The original Betty Boop in the Fleischer Studios cartoons had a big oval button shaped nose.
Betty’s initial nose more closely resembles her Jewish heritage. A lot of people have not noticed but many of Betty Boop’s traits, especially her nose, were altered when King Features Syndicate gave her a new look.
Not only was Betty Boop a redhead and had blue eyes but she also had a bigger nose. They got rid of the red hair during the 1930s. So that went. But Betty was still known for her blue eyes. Of course now Betty has a smaller nose, hardly a nose, light green eyes and jet-black hair.
Betty’s body!? It’s pretty much the same. They didn’t change it much. She originally was smaller in size because she was 13 to 16. But when she was revamped in 1938 the Fleischers made her taller. Betty later reverted to her original body proportions.
A lot of men who are fans of Betty Boop it is very worrying. Because they are likely like the men in those cartoons. So I would say I like the new girly ditzy Betty Boop revamp.
Though Betty is still not a good role model she is still likeable. This blog has a “love-hate” relationship with Betty. This blog acknowledges that if you want to be a fan of the character you have to be wary of her shady history. Regardless of Betty not being role model material today she is faux-role model material to some.
Betty Boop is a THOT. In other words she is like a prostitute. She’s got some good aspects and some bad ones. It is hard to really hate something that is not real.
Since Betty is a fictional character in the “Toon World,” she has undergone rhinoplasty, or cosmetic plastic surgery on her nose. It’s a bit of self-hate. Fanny Brice was the first Jewish person to accomplish this in real life.
There’s nothing wrong with having a Jewish nose. But if you want to be vain or considered pretty it is probably in your best interest to snip off bigger or long noses. During the 1980s King Features and the Fleischer Studios snipped Betty’s nose to probably make her more prettier.
If Max Fleischer knew of this he would likely be rolling in his grave. That being said the Fleischers didn’t actually create Betty Boop, she was created by Grim Natwick.
If you watch “The Romance of Betty Boop” you’ll see that Betty has her original big nose. But if you watch “Betty Boop’s Hollywood Mystery” she has the newer snipped nose.
The Fleischers marketed Betty throughout the years and made billions. Betty died out at one point and nobody cared about her, and she later returned popular than ever.
Betty’s fame it comes and goes. Most say that she is a very unappealing outdated character. Which makes sense after reading those LEAKED emails.
The Fleischers were doing greatly up until Paramount Pictures put Max, Lou, Dave and Joe out of business. Yes, there were more Fleischer brothers. Just nobody usually cares about the other two.
For those that do not know there was a little bit of karma. On the 24th of May in 1941, Fleischer Studios, Inc. was fully acquired by Paramount, which also sought payment for any penalties that remained unpaid after 18 months. Up until that November, the Fleischers still had production control.
So yeah at one point the Fleischers lost everything.
I think some people are so dumb that they think Max Fleischer is Adolph Hitler because of his mustache. If the Fleischers were German-Jews that is crazy. Regardless I’m just going to refer to them all as Polish. That is where he was born in Poland. Betty Boop was popular there for a reason.
If we were to cite Grim Natwick as Betty Boop’s real father. Betty would be Norwegian-American.
Brice another Jew chose to get cosmetic surgery done on her nose in 1923 because she was sick of being a sight gag. Brice had “cut off her nose to spite her race,” according to Dorothy Parker, and there was probably a lot more truth to that biting remark than Brice ever admitted.
I’ve already created a PSA video about this. However, I had to allude to what I wanted to say in an oblique way. I can elaborate on what I was attempting to explain to people in greater depth here, though.
Grampy is Betty Boop’s grandfather, according to a 2013 report from King Features and Fleischer Studios. The old figure Grampy with a black nose, a white beard, and a bald, dome-shaped skull, Grampy is a lively, contented old man.
Grampy made his debut in 1935 and was retired in 1937.
Male characters in older Fleischer Studios cartoons were poorly written, particularly in the “Betty Boop” series. Male characters treated female characters in a nasty and sexist manner. Thus, when Grampy appeared, many were amazed at how well-written he was.
Grampy is an inventor, but he is a known alcoholic. Regrettably, he suffers from alcoholism, which explains his red nose. The Fleischers changed his nose from black to red to try and hide this. In the new 2016 reboot comic strip they did not know what to do with him so they made him somewhat senile.
It was never made clear in the original cartoons that he was her grandfather. He was known to all as Grampy. Most significantly, Grampy was infatuated with Betty.
As a result, Betty and Grampy would frequently make out, hold hands, flirt, and engage in other activities that you would not normally do with your grandfather.
The twist is that he was most likely Betty’s sugar daddy rather than her grandfather. Grampy and Betty both have a more boyfriend and girlfriend vibe. They appear to be involved in a taboo connection of some sort.
In one gruesome event, he grabs Betty and they both enjoy a drink. Betty squeaks when Grampy sucks on the straw. It is really disgusting considering their age difference.
King Features and the Fleischers did not investigate his past is somewhat of a taboo subject. If this is true, he should go by Groompy or Grampedo instead of Grampy. A lot of people think that Grampy and Betty are unrelated.
All I want is for folks to be cautious about what this character actually stands for. He is just like the other men who have played supporting roles in Betty’s past appearances.
Betty is supposedly only between the ages of 13 and 16. Grampy’s predecessor, the clown persona KO-KO, was always eerie. One character that lusted after Betty was KO-KO. KO-KO is an adult, he is not a teenager. Given that Bimbo and Betty made their debuts as boyfriend and girlfriend together, they should be roughly the same age. Bimbo would therefore be 16, just like Betty.
There is a rumor that Grampy was based on KO-KO the Clown. Despite being distinct characters, they share a striking amount of character design similarities. KO-KO was dumb, he was not an inventor. Grampy is supposedly somewhat based on Max Fleisher. If so, that would make Fleischer a pervert. Because he’s saying that Betty is his niece, daughter or granddaughter, and that he has a thing for her.
Which would be reasonable. Leslie Cabarga portrayed Max Fleischer as an obese, unattractive, and rather disgusting Jewish man who is lustful for Betty in his comic. Fleischer clearly was the one who stole Grim Natwick’s character, redesigned it, and could not think of an age range.
Betty is pretty much underage in a majority of her cartoons.
Betty may seem like a grownup, but she is actually just a child. It seriously tarnishes the reputation of Fleischer Studios and increases disappointment.
I’ve been informed that the Fleischer Studios and Walt Disney both supported pederasty in their cartoons. And this is evident if you view most of the Betty Boop cartoons in their entirety.
Of course Betty is a woman now or long deceased as she was born in 1915. But in the original cartoons it is creepy… I am not going to hold it against Betty, as the 1930s was a different era.
It’s been and gone.
Since then, Grampy has got a brand-new girlfriend who resembles him quite a bit. So she is not special. I suppose there’s no going back now that they’ve said that Grampy is Betty’s grandfather.
The strange part is that he spends all of his time with Betty and Pudgy before meeting this new girlfriend. And there is a creepy sexualized photo of Betty on the wall in his home. Wouldn’t he have a photo of his wife, son or daughter? Oh right, they wrote out Betty’s extended family.
So Betty’s only family member in the spin-off is a perverted grandfather…
It was only yesterday that Betty and Grampy were dancing with Black stereotypical Africans in one of the many old racist Fleischer Studios cartoons.
Now his supposed lover… err.. cough… cough… I mean granddaughter is portrayed by a Black woman. So both Betty and Grampy in the African episode stupidly traveled to Africa and were being racist by calling Black people savages, apes and monkeys.
My how things have changed.
I don’t hold it against Stephen DeRosa for accepting the part or joining the Broadway production’s cast. I’m hoping that everyone receives their flowers and that this will lead to their prosperity. The Broadway show won’t be forever. If so, there are always cast changes. A successful Broadway show depends on consistent touring. As we’ve seen in the past, sometimes some of the cast drop out.
Grampy is a sweet character but like Betty he has a shady history.
I am not personally targeting the Fleischer Studios in any of my posts. I just tell authentic stories. I must thus report on anything that has occurred in a professional manner. Unlike those who exhibit bias or tell lies.
Allegedly the Fleischer Studios took advantage of a Black female entrepreneur. I have to allege, because I wasn’t there at the meetings, I can only go by her word of mouth. But I do believe her story to be true. She is telling the truth because there no longer is a “Black Betty Boop” project in the works.
I heard the story as of late January of 2024, and I thought that it wouldn’t be fair to not share her story and what she experienced working with the Fleischers.
There is currently a Black woman portraying Betty on Broadway, however that has nothing to do with this. The live-action Broadway show has no connection to the animated version. They used extremely few materials overall, and none of the original materials were used.
So Betty on Broadway looks like Betty, but she doesn’t act 100% like the original Betty. She’s a more modernized Betty. The role for Betty on Broadway is interchangeable. So she’s not just exclusively Black as people think. Many people are dumb and stupid today and do not take notice of this. I too was originally conned by this, until I later found out that several people auditioned and won the role.
The reason why Betty debuted as a Black woman is because many people were making fake reviews. In those fake reviews they said they were not going to support the show if Betty was not Black. So the producers of the show got scared, and they were only seeking Black female actresses for the debut.
Is there anything wrong with a Black person portraying Betty? No there isn’t.
I have seen the earlier transcripts and concept, and so Betty was was just white. This was way back in the early 2010s though, and the others were from the 2000s. They still were thinking that in the early 2020s, and so Jessica Vosk was up for the role. Vosk announced it in 2022, but was apparently later fired or removed from the project. I am going to assume she stepped down herself, after being told that they were taking a different route.
