Photo: Wikipedia, Shutterstock, Wikimedia
Max Fleischer, an animator of cartoons, created Betty Boop, who became a cultural icon in the 1930s.
A symbol of the bygone twenties and all their wonderful licentiousness, the cartoon was a hit with adults and later with children, when it became more subdued. Out of curiosity to find out which lady stands as the muse of this creator, a great debate arose that closed the door to a career.
The character of the famous Betty Boop
Betty Boop represented a fully realized woman. Other female cartoons of the era, such as Minnie Mouse, were almost replicas of their male counterparts with only a few details changed, the animations did not take human female form and were portrayed as childish. Betty, on the other hand, represented a true “femme fatale” in cartoons and was openly against the old values that her parents and previous generations lived by.
The Hayes Code, with Restrictions “more free” the character of Betty Boop is almost extinguished in the film, and she later turns into a more modest accomplished girl. Although she has changed in character, she is still remembered as when she was originally seen and is a name that will not be forgotten.
Her appearance, wearing more provocative clothes, red lipstick, big eyes and the then popular hairstyle with small curls, raised the question of who inspired Fleischer to create such a character?
Many believe it is Helen Kane, singer of the time, was a big inspiration for Betty Boop, especially when it comes to looks. However, there was a long discussion about it, because a jazz singer known as Baby Esther.
Who are Baby Esther and Helen Kane?
Esther Lee Jones is a famous jazz singer of the twenties, whose stage name is – Baby Esthershe won for her impressive way of singing, because she often used her “babies” the voice.
Esther was known to use phrases like “bup-up-a-dup” or “boo-boo” and “doo-doo”which would later become the cartoon’s signature.
Helen Kien was an American singer, who gained the greatest popularity with the same specific singing style and participation in the creation of the Betty Boop character. In addition to her undeniable singing talent, Kane appeared in several films, and often her voice ruled the soundtrack. Later, there was a complete career decline, when she decided to file a lawsuit for “using her identity” in a cartoon.
Things got heated when it came to the question, though who actually spoke the famous phrases and who is credited with inspiring the character of Betty Boop.
Foto: PARAMOUNT / AFP / Profimedia
Zaplet i pokušaj povratka popularnosti
Pravi razlog zašto se vodila debata oko toga koja dama inspiriše lik Beti Bup leži u tome što je prvobitno kreator Maks Flajšer nameravao da Beti bude karikatura Helen Kejn – iako on u to vreme nije znao da je postojala i Bebi Ester, koja je prednjačila u stilu pevanja.
Godine 1930. Beti Bup se pojavila u jednom crtanom filmu kao francuska pudlica, a tek 1932. godine postaje čovek, kada su se njene uši pretvorile u viseće minđuše. Međutim, stvari su se malo zaokrenule iste godine kada je Helen podnela tužbu od 250.000 dolara protiv Maksa Flajšera zbog iskorišćavanja njene ličnosti i imidža.
Tokom ovog suđenja otkrivena je prava Beti Bup. Menadžer pozorišta Lu Volton je svedočio da je Helen Kejn videla nastup Bebi Ester u aprilu 1928. Na tom nastupu Ester je pevala pesmu koristeći se frazama poput “bup-bup-a-dup”, pevane u celom performansu. Samo nekoliko nedelja kasnije, Kejn je počela da peva istim načinom kao i Ester.
Lu Volton je takođe svedočio da je 1925. lično naučio mladu Bebi Ester njenom prepoznatljivom džez-sket stilu, tačnije, da peva sa ubacivanjem zvukova, onomatopejom i sličnim vokalnim poštapalicama kako bi doprinela svojim izvedbama. Plan Helen Kejn je propao.
U vreme kada je suđenje održano, Bebi Ester je već preminula, ali ona nije jurila zasluge za ovo otkriće, niti se uplitala u odbranu svog autentičnog stila pevanja. Sa druge strane, karijera Helen Kejn je krenula nizbrdo, a ovo su smatrali lakim načinom da povrati svoju popularnost.
Foto: Shutterstock
Nakon suđenja koj je trajalo dve godine, Maks Flajšer je uspeo da locira zvučni film iz 1928. godine, u kom Bebi Ester jasno dodaje “bup” fraze i sve ostalo. Slučaj je konačno zatvoren, nakon čega Kejn nije izašla proslavljena.
Sudija je naveo kako nije uspela da da nijedan dokazani razlog tužbe i da je smatrao da Kejn definitivno nije prva započela takvo istaknuto pevanje. Takođe je dodao kako čak ni lik nije inspirisan kompletno njom, jer više podseća na druge pevačice, poput Klare Bou, kako prenosi “Littlethings.com”.
(Ona.rs)
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