1. Theatrical manager Lou Bolton testified during the Kane v Fleischer trial that Kane saw Baby Esther's cabaret act in 1928, in which Esther used interpolated words such as "boo-boo-boo" and "doo-doo-doo".
22 Facts About Baby Esther
1. 2.
An early test sound film of Baby Esther's performance was used as evidence.
3.
Baby Esther was initially managed by her parents, Gertrude and William Jones.
4.
Baby Esther lived in the "colored" neighborhood of Chicago with her mother and father.
5.
Baby Esther's career began in the 1920s when she won first prize at a Charleston dancing contest in Chicago at the age of six.
6.
Baby Esther performed briefly at a nightclub called the Everglades Club, where she would do imitations of Florence Mills, late at night.
7.
In late 1928, Baby Esther was signed for a short Movietone talking film, booked through William Morris for MGM.
8.
Baby Esther toured Europe in 1929, when her age was variously reported as seven or ten.
9.
In France, Germany, and other countries, Baby Esther gave private performances for the nobility and high society.
10.
Swedish dignitaries and officials around the country spoke up in support of Baby Esther and objected to the restaurant's discrimination, railing against American "Jim Crowism" in Sweden.
11.
Baby Esther praised her ability to sing in different languages and invited her to perform for him at the American embassy.
12.
Baby Esther was interviewed in Rio de Janeiro by reporters who wanted to know how she had avoided the racists who lynched and burned black people in Texas and Alabama.
13.
Baby Esther replied that she had so far escaped their wrath by staying out of the South.
14.
In 1934, Baby Esther, billed as "The Sepia Dancing Doll", appeared with Helena Justa's Harlem Maniacs revue.
15.
In July 1934, Baby Esther performed in Philadelphia at a midnight benefit performance for the NAACP, along with numerous other African-American stars.
16.
Baby Esther has been verified as giving routine performances as late as September 1934, but her later activities are unknown.
17.
Testimony was given that Kane adopted her singing style after watching Baby Esther perform in a New York nightclub in April 1928.
18.
Bolton told the court that he had no idea where Baby Esther was, and he thought that she was "probably" still in Paris.
19.
Max Fleischer located a sound film made in 1928 of Baby Esther performing, which was introduced as evidence.
20.
O'Meally questioned if there was some sort of deal between Fleischer Studios and Bolton, and questioned if Baby Esther was ever paid for her presumed loss of revenue.
21.
Baby Esther is most associated today with her connection with the Kane v Fleischer lawsuit.
22.
In 2021, a 2015 article by PBS, which had been used as "confirmation" of the "Baby Esther was the original Betty Boop" story by many people, was removed from the PBS website.