What about this “Black Betty Boop” cartoon spin-off?
I won’t be able to get the Fleischers side of events. Reason being is I do not follow any account linked to them. I also do not follow the the official Betty Boop page either. Apparently they did not apologize or respond to the Black woman that they conned into signing a contract with them.
So one of the main allegations against the Fleischer family is racism.
The allegations are not against Dave Fleischer or Max Fleischer as they are deceased. The allegations are against the Fleischer Studios family or studios as a whole. Max’s children are dead, so these are against the grandchildren and great grandchildren of the Fleischers.
Personally I don’t believe the Fleischer Studios are racist but I think they enable it. For example they have racist people around them. If you have racist people around you it can affect the way you think.
There are many white people out there who are openly racist you see. And they see nothing wrong in being racist. In fact, to them, everyone but themselves are racist. This isn’t a dig at the Fleischers. This is just generally what a majority of ignorant white people are like.
The Fleischers have never done anything for me. So I don’t have to defend them. I guess the only thing they did was steal stories from me that I took an interest in? That’s about it.
I understand that the Fleischers wanted her to solely market Black Betty Boop by herself. But in doing so, it was not a very good deal. But I have noticed that the Fleischers are “stingy” and expect other collaborators to do all the work. So people who want to collaborate with them. The Fleischers make them invest.
In doing so, I don’t think the Fleischer Studios pay a dime. They expect any collaborators to do all the work. And they also do not help. However they have helped promote other collaborations. Why they wouldn’t help promote “Black Betty Boop” probably stems to a PBS story.
The Fleischers have never invested in new animated cartoons or anything constructive. What they do is they recycle the “old racist outdated cartoons” and restore them. Cartoons that are very offensive to Black people. Instead of making new cartoons. I hate to say it, but nobody would want to sit there watching an offensive cartoon. Unless they were reviewing it.
Watching those types of cartoons you would be offended, unless you’re a self-hater. You know the Uncle Ruckus type of person? You know? Black people who hate other Black people?
And they only worship the ground white people walk on. I’ve been through the whole Betty Boop and Fleischer catalogue and let me tell you, there are so many rancid cartoons in their collection. You can’t hide history, I’d rather people be aware. That is why I shared what some of the cartoons were about and how racist they are.
It wouldn’t be fair for a person of color to become a fan of Betty Boop and not know her true past of racism and sexism and so on.
Speaking of investing and collaborations. For instance, by negotiating partnerships with possible brands, King Features had been funding and producing animated appearances in spin-off Betty Boop films over the years. They used to do little animated skits of Betty Boop which were silly. They also used to fund other Betty Boop spin-off materials. For example the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and so on.
In 2014, Syco and Animal Logic were working on a new Betty Boop film. At one point Lady Gaga was going to take on the role of Betty Boop. The producers and team decided that after researching the “Betty Boop” brand that they didn’t want to make the film. So they tried to pitch it to Sony and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Both companies rejected the offer.
They said Betty Boop is over-sexualized, outdated, creepy and weird. It is hard to market Betty Boop in animated films because of her sex-symbol status. So if she were to be remade for a film they would find it hard to de-sexualize her, because she’s like Marilyn Monroe, and she relies on sex appeal. Which apparently mainstream media today seem to be highly against.
The new agenda in Hollywood is that men should be more effeminate, and women should be masculine. But it is not just a one-off, it is in everything. If you are female in Hollywood or if you create something that emulates a woman, it has to be a girl-boss. The girl-boss trope is outdated and has been overused and it is boring now. Being a girl-boss is nothing new, it’s been around since the 1980s or possibly earlier.
This is a message to the losers in Hollywood! Find a new trope jerks!
They have also done this to Betty Boop with faux-feminism for some spin-off merchandise. The original Betty was objectified and sexualized. So would how she be a feminist when she never advocated for women’s rights? Betty often liked being sexualized.
Truth is, Betty Boop is a THOT. No matter what they do to her, or how they want to recreate or rebrand. They can never hide the truth of her perverted and sexualized origin. What did Betty Boop do? She flashed her boobs, her crotch, her everything. Normal women don’t do that. Jezebels do that.
We love Betty because she’s cute. She has a big head, big eyes, cute voice and she’s adorable. But there’s a dirty secret that will always follow the character.
Personally I don’t think there should be a “Black Betty Boop” cartoon character. As a Black person, would you want to be considered a prostitute like Betty? No. Make some brand new Black female characters that don’t have to be sexualized. The Fleischers only wanted to try and appeal to everyone just to make money. I don’t think they care about Betty Boop’s well-being. They would have rebooted her in animated form themselves if they cared. And not relied on third-party collaborators.
From what I heard, the Fleischers, they like to live luxuriant on the royalties. Driving in limos, eating and dressing luxurious. So what I am saying is they do not invest in Betty Boop. So they rely on third-parties to do that.
So what happened? So they went to this woman. They hoped that “she could market” the spin-off brand herself. However they did not want to invest or help promote it. This shows that they are not really interested in their brand, so if you do collaborate with the Fleischers you have to ensure you have everything set. Marketing, promoting, and make sure that what you are doing is going to sell.
To the Fleischer Studios it is all about money.
I do not use her name in my article, but if you look carefully in this post and are interested, she is easy to find. The reason being I do not want to cause more harm or pain. I am also going to not only write about that, but discuss several other stories relating to rumors, gossip and legit history regarding Betty Boop.
She alleged that the Fleischers duped her. And no not “Doop” as in “Boop-Boop-Be-Dooped” but duped. What does duped mean you ask? Deceived, cheated, conned and tricked.
The Betty Boop series was banned for racism, especially against African-Americans. So even though they promoted creative artists such as Louis Armstrong or Cab Calloway that didn’t change how they disrespected Black people in many of their cartoons.
At one point several of the original cartoons were banned on TV. It wasn’t until they were restored for modern day release. People are not offended today, because they “THINK” that Betty Boop is Black. But the truth is the cartoon character never was.
It is a myth, Betty Boop was never Black.
But Betty Boop did appropriate Black singers and Black culture.
Even the Black businesswoman who developed the “Black Betty Boop” was aware or wary that Betty was white. If Betty wasn’t, ask yourself why’d she have to color her brown?
If something was Black, you wouldn’t have to color it Black, it would already be Black. This is not to offend anyone, but it is the truth. And yes, the truth often hurts the uneducated.
Having Black artists in the old racist Fleischer cartoons did not stop them from depicting Black people as “lazy” or useless. They still did it. I could name over 100 Fleischer cartoons that are openly racist. It also did not stop the stereotypes and racism in the original “Betty Boop” cartoons.
Off-topic but did anyone see that cartoon where Betty Boop bullies that Black janitor? Because he’s Black, she thinks he’s lazy in the cartoon. And turns him from Black to white with her spell. The cartoon in question is called “Out of the Inkwell” from 1938 featuring Betty Boop.
The horrible racist joke in that cartoon is that once he’s turned white, he’s more productive in cleaning Max Fleischer’s office. Literally the Fleischer Studios office.
That episode is Betty Boop in Karen mode, watch it at your own risk.
I am quite shocked that people want a Black Betty Boop. Betty Boop was not based on a Black person, the original Betty she more or less appropriated Black jazz singers singing style. That is about it. Betty Boop and her friends were notorious for doing Blackface in her cartoons.
“What happened and why I no longer work with the Fleischer Studios? Why I ended up realizing that it wasn’t the partnership that was originally presented to me. And there isn’t an effort to make African-Americans feel included.”
For the “Betty of the People Initiative” program the Fleischer Studios were going to launch many different races of Betty Boop, similar to what the Black entrepreneur was already doing.
She said that she had her own version of Betty Boop called Betty Boo. And that her original concept was not supposed to have been Betty Boop.
The entrepreneur had already launched her own African-American Betty Boop, Muslim Betty Boop, Puerto Rican Betty Boop, West Indian Betty Boop, Jamaican Betty Boop.
As she originally wanted all races of women to be seen.
One day, she got a letter in the mail from the Fleischer Studios. The Fleischers told her that they saw what she was doing with “Black Betty Boo” and they said they liked what she was doing. They asked her to set up a meeting, which made her so excited.
The Fleischers claimed that they were reaching out to identify communities in an effort to make Betty’s universal principles as diverse and inclusive as possible.
Personally I thought the “Black Betty Boop” spin-off franchise was doing well, but it turns out that it ended with a “cease and desist” or threats of C&D, according to the entrepreneur.
I had a gut-wrenching feeling that this Black Betty Boop was going to go wrong.
Recently two videos surfaced on social media called “Facing Bertrayals and Rising Above” and “A Tale of Representation and Learning to Let Go”.
The entrepreneur is a prodigy, and she appeared on the “Tamron Hall Show” in 2023. Not only that she is or was a fan of Betty Boop and had been drawing fan art of Betty Boop since she was a little girl. After the way the Fleischer Studios treated her, she’s no longer a fan of Betty Boop.
I don’t blame her, but she did say in the end that she regretted signing a contract with them. The Fleischers do have money, ’cause they wouldn’t threaten lawsuits if they didn’t.
So for the Fleischers manipulating and taking advantage of the Black businesswoman is quite distasteful.
“I have always been a fan of Betty Boop, and as an African-American girl, there weren’t many characters that represented us. There weren’t many characters where we could see ourselves. As a young girl, I sometimes would color her brown.”
