Betty Boop, one a flounce-hemmed mini ($250) and the other a floor-length mermaid gown ($550), both in Betty Boop Red MAC Cosmetics released a sultry red lipstick on Valentine’s Day also named Betty Boop Red the March issue of Woman’s Day features “Heroine of Hearts,” a comic by King Features starring Boop that promotes women’s health and the famous flapper even stars in a new American play, Collective Rage: A Play in Five Boops, featuring five different versions of the Jazz Age character, the very title of which evokes her signature catchphrase, “Boop-oop-a-doop.” The play, which made its West Coast premiere in Pasadena’s Boston Court Theater in February and is running through March 19, focuses on gender and sexuality, but also evokes race, as one of the Betty Boops is black. The new cartoon is part of what Jennifer Wolfe of Animation World Network called “a larger Betty Boop campaign,” signaling that the character is experiencing a cultural resurgence. “When Max Fleischer dipped his pen into the inkwell,” Caruso continued, evoking the Viennese-American animator who created the legendary cartoon character, “out came a masterpiece that would influence generations of artists, animators, musicians, and fashion designers.” “As a cartoonist, I consider Betty Boop the eighth wonder of the world,” Frank Caruso, the vice-president of comics and cartoons syndicate King Features, said in February when asked about the surreal new animated short, Betty Goes A-Posen, a three-part collaboration with the fashion designer. She’s sexy, independent - and well aware of both, something that has made her iconic since her debut as a character 87 years ago. She rescues the designer Zac Posen - who is ensnared in monstrous vines - with nothing but a glare, and turns men arguing on the sidewalk into grinning fools with a wink and a smile. 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.In her first cartoon in nearly three decades, which appeared online in February, Betty Boop steps out of a car into a windy street, her short black dress flaring. 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. 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.
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