Esther Jones: The REAL Betty Boop
February 2, 2018
*Clears throat and raps*
Now this is a story all about how
A white woman stole this black woman’s style
Now I’d like to take a minute just to give you the scoop
About how Ester Jones inspired Betty Boop
(That was dope,right?)
Okay, so we all know Betty Bloop, right? An iconic cartoon character that had the signature saying, “boop-boop-a-doo.” But who was she named after? While she was modeled after Helen Kane (so she claimed), it turned out that no good Helen was nothing more than a copycat. And who was she imitating? That’s right ESTER JONES, a.k.a. Baby Ester!
In the 1920s, Esther Jones was a singer and songwriter known for her “baby” voice style of singing (hence the nickname). She regularly performed at the Cotton Club in Harlem and it was here, in 1928, that trifling Helen saw her act and decided to appropriate Ester’s mannerisms and make them her own, from the baby voice to her scatting.
When Betty Boom was created by Max Fleischer in 1930, hypocrite Helen decided that she didn’t like having this the animation imitating her and profiting without her receiving the credit (Oh, the irony!). So, in 1932, Helen the imposter decided she was going to sue Fleischer for $250,000.
The gotcha came though when Esther’s manager, Lou Walton, was called to testify by the defense. He told the state Supreme Court in Manhattan that he was the one who taught Esther to scat, how to use them in her performances, AND that he’d seen Ester’s act with lying Helen before she rose to fame. He then played a sound clip of Ester practicing in her baby voice and just like that Helen the fraud was exposed! GOTEM!
Unfortunately, by the time the case was resolved, it was 1934 and Esther had already passed away. But on the bright side, terrible-horrible-no good-very bad Helen’s career suffered and she descended into obscurity (where she rightfully belonged) after the truth came out.
So there you have it—a black woman named Esther Jones was the real major influence of the iconic cartoon character Betty Boop!