Black Betty Boop was 4 years in the making, and was announced in 2023. The Fleischer Studios saw her work, and they decided to partner with her under the “Betty of the People” umbrella.
The characteristic of her Betty was to never settle for less. The Black version of Betty Boop would celebrate Black women and Black culture, but also all women’s rights. Black Betty Boop was there to stand for the voice for women.
Having a Black Betty Boop would have been historical according to the entrepreneur.
So according to the entrepreneur, the Fleischers spoke down to her, and made her feel less than as of 2024. The Fleischer Studios entered an agreement to make the Black entrepreneur a licensee under the guise that they wanted Black people and other races to feel included.
In the partnership the Fleischer Studios refused to promote her banner, introduce her line to stores, and they went back on their promise.
They told her that, “We’ll see what YOU can do. And then we’ll come back and revisit what we’re going to do.”
While researching the market they noticed that there are many “KNOCK-OFF” Betty Boop’s being sold online. And the Black entrepreneur also noticed during their research that Black people in general “don’t care” if “Betty Boop” is legitimate or not, they’ll buy it.
For those that do not know, Black Betty Boop was originally known as Bootleg Betty Boop.
The Black entrepreneur said, “On top of that, we’re dealing with the idea, the history of Fleischer in the Black community. With the idea that they appropriated Betty Boop’s image with Esther Jones, and they claim that they did not. That is another story, look at the court case and determine for yourself.”
(Betty Boop 1930 to 1931 colorized art by Grim Natwick.)
I have to let this be known. Baby Esther Jones was not the model for Betty Boop. According to Grim Natwick, the REAL creator of Betty Boop. Helen Kane and flapper girls of the 1920s were the model. Betty Boop was originally a French poodle, and had blue eyes and vivid red hair.
In other words, Betty Boop was not a human girl, she was a dog girl. We’ve been through this many times, the Fleischers do not want anyone associated with Betty Boop. Even though Clara Bow is the perfect source material for Betty’s image, even she’s not considered. But Paramount admitted to it in old archived news articles and annuals.
Never forget that Grim Natwick created the original Betty Boop concept. It is known in history, that the Fleischers according to Mike Dobbs, have been stealing Natwick’s credits. They don’t want him to be the sole originator of the introduction to Betty Boop in 1930. Which is sad.
I kind of understand why Mark Fleischer was upset with the Black entrepreneur.
The truth is, Betty Boop appropriated many female performers of the 1920s and 1930s. Esther Jones was only used to defend the Fleischers, to demonstrate that “scat-singing” was common, and that Kane did not originate or create it. The Betty Boop character is also known for appropriating Black culture but was never Black.
Betty Boop has always been a white Jew, she also had “red-orange” hair. Peach or pale skin, and blue eyes. And if not only is Betty Jewish, she’s Polish-American too.
The Black entrepreneur went on to say that the Fleischers only came to her to clean Betty’s image up, after the PBS special that depicted Betty as a Black woman.
The entrepreneur spent over $10,000 on the image, promotion and PR. And the Fleischer Studios did not invite the team to Boop! the Betty Boop Musical.
So she felt used and was upset and got her lawyer to have her removed from the Fleischer contract. The Fleischers tried to resolve the concerns, and they gave examples. The Fleischer Studios ignored, they were not interested in any kind of solution.
Instead according to the Black entrepreneur, the Fleischers put “her in her place” and said, “we treat you like all our OTHER licensees.” They told her that they didn’t know what her expectations were.
She was shocked and upset, and she said considering their reputation in the African-American community, and the resistance.
It turns out that she was the only “African-American” part of the team.
Mark Fleischer told her that, “she was the one that was appropriating their Betty Boop, using an image that wasn’t hers.” The Black entrepreneur started to laugh, and said are we really doing that?
She was upset that she invested in over ten thousand dollars to create Black Betty Boop. Mark Fleischer told her, “Betty Boop is mine, and we’re doing YOU a favor by not sending YOU a cease and desist.”
They made her open up Black Betty Boop LLC, and stopped the launch until she agreed to change the name. What disappointed her most, is to have “white men” look at her like she was “beneath” them.
She alleges that they spoke to her like she was uneducated. And she also said that the Fleischers are not to be trusted. But she is blessed and thankful that things worked out the way they needed to work out.
The Black entrepreneur says she saw the Fleischer Studios for what they really were.
Boop-Boop-Be-Doop Opinion:
For years I have defended the Fleischer Studios, telling people that they were not racist. Let me just say, this drama here is not a good look.
Maybe they don’t want Betty to be Black anymore? They do own her, there’s nothing you can do about that anymore. After my research, though there was an ongoing dispute to “who owned the rights” it was eventually proven that the Fleischers own the copyright.
Personally instead of sending “cease and desists” to take down knock-off Black Betty Boop off the marketplace to compete against, they said they would cease and desist her.
The entrepreneur “felt tricked” but she said that there were multiple signs along the way that the Fleischer Studios “do not do the right thing.” This is what she explained.
For me personally, it looks like she was used for good publicity. Being as they have a Black woman portraying Betty, they probably didn’t need her anymore. If people haven’t noticed, the Fleischer family, they don’t really like investing money in anything. They get other people to do the work for them. They hire some random people to try and restore some of their old “racist” cartoons and re-release them.
My only solution to her would be, create your own cartoon character. You can make something similar to Betty Boop. Something special, with a similar Betty Boop-like aesthetic. As long as it does not infringe on the Fleischer franchise.
A character that is similar to Betty Boop but is not Betty Boop.
For example do not use Betty’s image or the name “Betty Boop” or “Betty Boo” because those names are already copyrighted. Betty Boo is the name of a British rapper. Any kind of “kewpie doll” look could be used to create something original.
You have to have some creative instinct. For example imagine if I were to create a new character, and I wanted to use a Betty Boop, I would use my brain to think what names go well together?
What sounds similar to Betty Boop?
Imagine creating a character called “Cutie Patootie” or “Sweety Honey” or something along that line. There’s many names and concepts you can come up with.
You could establish the big eyes, big head, and not only own exclusive rights to that character, but market your character to all races of women. Also be sure to obtain the patent, so it cannot be duplicated. Just like the Fleischers threaten C&D, you could do the same.
That is why the Fleischer Studios can do what they want with Betty’s image. And also threaten people legally if they want to. Of course in doing so, especially to a Black woman. The Fleischers would have eventually have been called out and deal with the consequences of being trashed by cancel culture. People do keep a tab, and there’s only so much pettiness that people can get away with until they get exposed.
So if I were the Fleischers, I would be more cautious threatening Black people. At the end of the day, you were the ones who reached out to her. It wasn’t the other way around.
I mean look at all the other Betty Boop parodies in history? The Fleischers have no power over carbon copies. The characters just can’t have a similar name or be marketed under the Betty Boop umbrella.
Never forget that in most states parody is fair use of a copyrighted work. For example, you can create a similar character with a similar name. As long as you are not 100% infringing on the original. For example, you don’t try to pull off your parody as official.
If the Fleischers and King Features allowed Sandy Fox to be racist about Black girls and women. All while being the “official voice of Betty Boop” then obviously they are not going to care about Black people in general.
Fox tried to gatekeep the Betty Boop franchise, a few years ago. It was possible that the Fleischers used the Black entrepreneur to try and counter all the things I tried to bring to light.
So they thought, maybe if they pretended to reach out to other ethnicities that they’d get some good feedback. Well, looks like that didn’t end well.
For example, according to a historian, the Fleischers tried to blame “Boop-Boop-Be-Doop” for the PBS story.
But it turns out they themselves are to blame for the story. They allowed the faux-image since the 2000s to confuse and mislead people. And when I tried to bring the real story to light, they deleted the website.
The Fleischer Studios and King Features, hate being called out. They will openly lie, and then when someone finds out they’ve been lying, they try to cover it up. Either by paying off a news reporter or by posting a faux-statement.
Also the “Los Espookys” controversy where they wouldn’t license Betty Boop. The 1932 Betty Boop cartoons will become public domain in 2028. Looks like “Los Espookys” couldn’t wait that long.
As said, the Fleischer Studios own the rights to Betty Boop.
And what they do with Betty Boop is their business. As said, they should have NEVER done a partnership or reached out to the Black entrepreneur the way they did.
Especially since they never stuck to the agreement or promise.
I feel sorry for her, because she’s a Black businesswoman, who went into business with Jewish businessmen who didn’t have her best interest. All they cared about was the backlash from the Black community.
Betty’s Boop’s racist past can never be forgotten.
As I said before, this Black Betty Boop thing is only a marketing tool to sell to the Black community. When I first saw it, I knew something wasn’t right when the Fleischers reached out to the Black entrepreneur. The only downside is that her team spent over $10,000 to promote it, and in the end it ended up becoming defunct.
But I have a feeling, that the Fleischers have stolen this “Black Betty Boop” idea and ran with it themselves. Which they can do, as they do actually own the copyright to Betty Boop.
But being as the Fleischer Studios don’t like Black people or Black Betty Boop in general they probably won’t use the Black Betty Boop, so the creator of the character won’t have to worry.
In a recent Chicagoan news interview the Fleischer Studios have responded to Boop-related things.
Because Betty made her debut as a Black woman and it created quite a commotion on social media, so the Fleischers feel compelled to reply.
The cartoon character Betty Boop, according to Fleischer Studios, was influenced by culture rather than a specific individual. And a diverse range of individuals, including many Black people, contributed to the formation of the culture.
