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BETTY BOOP
Max Fleischer
created the
Boop-Oop-a-Doop
girl as an
animated cartoon
in the August 8,
1930 cartoon
“Dizzy Dishes,”
the sixth
installment of the
“Talkartoon”
series. Grim
Natwick is most
responsible for
her design.
The sexy little
flirt, modeled on
singer Helen Kane
and actress Mae
West, was an
immediate success
and became
Paramount’s
leading cartoon
feature.
Along with her dog
Bimbo and her pal
Koko the clown,
Betty vamped and
sang her way
through comedies
and adventures
throughout the
1930s.
Production code
censorship in 1934
forced Betty to
wear a longer
skirt with a less
plunging neckline.
Several actresses
provided Betty’s
voice but Mae
Questel is most
closely identified
with the
character.
King Features
Syndicate ran a
daily comic strip
in 1934-1935, then
released only
Sunday comic
strips until 1937,
later published as
an Avon paperback
in 1975. A
children’s show,
Betty Boop
Fables, had a
brief run on NBC
radio in
1932-1933, and the
cartoons were
packaged 1971.
Many merchandised
items appeared in
the 1930s at the
height of Betty’s
popularity.
Her continuing
appeal has
produced an even
wider range of
licensed items
from the 1980s to
the present.
From
The Official Price Guide to
Pop Culture Memorabilia: 150 Years of Character Toys & Collectibles
by Ted Hake ©Random House, 2008.
Betty Boop
Memorabilia
Available For
Purchase
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