But so did Kane herself-and when she experienced economic hardship due to a layoff, she took legal action against the animation studio. Two years before Betty Boop’s debut, Kane had skyrocketed to fame with the song “That’s My Weakness Now,” which used the phrase “boop-boop-a-doop” as shorthand for sex.Īudiences would have recognized the send-up of Kane, now a Paramount star. The New York Times called her “the most menacing of the baby-talk ladies”-a reference to a vaudeville phenomenon also used by performers like Fanny Brice and Irene Franklin. Like the vaudeville performers that preceded her, Kane used her little-girl voice to deliver lyrics that would have been shocking in the mouth of another singer. Kane’s delivery-including her signature “boop-boop-a-doop”-was “a theatrical staple going back years,” says Pointer. The squeaky-voiced jazz singer was known for her sexy lyrics and baby-like singing, and Betty Boop delivered a spot-on imitation. Her wide eyes and sexy looks were a hit with audiences-as was the fact that she was a clear parody of popular singer Helen Kane. The new Betty Boop was a vivacious flapper who drove a car, did popular dances and showed plenty of skin. But soon, Betty’s ears became earrings and she was reinvented as a human being.
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