The Fleischers acknowledge that the majority of “Betty Boop” cartoons, particularly the ones with Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong, and Don Redman as well as some of the other “Talkartoons” emulate Black culture.
And that Betty Boop, the fictional character, somewhat imitates that.
The Fleischers denied that Kane served as the model for Betty Boop.
Though animator Grim Natwick used Kane’s “fame” to create the initial base for Betty Boop. The Fleischers developed that persona further. Kane was not the only “Booper” in the business.
There were many “Boop Girls” in the late 1920s and early 1930s, being a baby-talk vamp was a popular cult, especially among teenage girls. Natwick also referenced teenage flapper girls as inspiration behind Betty Boop.
Being as Betty’s voices Margie Hines and Mae Questel were “Boop-Boop-Be-Doop” girls? Why wouldn’t Betty be?
Were those “Boops” taken from Helen Kane by the Fleischer brothers, Max and Dave? The courts ruled no. A few years prior, one of Kane’s greatest rivals, Esther Jones, was scatting and, if not exactly “Boop-Boop-a-Dooping”, then at least “Boo-Boo-Boo-Doo-Doo-Doo” and “Wa-Da-Da-ing” all over the place, according to testimony provided by former manager of the artist Lou Bolton during the 1934 trial.
He stated that Bolton coached her.
Additionally, Bolton attested that the night Jones’ New York City nightclub performance was seen by his client Helen Kane, he was there in the crowd. And, in the long and unquestionable tradition of blatant stealing in American show business, it appears that she swiped important parts of it for her own routines.
A detailed discussion is had of Peggy Bernier. Naturally, Bernier titled “The Girl With the Baby Voice” was discovered by Paul Ash before Kane and had been using the baby voice years earlier.
No one, according to the Fleischers, was the inspiration for Boop.
They neglected to note, too, that Boop had a redhead rival. Clara Bow was one of the many clear inspirations behind the character. The Fleischers overlooked Paramount’s admission that Bow was one of their numerous sources of inspiration.
In particular, Boop and Bow were compared to each other in Hollywood on Parade. That amounted to an oblique admission that Bow served as one of Boop’s numerous sources of inspiration.
Mark Fleischer argued that it is a “terrible injustice to Esther Jones because she had her own wonderful career” to suggest that she was the model for Betty Boop. And this false information has overshadowed it.
The Fleischers asserted that Barbie a character created by Mattel needed to correct the record in contrast to Betty Boop and Barbie. And has to sort of own up to its mistakes and acknowledge some things.
“Particularly after the Barbie film, the plot isn’t really original. Barbie’s real-life differences are shown in the Barbie movie in a convincing way.”
The Fleischers are likely responding to this genuine review.
It is true, Barbie shows this is a more convincing way. Compared to the Barbie movie, the Broadway production of Boop! the Musical, which might return as early as April 2024, is quite popular but might not become a cult classic unless they make it more appealing to “everyone” and increase its promotion.
Many individuals have assumed that the musical is exclusively “Black-exclusive”. However, the reality is that Betty in the Broadway show was not intended to be a “Black” person. She was actually penned as a “fictional” individual, and is colorless. In the original concepts for the Broadway, several white women auditioned and won the role. When the musical went into a different direction the original cast were fired.
Betty’s world turns from black and white to color, so there is no color in this Betty’s world. However because a Black woman portrays her, Betty is obviously BLACK.
When people write, falsely, that they wonder why Betty is not a stereotypical Black woman. And often applaud the writing. This is obviously due to Betty’s tale being written with no ethnicity in mind. Though it is relatively known that she debuted as a Black woman. Which gave a “person of color” to take on the new reimagined role, and true “Boopers” don’t care what ethnicity Betty is, as long as they stick to some original source material.
For all the reasons and skill sets that the character of Betty demands, the choice of Jasmine Rogers, a performer of color, feels appropriate to take on the role of Betty Boop.
The Fleischers are probably replying to those who are unaware of the real source.
They are probably making an oblique reference to “certain individuals” who requested a Betty Boop biography be written without permission. With a narrative that the Fleischer Studios do not agree with. The book in question was used to defame the Fleischers. So as of 2023, the story of the Fleischers is that they are currently thieves.
This is what the “book” in question indicates. I have to agree with the Fleischers, the book in likely a little fabricated. So for people to use that as a source to attack the Fleischers is quite blasé. The book in question fabricates the “scat-singing” originations, and claims that Kane was the sole innovator.
Which is false, and a little biased.
This new article proves that the Fleischers are able to defend themselves, but I can’t help think that like most Fleischer articles, it seems to be self-publishing. In other words paid for allegedly out of the Fleischers pockets as they did a few years ago in a Jewish news report. But what the Fleischer Studios need to understand is, there is always two-sides to every story. And that’s only their narrative; there are other people’s unique perspectives as well.
On another note, when a voice-actress for Betty showed disdain towards African Americans. The Fleischers and King Features did not chastise the person in question. Also said person always says that “HELEN KANE” is the model and voice for Betty Boop. So that also discredits the Fleischer Studios.
If “The Official Voice of Betty Boop” is gatekeeping a franchise and stating that Helen Kane was Betty Boop. What does that say about your franchise?
The notion that Betty was based on “no one” does not imply that other individuals share your opinion. Having several perspectives on a tale makes it hard to maintain control over the narrative.
But regardless of the Fleischers personal opinions there’s no hate here.
Citing “no one” as the model or inspiration, however, is likely to backfire because it will pique curiosity and encourage certain individuals to possibly look into the story more.
It does no one any justice to refuse to acknowledge that Helen Kane partially served as a basis for Betty Boop. She served as the base for Dizzy Dishes. The only person who could attest to this was Grim Natwick.
And he did many times. Sadly, Natwick eventually passed away.
Prior to his passing, he did wish for “his” creation Betty Boop to return to him, since Max Fleischer had pledged to do so following Betty’s retirement. However, the Fleischers refused to give Boop back to him. He sued them after Max Fleischer died, but lost. Because he didn’t have anything written in writing. The Fleischers probably kept Betty Boop because her merchandise and the whole franchise is worth over $1,000,000,000 in dollars.
The Chicago story continues by suggesting that Baby Esther ought to have a biopic of her own.
Here’s quote by Betty Boop:
“I mean, first it was this lawsuit with the Kane girl. I’d never even seen her act. My ‘Boop-Oop-a-Dooping’ comes from here. Either you ‘Boop’ from inside or you ain’t got it. It’s not somethin’ you pull on or off like a pair o’ six-inch spike heels.”
Boop-Boop-Be-Doop Statement:
Please note that this “Boop-Boop-Be-Doop” blog has always been 50/50, and doesn’t just do one-sided narratives.
The “Boop-Boop-Be-Doop” blog does believe that Helen Kane was “not” original. She may have made the “Boop-Boop-a-Doop” famous, but she didn’t create it. But keep in mind, that was HER persona. She was best known for that IMAGE. So technically it was her gimmick. Nobody lay claim to it. They always said they were doing “Kane” impersonations.
Star “Baby Esther” also DID NOT lay claim to the “Boop” routine or Kane’s persona. The AFRO-AMERICAN did however, by proclaiming that Kane was a thief.
African-American singers Louis Armstrong and Clarence Williams did, they created the original “Boop” routine. Though everyone else telling the tale? They won’t tell you that though will they? Though during the lawsuit, they did go through the origination of “scat-singing” routines.
Because the Fleischers used the M-G-M soundtrack of Esther Jones, that’s the only reason they were able to demonstrate that Harlem was the initial source behind the scat. Jones eventually got married, settled down. She vanished from the entertainment business and became obscure.
But her tale as said many times, was archived in old news reports. So when people began researching Betty Boop during the 1970s and 1980s, Jones came up in their research. She had been archived in many old news reports. As more or less? Saving the FLEISCHERS butts in court?
Also all the other evidence given, with Kane also “admitting” to not being the “first” baby-voiced singer.
When asked how she had created this “Boop” scatting technique, Kane stated, “It’s a form of rhythm I created. There’s a bar in the music, and at the end there is a stop.”
However interpolating “hot licks” into songs had already been established by other performers long before Kane had started using the technique that she claimed she had invented.
Helen Kane made “Boop-Boop-a-Doop” famous.
But she was not the first “scatter” and she certainly did not “invent” the rhythm of interjecting “meaningless” sounds into songs.
Koko the Clown and Bimbo the Dog are not featured in the new musical.
From 2008 to 2014, they were included as characters in the original screenplay. Although the parts were initially cast, David Foster’s original cast of the earlier “Betty Boop” musical were fired. But Pudgy and Grampy were included.
Here’s a photo of the original cast from 2014.
The David Foster musical’s original idea and script included Bimbo and Koko the Clown. Bulldozers from the developer attempt to destroy the “Happy Heart Theater” in the original story. Both Koko and Bimbo help Betty Boop and Grampy save the “Happy Heart Theater” from the developer’s bulldozers.
While both characters are absent from the finished “Boop!” Broadway show. They were removed, most likely because this new tale of Betty Boop was written “after” Betty’s animal friends were eliminated from the original series. They had to have researched Betty’s origins by watching some of her cartoons to understand the character.
The Betty Boop cartoons that aired from 1934 to 1939 showcased people rather than animals. Koko, Bimbo and even Betty’s little brother Billy Boop, and her other animal pals, were all eliminated from the original series.
So instead of using existing characters they created new ones.
Since Bimbo and Koko come from difficult backgrounds, they don’t match the story. Bimbo, for instance, would destroy Betty’s brand-new love relationship, because he’s her former boyfriend. What would he add to the story? Furthermore, Koko doesn’t actually offer much. Either Koko is silent like Charlie Chaplin or is pretty much pointless. They suit more in animated spin-offs. Then they can be updated or tweaked.
Like Pudgy for example he’s one of the worst characters in the series. But “as bad as Pudgy is” he is known to be cute and is still more well known to the general public than Koko or Bimbo. Reason being is Pudgy appears on many Betty Boop merchandise. So people or fans of the character already know who he is.
When the kids see Pudgy at the show, they will be entertained.
They’ll think it is cute.
So yeah, I hate to disappoint the true “Boopers” out there. But Ko-Ko the Clown and Bimbo are not in this Broadway reboot. They however do appear slightly in the stage artworks.
I heard a lot of fans complain who’re fans of Bimbo and Koko. So this post here is specially for them. Betty Boop is not the sole character that had a fanbase, Koko and Bimbo also have their own fans.
Hopefully King Features and the Fleischer Studios are aware of this. They put so much effort into promoting Betty Boop “only” that they often forget about the other prominent Fleischer characters in the series.
Thanks to everyone who subscribed, sadly the channel is defunct.
Work’s Been Kinda Slow, But I Still Got It:
So it probably in your best interest to unsub?
However, the channel will endure for as long as possible, just like everything else.
I put a lot of work into fan pages, but truth be told they won’t be around forever. Nothing lasts forever, thus the reason I decided to archive everything here. I will not be posting fandom content indefinitely.
A lot of people wonder why I don’t align my text to the left? Well I personally think that text centered looks better. It is my unique way of doing it. Nobody else does it.
Fans should utilize Betty Boop’s official webpages, as I have advised for years. Almost all the current information you want is available there. But I will ensure to post more accurate information. It appears that the Fleischers descendants are not very knowledgeable with the original Betty Boop.
Please be aware that although Richard Fleischer was the closest connection to Max and Dave, and even he passed away in 2006. But he did however leave behind his “Out of the Inkwell” book.
Gordon Mike Dobbs a Fleischer historian, he filled in the blanks of what the Fleischers did to Grim Natwick. Natwick created the base for Betty Boop. Max Fleischer promised to give the character back to Natwick as a gift.
This however never happened. The Fleischers shunned Natwick many years later when he wanted to try and obtain the rights to Betty. Max was sick at the time, and would not speak to Natwick. So in his place Richard Fleischer did. He told Natwick to never speak to the family again. Natwick felt they had treated him badly so he sued them and lost, he never had anything in writing that he created the character. While creating Betty, he was working for the Fleischers.
The Fleischers developed that character.
Turns out over the years, the Fleischers had lost the copyright to Betty Boop. From there it was a never ending third-party battle to who owned the rights. King Features and Harvey Comics were in various lawsuits.
King Features fought tooth and nail against the Fleischers. The company did bring Betty back to life thanks to Ted Hannah, but other than that? It was mainly merchandising. A little animation here and there, and they often handled the negotiations for Betty Boop collaborations.
KO-KO had been in the public domain for decades. His cartoons, they have no copyright protection. Zavier Leslie Cabarga spoke to a King Features lawyer many years ago, and that lawyer said that the Fleischers can go to hell. Next minute you know, the Fleischers were eventually able to re-obtain the full copyright to the Betty Boop character. This is a lot like the “Friday the 13th” case, when Victor Miller established his ownership alone. The Fleischers demonstrated their ownership of Betty Boop.
Believe it or not, you can re-obtain the copyright to any franchise you own within a certain time period.
I noticed that to promote the character to a younger audience, many of Betty’s origins, history, and look have been altered. Therefore, the majority of the material posted on the official Fleischer Studios or Betty Boop websites might not be entirely true and might not accurately depict Betty Boop’s original background.
So it is more or less altered to suit them. The Fleischers descendants, well listen to this. They didn’t even know that Betty originally was a redhead. So what does that tell you?
Betty’s face was substantially altered when King Features took control of her many years ago. Nobody noticed, but her nose had more of an oval button shape, that more closely aligned with her Jewish heritage. What did King Features Syndicate do? They gave Betty Boop a nose job. Snipped her whole nose off.
The red hair never returned because black hair complements Betty’s looks, but they also changed her eye color from blue to a light green. Think we didn’t notice? Though weirdly in 2012, Lancôme briefly reverted that.
“A note to the haters: I promise never to alter my blogging style for anyone.”
They All Want to Silence Me:
I am not a self-saboteur when it comes to blogging, I just generally don’t like people trying to watch over me or try to control me. If people cannot accept that. Please go away. Why are you following me around? It makes no sense. I said what I said, and stand by what I said.
I can’t say too much, but there’s one website I frequently use, and the statistics are really great. Only I’m not allowed to share them. After what the Fleischers and King Features did to my IG by making it invisible. It still didn’t stop me from blogging.
So here’s the tea. They are telling me by doing that. That I am not allowed to be a fan. Why? Just because I expose too much. By properly revealing rare information? That nobody knows?
Before I even looked into some stories. People were not aware of anything. They knew nothing. And the stuff they generally knew it was incorrect. And still is. Some people don’t even know to this day about some things. And they just change it to suit themselves. But me? No I say it like it is. I do not sugar coat.
People want “one narrative” and I don’t stick to that. I say what I want, when I want.
So here’s the story. I would go into archives and dig out rare Betty Boop photos. I didn’t know that the Fleischer descendants would be pinning my profile, and watching my every move. My page was pinged several times by different people all linked to the Fleischers. And I thought it was very suspicious.
Cab Calloway’s descendant, and some other people who I ignored. I ignored because I am fed up with people trying to stalk me. That’s all they do. So I don’t trust anyone. ‘Cause they only want private and personal information, nothing more and nothing less. I will never speak to strangers.
Like that last person I trusted, and the others. They all turned on me.
For what reason? Difference of opinion. Furthermore, I believe it is due to trolls and how do they agitate a situation. However, it is your fault if you give in to trolls. If you listen to strangers who are anonymous, you just have yourselves to blame. I mean who is going to listen to the words of an anon? Someone you don’t know?
I automatically block and do not respond to anonymous people. All you have to do is check their profile creation date.
You’d have to be “insane” to listen to a “creepy stranger” who randomly messages you. They can tell you practically anything, it doesn’t make it true. They are sick individuals, people like that. And they do not exist to me.
You can look at me from a distance but you cannot touch. And I will never reach out to anyone that I do not know. So I will talk about you, if I have to. But I will never contact anyone I do not know.
Once more, what I enjoy. These folks like imitating. I do not mind. Feel free.
However, the sole purpose for them differs to me, and that is to generate revenue through sales. That is not what I do. Sincere fans don’t act like that, and I am one. They seem to do it on purpose would attempt to halt me from pursuing my interests. Of course they own the rights of the character.
But don’t use me as inspiration. Do your own thing. I cover everything “Boop” not just Betty Boop.
I like “Boop-Boop-Be-Doop” stuff. It’s more than just Betty Boop, it’s a music genre.
Yes, I do block anyone who I believe are attempting to sabotage. I’m trying to run my own fan page, and taking over and stealing my content from my page. Makes my page not so special. Because it took a lot of time and effort to obtain these photos or documents. I do the work, someone comes along and swipes it.
Certain individuals, they are only “doing something similar” to something I originated. I have done many things outside “Boopdom” and I noticed that I have created or originated things that others have “openly” coined. I have inspired many other “bloggers” and “vloggers” to emulate me. They think it bothers me when they steal, it does not. I know I am the originator. And what they’ve created or done is more or less a carbon-copy of something I have already done.
The only reason as to why some of these individuals are more successful is because they have bigger platforms than me. I don’t really have a platform.
“That being said, I never was great at writing. I more of a critic or ranter, I rant.”
Also people who envy. I don’t know you, nor will I ever. What you do, does not affect. I do me. It is rather blasé to try to silence someone because they hold different beliefs or perspectives.
Fleischer Studios Are Thieves?:
The Fleischers should worry more about a book that “someone” requested to be written about them. That book written by a group of racists more or less refers to the Fleischer Studios family as thieves. I’ve defended their family enough. So I have nothing more to say. I know that Max Fleischer won that lawsuit, so there’s no debating that. The person who sued, she was money hungry and often in debt.
It is all right suing if you feel someone has coined you. But if you steal a gimmick from your comrade “Peggy Bernier” (also discovered by Paul Ash) the girl with the baby voice, then sue the creators of Betty Boop for having Betty sing in a baby voice. What does that say about you? That says you are untrustworthy.
Max Fleischer and Paramount Pictures won fair and square with the evidence given. If people want to debunk that, and defame the Fleischer family that is on them. But if they do sue you in the long run, that’s on you. Don’t come crying to me. The Fleischers do have money. Keep that in mind. If they feel defamed, obviously a lawsuit will possibly follow up. At the moment they are probably unaware.
But that’s their problem. It does not affect me. It’s their name being defamed. Not mine. Personally I don’t care what anyone else is writing or doing. It doesn’t affect me. It won’t change my opinion of events. No matter how many books someone writes. I know that the books were only written to debunk the Fleischer family as liars. But everyone doesn’t care about that, and they know the Fleischers won that lawsuit.
True Betty Boop Fans:
Rewriting history, people can do it. Especially when they use “their own books” as sources. But if “real historians” come along, they’ll be able to see through the lies. As I mentioned, it has no bearing on me. I am aware that the person lost as she could not provide any proof for her statements. The inspiration for “Clara Bow” was established. And for that reason, Betty Boop was initially redheaded, much like Bow.
If you want to keep up with “Betty Boop the Musical” you can on this website here. I will be archiving mostly everything that happens between Chicago Off-Broadway and the New York Broadway debut.
Everyone has their own “Boop” journey. Mine is to keep updated with the musical and see what happens next. Rumor has it, that in the long run it could possibly win a Tony Award.
You think Trisha portrayed by Angelica Hale is the original Betty Boop super-fan? No she’s fictional.
But me? I’m the “original” fan. Before I started any fandom, nobody really knew Betty. Now they know practically everything about her. Thanks to me. There’s a lot of misunderstanding of Betty, and people do not understand her origin or creation.
Though Betty Boop is a sex-symbol that was created by men…
Betty Boop is also an entertainer, she was originally a cabaret singer and later a vaudeville star. So when they wrote a story for Betty for the Broadway show, claiming she never had a story. It was quite confusing. Because the original Betty was a stage star, vaudeville is practically the equivalent to Broadway.
But I like how they handled creating a brand new story for her.
Especially the sly “WFRR” reference where she never went to color? But in this new show, her world turns to color.
If anyone wants to read a more accurate book for hardcore fans. Read Peter Benjaminson’s, it is really good. He looked into the story, and he just put two and two together. And I think he’s the only person who can see “Betty” for what she is. Perfect gift for 2024.
I have my own Boop fandom. If you’ve noticed, I actually prefer the music more than anything else. You know the “Boop-Boop-Be-Doop” was a jazz-baby thing, it was a 1920s to early 1930s musical genre.
That’s what I like about it. Betty Boop did not originate it. But she represents it, still to this day. She’s the face of it. There’s no one living today, that can say they are the Queen of “Boop-Boop-Be-Doop” apart from cartoon character Betty Boop.
Betty is also an indirect product of Harlem.
Betty Boop’s Voice:
I know they have Betty Boop sound-a-likes and impersonators. But they are actresses who portray Betty, they are not really Betty Boop. The only person close to being Betty was Mae Questel. And Jasmine Rogers, in a more updated 2023 version, I suppose, somewhat kind of mimics it.
I wouldn’t say Rogers is Betty Boop, she portrays her nicely. But only on stage. In real life, there are rumors that she is going to be the next big star. Being Betty for her will be very short-lived. As said, there are several understudies just waiting for her to “be sick” or “not turn up” one day, so they can take her place.
Just like the “SpongeBob SquarePants” Broadway show it’ll have to end eventually.
Can you imagine if the “white woman” with the blonde hair took over the role or the Mexican woman? And imagine if they got more applauds? Merely for being white or non-Black? Hopefully Rogers does the entire run for Boop! not just for her sake, everyone’s sake. She originated that role.
It would be difficult to watch her go. Since I find her representation to be really appealing. Especially when she sings with a deeper, more feminine voice in opposed to singing in that baby-voice.
Instead Betty has two voices. She speaks in baby-talk and sings like Whitney Houston.
If Mae Questel didn’t die, then yes, it would be an issue. But since then they had Karen Fox do the role. And she doesn’t sound like the original Betty. Very nasally, Karen sounds like she’s playing a flute on her nose when she talks as Betty. So who cares who takes on Betty’s role. Because Betty lost her original voice in 1938, and she only returned once in 1988. From 1984 to 1989 they had other women lined up for the role.
Healey’s story is not very well known. I only recently obtained a new transcript that taught me of her work. As people are aware, she was the original voice for “WFRR” but at last minute they deleted her dialogue and replaced her vocals with the original voice of Betty Boop.
Since then Betty’s voice has been forever changing. It reminds you of “The Muppets” where they just don’t sound like the original characters. So it is more or less carbon-copies.
But Jasmine Rogers, she bring something new.
Boop! has been the highlight of my year. I really like seeing it. I’m not jealous or envious of anyone who gets to voice or portray Betty. I am not Betty, I am merely a fan. So anyone who thinks that. Yes, you Karen (or any other Karen). I honestly don’t feel that way.
“This is one of my blog gags, 30% is gossip and 70% is roasting. Every time I post about this, I am 50% serious and 50% gagging with laughter. So it is 50/50. I am a tiny bit shocked, but at the same time making fun of the situation.”
🔥 🔥 🔥
Speaking of Sandy “Karen” Fox, I heard that she’s pretending to support the new Broadway musical. She doesn’t like Black girls or Black women, so I am quite surprised. Maybe Betty being a lighter-skinned Black woman has more to do with it? You see Fox has a problem with darker-skinned Black people.
Funny how people like Fox try to “gatekeep” a franchise to keep Black people out, next minute you know “people like her” are faux-supporting Black people. Like said, without Betty, that woman Fox feels she’s not relevant. That’s all she has. So it looks like she’ll use anything to her advantage.
But that is part of Fox’s narcissistic personality disorder… She’s a narcissist and she is “EVERYTHING” narcissism.
Do you see Cindy Robinson the other “Official Voice of Betty Boop” doing that? No… She doesn’t even cause any kind of drama. She says nothing. She offends nobody.
I’ve never seen Robinson attack anyone. If you are saying things in interviews. Wouldn’t you be more careful? Obviously someone may come across what you say. And Fox she just didn’t care at one point. So she was basically saying that Black people were not allowed to like Betty Boop. She listed all other countries in the world apart from Black people, that could like Betty. It was outrageously weird…
I called it out, and this big obese Black man. He shielded her. It is like someone was aware of what I was calling out. So I linked the video. Next minute I know, the video of Sandy Fox being indirectly racist…
It was deleted…
You should have seen her face. Now we only have the audio. If only I had grabbed that video. People could have seen it. And seen her face reaction to Black girls and Black women liking Betty Boop. She was so offended in that video. I was like shocked. I was like, does Black people being fans upset Fox?
I put two and two together, and realized that Fox ran a “Helen Kane” fan page on Facebook. And I then understood as to why she had a problem or issue.
“Truth be told. I have been a mean spirited blogger sometimes and I can be very abrasive. I openly say things. But like I said, I will NEVER change how I blog for anyone. I am entitled to my own opinions. If it offends anyone. That’s just the way it has to be. I don’t care.”
But if I haven’t done anything to said person? Why come after me? I don’t understand it. Obviously I am going to come back at you. I am going to roast and gag you in return.
It is because I stick to the true story, and the true narrative. I don’t lie or sugar coat anything. People don’t like when you tell the truth. The truth often upsets and angers people. Doesn’t matter where you go, you can meet new people. It is ALL the same. They hate the truth. It is mainly because these kind of people they like living a lie.
“Remember the old saying? A lie is more entertaining than the truth.”
I could have been a sell-out Booper, and lied. I had my chance to be ANTI-Betty Boop. I was offered. I declined. I was offered to be part of a book that exposed the Fleischer Studios many years ago.
A group of “racist(s)” were working on book to expose the Fleischers. I was the original person helping “said person” many years back with the research. I found out it was “ANTI-BETTY BOOP” and I had to disconnect myself from said person. Person lied, and claimed to have been dying of cancer.
Many years later turns out the person lied. Individual “found out my identity” and me promoting Betty Boop and said person formed a group on Facebook, and with a group of people and a Hollywood D-lister got a “historian” to write a book to defame the Fleischers.
And all the book talked about was that “Betty Boop” is not Black, and denounced her Harlem origin. Next minute you know, Betty Boop is “OFFICIALLY” a Black woman on Broadway.
The Fleischers they did notice and began to threaten legal action.
And I was thinking at the time. It ain’t got nothing to do with me. You can’t control other “people” online and their anger outbursts. What can we do about those angry people? Nothing. I can’t control how people feel. If Betty Boop is Black to some people, can we force them to change their minds? No we can’t.
They are still saying it to this day.
Also I like to be outspoken myself… So… Yeah… I don’t agree with that. You don’t sue people for silly little things like that. Obviously it would get thrown out in court. Unless you PAY OFF the Judge…
According to that book that was written about the Fleischers by those individuals, they claim that the Fleischers are notorious for “paying off” Judges.
Did people really not think that people would look in old newspapers and uncover that the Fleischers used an old soundtrack of a Black person to defend their franchise? And not think that the newspapers would not archive it? Or that nobody would look into it?
Well they did.
So that racist group on Facebook, they wanted “Helen Kane” to be Betty Boop. But the Fleischers, they don’t like Helen Kane, they don’t want her to be associated with Betty Boop or Esther Jones.
So when they prompted that so-called historian to write that book. He claimed he wrote it on behalf of the Fleischers.
So they were being racist to me, claiming I was Asian. I never said I was Asian… I did use Asian nicknames. But I certainly am not Asian. Never was. These people they don’t know me. I never introduced myself to them. I only spoke to one person in that Facebook group, and she basically “doxxed all of my personal information” from my old “original” email address. I know!? Silly me. Trusting people.
The only reason these people were getting angry. Is because over the years I was being indirectly mentioned in digital newspaper articles. And because I was getting some exposure, it upset these people. To know that it was me, the person who was originally helping said person on a history book.
Just because I didn’t follow a narrative to attack the Fleischers. I have time to drag Karens, but the Fleischers who’ve not done anything to me? No. What can they do to me? NOTHING! That’s what. And they haven’t done anything to me. Apart from try to emulate what I like.
You know? Pretend to be fans of your family lineage. When many years prior, they didn’t care about Betty Boop or what Betty Boop was doing in media. Suddenly because “I” was doing it. Now they are.
It is called lacking a sense of self, when you copy someone. You admire what that person is doing but at the same time you are envious. And most of the time people in this world. They want to be better than you and take over. So what you do, they want to do too.
And thus they created fan websites, one called “All-Stars” noting that I did it many years prior. You know to combat me? My fandom. So they want their fandom to be more prominent. So I fade into obscurity. And because they own the characters, they can actually do that.
Prior to all these, they never existed. If it wasn’t for me, they’d have never existed. Because prior to me making fan pages, they never had a website. Nor did they exist solely.
Maybe I wasted all my time promoting stuff that I shouldn’t have. I could have focused on my own content, and I should have many years before any of this. You’ll notice how little control you have when you don’t really own a franchise. Even though they own it, they did notice that people who “pretend to be fans” of Betty Boop had forced them in the end to make her into a Black character.
People only got mad at me, because I looked into the Baby Esther Jones story and I was the FIRST person to bring it to life as of the late 2010s. Nobody else knew who she was. They couldn’t even IDENTIFY her.
My vast research identified her. And of course some people came along and re-wrote the story to their liking. But it was me. And the only reason as to why some people (racists) are bitter. Is because they are JEALOUS that I followed the original narrative and that I uncovered a lot more and how SHUFFLE ALONG was the true origin.
If Baby Esther wasn’t original? Then that means Florence Mills and Gertrude Saunders was.
That had nothing to do with me. All I ever did was point to Harlem and where scatting originated. That’s all. Going by the Fleischer narrative, I ended up with a lot of enemies. Who I don’t acknowledge.
Suddenly some of these people are doing a U-TURN. Sandy Fox clearly was being RACIST. So how on Earth has she suddenly changed her perspective? After how she was acting? I’m sure she is being fake.
Sandy Fox with her Yabba-Dabba “Fred Flintstone” head.
One minute: “NO BLACKS ALLOWED” the next “I LOVE BOOP!” and support Black Betty Boop.
Err… Sandy Fox… Didn’t you forget what you said about Black girls and Black women? You TRIED to make Betty Boop only white-exclusive? Huh!??? Some people must be going senile…
Anyone who messages me today. I don’t take it seriously. I just look and roll my eyes from a distance. Wondering, what said individual could possibly want with me?
Then some people from Cartoon Brew or Cartoon Research, they’ve been nice to me though. But my fandom is more or less solo-dolo. So I can’t go to people and ask. That’s not my way of blogging or writing. That being said I am not always correct, sometimes I do make mistakes.
That’s just human nature…
I am more or a gossip blogger than anything. So I like to gossip. That isn’t generally accepted in society. Because I like to bitch a lot. I think me being a bitchy blogger. I think that did me no justice in the long run. People look down on people who have strong opinions. I used to “make fun” of a lot of people.
So people thought that I was a “mean” person. Not understanding that most of the time I was joking around. I didn’t know anyone would ever take me seriously.
We now live in a sensitive society, but I still won’t have sensitive types tell me what to do. Joking is funny. But when you start being racist, it is a different story. I don’t even go to that length.
Anyway that Fox apparently had something to do with that group.
I don’t know what part she played, but I am aware that they were saying things that were “lies” and the people who ran that group. They are known racists. Sadly the person who wrote the book on their behalf, is a racist too. So when I reference racist groups.
I am only talking about one in particular.
And it is, because these are “white” people getting angry over nothing. Nobody cares about who the real Betty Boop was, because she doesn’t really exist. She’s a fictional character. If I had to say, I’d say Mae Questel was the original Betty Boop. It was Questel. Nobody else.
Who was the “official voice” and “model” but Questel? She modeled for the rotoscoping too for the animated sequences.
Just because you do Betty Boop imitations or have portrayed Betty at a theme park. Doesn’t make you the original Betty Boop. You are a mimic, a character impersonator.
Like Cindy Robinson said, you can’t really make a name out of voice-matching. And that Mae Questel had portrayed Betty “beautifully” in the original cartoons. She stated that Betty has already been cast and her voice has been originated.
Cindy Robinson:
“I did Betty Boop for a long time, because I naturally sound like Mae Questel. And also, the thing about Betty was she wasn’t always dialogue driven, she was a one liner character. And again, I already sounded like Betty Boop! I don’t like to voice-match! Betty’s been done, she’s been cast. And you’re never ever gonna make your name, being someone’s second. Unless you are amazing at it. Which I am not. Why try to emulate, something that’s already been done beautifully?”
Anyway back to Fox…
(This image is funny isn’t it? I laugh every time I see it. Look behind Sandy Fox. It’s not her long chin or face being distorted by the retro TV video effects. What is behind her? That is what is funny!)
I guess if it looks like Sandy Fox is being “supportive” of the cast and crew of the Broadway show. It is likely to give her some exposure. Trust me, the Fleischer Studios and King Features Syndicate are aware of Fox’s past racist shenanigans. And as said before, they have enabled it. So they don’t really care about Black people.
Hiring a Black Betty Boop as said many times, it was a very smart move for those involved. As said, the show was already going to be bombarded with hate. The Black community wanted a Black Betty Boop by force. So they were going to hate on the show if Betty was not Black.
Me? I would never do that. That is so evil… Who cares what ethnicity Betty is? As long as the actress can sing right?
Even after Fox was being openly and indirectly racist with her husband and those groups of racist people. Now you see Fox has suddenly changed her opinion. But people never forget, well I’ll never forget what she said. And I’ll always be sure to remind people so they are wary.
Wasn’t she getting angry many years ago because people were talking about Baby Esther?
Now suddenly it is a complete different story. She sees that Betty Boop is Black and is suddenly bowing down. It is quite weird to say the least. You’d think someone like Fox who acted all racist wouldn’t be doing that.
But it doesn’t change the fact that behind her “mask” that Fox is pretending to “rally” for the Broadway show. She knows, that if she does. She may get invited to the show. And she can then “pretend” to the cast and crew that she is a supporter. Because people are so blind, they often fall for it.
Face reality, people don’t really care about people being indirectly racist. Some people get away with it.
It is more or less “trying to keep her job” and hoping that they don’t officially turn Betty Boop the animated version into a Black woman. That’s all Fox cares about. She just wants to hold onto the voice role. They are not going to turn the animated version Black. So she doesn’t have to worry…
You can put on a nice persona, and fool people into thinking you are sweet. But for Fox to run a racist group on Facebook, against Black people supporting Betty Boop. That is just not right. It is hard to process, when she’s pretending to support the Broadway show. She’s a racist right? Isn’t she? I’m pretty sure she is.
And especially her husband Lex Lang, he’s the worst of the worst. They are the “double-trouble” duo.
Maybe she thinks people are not aware? Maybe one day she’ll slip up and show her true-self.
If not Fox is obviously just “ignorant” and mean but that being said she is known for gatekeeping. I guess people look at her appearance, ’cause Fox is obese. And they think she is “jolly” automatically. Forgetting that she was originally the cheerleader-type. An Orlando Magic’s dance squad girl.
You know cheerleaders? And cheerleaders are known to be mean girls. I know that Fox thought she was “hot” in her mind when she was younger. Just because she was skinny back then. And if you watch her dance, you can see it. You just know she thought highly of herself.
But Betty Boop is the character that keeps her name frequent in the industry. But as said, like all other other Betties. One day, she’s going to have to retire.
Whether she likes it or not. One day, she will lose the ability to do these cute-type or in her case “nasally” voices. Voices change. And then they are going to recast the role, as they did many times earlier.
Like that reporter wrote, Fox’s voice is very “helium” in comparison to how Betty originally sounded.
Yes, Betty is not supposed to sound like that… It’s like she’s sucked on a balloon. Though most people today are dumb and don’t notice. She has been given a lot of bad reviews. People have written that Betty’s voice sounds annoying, when voiced by Fox.
Anything she promotes as Betty, I will never buy. And I urge all true fans to also avoid anything she promotes as Betty Boop. Sandy Fox is not a good role model. And we should not support racist individuals. King Features Syndicate and the Fleischer Studios. It is just the money, that’s all that matters. How much money they can make.
To think Fox was against a “Black Betty Boop” many years ago, now suddenly she’s all for it. Something just doesn’t sound right… Maybe she realized that people didn’t care for her biased opinions against Betty being Black? And that if she wants to avoid being called out for her past behavior, she’s just going to go along with it?
Very tricky…
ANYWAY…
I just wanted some new Betty Boop songs to sing to myself, I think I got my wish.
That was the Broadway show which is for true fans of the character. If you’re not a fan, obviously the show is not going to appeal to you. I think it is more of a girly thing.
And it appeals more to women and girls. Betty Boop used to be created by men, for men. But as I said many times before. The newer Betty Boop, she’s more ditzy and girly.
And she’s more or less for women and girls only.
So you have “Classic Betty Boop” and “Modern Betty Boop” and I often use the multiverse to explain their differences.
Billy Boop is Betty Boop’s baby brother and he made his official debut in 1932.
Since 1930, Billy has made multiple appearances in Fleischer cartoons. In previous cartoons, however, he has no tie to Betty Boop and is merely a generic baby boy. For example, in the Fleischer Studios animation Russian Lullaby, he has a completely different origin and mother.
In the earlier cartoons he was voiced by Billy Murray the voice of Bimbo the Dog.
In Minding the Baby, Billy was known as Aloysius and he was Bimbo’s younger brother. Billy at that time was voiced by Claude Reese and Margie Hines provided the baby babbles.
Billy smokes and has the voice of a man in certain cartoons as a gag, which in honesty is not funny. Billy was likely the inspiration for the role of Baby Herman in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
The Fleischer Studios announced in 1932 that they had “evolved” one of their characters into a brand new cartoon figure. And so Billy was born.
Billy Boop to Make His Debut:
“As the result of the sudden rise to stardom of his big sister, Betty Boop, little Billy Boop also has gone into the movies. He will be seen in future releases by Paramount of Max Fleischer’s Talkartoons and Screen Songs. He’s one tough kid, and there’s no use asking him to “look pleasant, please.” Betty is quite perturbed about the new eruption, but you know how it is with relatives-like ’em or not, they’re always with us.”
For those that do not understand, the Fleischers were lazy. They just recycled an old character into something new. Thus the reason as to why Billy has a dog-boy appearance.
Billy can be seen in the cartoons, Boop-Oop-a-Doop, Betty Boop’s Museum, Let Me Call You Sweetheart and Betty Boop’s Birthday Party.
Billy and his father Mr. Boop make a brief appearance and engage with Betty in Betty Boop’s M.D., however their relationship to Betty is never made clear in the cartoon.
Betty addressing the man as “dad” and “daddy” and him holding Billy’s hand make it clear.
Billy is unable to speak in this cartoon and says “da-da-da” or “da-da” which also means dad.
Billy was later dropped from the animated series when Bimbo and KO-KO were.
Billy also appeared as a character on the radio show. He was likely voiced by Mae Questel, and if Billy continued to appear in the radio series after Questel’s departure, he was likely voiced by Bonnie Poe.
I am not sure if Poe voiced Billy, this is speculation. Who else would? If Questel had quit to prepare to give birth to her own baby.
Incidentally Mae Questel had two sons, around this time she had given birth to a baby boy. Questel took a break from the “Betty Boop” series to raise a family.
Not much is known about the radio show, as it is known to be lost media. There were actually several “Betty Boop” radio shows. Bradley Barker voiced Bimbo, Gus Gorilla, Freddie Frog, Samson Mouse and Molly Mule on that show.
The radio shows also featured Vic Erwin, Cookie Bowers and Billy Costello under the pseudonym Red Pepper Sam.
Billy Boop has a dog-like appearance, black eyes, and black hair, and he wears a blue bonnet and a blue onesie in the original cartoons. He has a single black cow lick and a face shaped like Betty’s in certain cartoons.
His accessory seems to be that of a babies rattle.
Sometimes he wears a scarf, and sometimes he doesn’t.
Billy was Betty’s initial baby sibling when Fleischer Studios and King Features cooperated on a Betty Boop comic strip. Betty actually has two baby brothers, which adds to the confusion.
Billy Boop was removed from the comic strip and replaced with Bubby Boop.
Bubby is essentially the same character, although he has a completely different appearance.
There was an ongoing lawsuit from 1934 to 1937, as the Fleischer Studios alleged that King Features Syndicate and the New York Daily Mirror had transformed “Betty Boop” into a comic strip without permission.
And so the Fleischer Studios filed an injunction against them. Fleischer Studios had filed a lawsuit seeking an accounting and injunction, which Judge Knox dismissed.
It is possible that Billy was removed from the comic strip due to this lawsuit. Proof to this is that in Bubby’s debut, he looks identical to Billy but with a completely different hairdo.
Before Swee’Pea appeared in the animated series, Billy Boop was the first baby to debut in a Popeye cartoon. As usual, the Fleischers cartoons make no sense, and Popeye the Sailor Man is babysitting Betty’s baby brother. For this appearance, Billy has a more human design.
Billy was actually a licensed character, so here is a 1934 copyright for Billy Boop.
Billy essentially has no manners, he is a tough child with a boyish Brooklyn accent.
Like Betty, he is Polish-American.
He is between the ages of one and three.
Billy features in the early comic strips as well. Betty informs her director that she believes her brother has talent, so he schedules a screen test for him. In some animated animations, he can talk whole phrases, whereas in others, he only speaks in baby babbles.
One of the cutest things Billy ever did in the cartoons was skip and sing about his lollipop. He can be seen walking a dog in another cartoon, he gifts Betty a grand piano for her 14th birthday in Betty Boop’s Birthday Party.
When Betty is babysitting Billy, he tells Bimbo that he is not his daddy.
Bimbo is no longer Billy’s brother in the official “Betty Boop” series. In Boop-Oop-a-Doop, in one scene Bimbo sexually harasses Billy. Later in the episode the circus ringmaster takes advantage of Betty.
Bimbo was always a pervert. It is just most of the time he is Betty’s boyfriend in the earlier cartoons, so people haven’t noticed how lustful or vulgar he actually is. People are more likely to focus on his love for Betty. But in reality, it is more or less lust.
It looks like Bimbo also has an attraction to males too by the look of it. Whereas in other cartoons, he and Betty both show hate for homosexuals. That being said, his relation to KO-KO is quite questionable.
In some cartoons, KO-KO himself sometimes acted gay.
Don’t ask why the Fleischers would do that to Billy or Betty.
Billy Boop: “Ah’m no sissy!”
In the comic, he is noted for his combat skills.
In one comic strip, Billy gets into a brawl that turns into a boxing battle.
Billy responded by saying, “say Poicy yo all oughta be ashamed of yoself yassuh!” That is to say, “say Percy, you all should be ashamed of yourself, yes sir!” This is for individuals who don’t grasp New Yorker jargon.
Billy doesn’t mind to get dirty and likes to fix things.
Betty can be seen beating Billy with her hairbrush in another strip, indicating that she is unable to control him. Betty does the same to Bubby. Betty dresses her brothers and brushes their hair.
Betty technically is like a mother to the boys in the comic strip.
Up until Aunt Tillie moves in with her and takes care of her other brother Bubby Boop. Again, Betty’s parents rarely make appearances in the series, and when they do, it does not make any sense.
The Fleischers did not link the series. Every single cartoon they made, was creative. But each and every cartoon featuring Betty or Popeye, had a complete different theme. For example Popeye, though a sailor, would be a window washer in one cartoon, and in the next he would be a bullfighter.
Betty also had a multitude of jobs throughout the series, and her series did not make sense. She’s supposed to be a vaudeville star, yet other times she’s a nurse or circus performer.
Much like Bubby his brother and or counterpart, Billy does not like sissy or sissies. He does not like “sophisticated” boys or boys who act what he deems feminine. And if an upper-class person speaks in riddles, Billy appears to interpret it incorrectly, resulting in a fight.
As the series went on, Billy was replaced by Junior. Now Junior is Betty Boop’s nephew. Just like Billy, it would seem that Junior’s relation to Betty is also not specified or made clear.
It seems that Junior took the place of Billy in the “Betty Boop” series.
Had the Fleischers not retired Koko the Clown, Bimbo and Billy, it would have probably been Billy in that role.
It is possible that Billy Boop could be Junior’s father. It could be possible that after “retiring” Billy, the Fleischers drastically aged Billy behind the scenes.
As previously said, the Fleischer Studios cartoons never made sense. Keep in mind that Betty only has two brothers, she has no other siblings. Of course Betty has many cousins, aunties and uncles.
Billy had a brief cameo appearance in Betty Boop’s Hollywood Mystery in the 1980s. It appears that the directors and producers had no idea what to do with him. He has a Southern accent and may be spotted roller-skating at Diner Dan’s diner. Again people would be unaware that he is related to Betty.
Billy Boop is still officially licensed by the Fleischer Studios to this day, but he’s not a very popular character. Of course, there is “Baby Boop,” a more successful baby character.
It is the first short to be identified as a “Betty Boop” cartoon even though it is not Betty Boop’s debut appearance. Since this is her first appearance in her own series, this short is considered to be her first appearance under the “Betty Boop” animated trademark.
Billy Boop, her baby brother, also makes his debut.
A vaudeville theater hosts an appearance by Betty Boop. She mimics real-life vocalists in her “Betty Boop’s Imitations” performance, including celebrities like Fanny Brice and Maurice Chevalier.
Songs such as “That’s My Weakness Now,” “I’m An Indian,” and “Hello, Beautiful” are among those she sings.
The cartoon audience roars with laughter and applause. In this episode, Betty Boop’s impressions are based on Mae Questel’s actual impersonations.
Kitty from Kansas City is a Talkartoon from 1931 starring crooner Rudy Vallée and Betty Boop as Kitty. This cartoon features Margie Hines as the voice of Betty Boop.
After gathering her belongings, Kitty boards a train and travels to Rudy Valley. Rudy Vallée, the singer chooses to perform a song about how ugly and overweight she is while wearing disguises.
Kitty gains weight, consumes alcohol, and mounts a donkey, which kicks her into the water.
After almost drowning, she removes a plug to drain the water and emerges as a plump mermaid on solid land, accompanied by sea life on a turtle.
Gallery:
Note: The ringlets in Betty’s hair are replacements for her dog ears. This is an early version of Betty. She appeared as a human in several animated shorts, before officially debuting as human girl in 1932.
Rudy Vallée plays the court’s judge in Musical Justice, while His Connecticut Yankees serve as the court’s jury. Three distinct cases are heard by the judge. In the last case, State v. Betty Boop, the judge personally informs Mae Questel’s character Miss Boop that she has disregarded every musical rule. Boop’s performance of “Don’t Take My Boop-Oop-A-Doop Away” leads to a not guilty decision.
Boop-Boop-Be-Doop ♥ 