1. Helen Kane attempted to sue the studio for claims of stealing her signature "boop-oop-a-doop" style, but the judge decided that the proof of this was insufficient, thus dismissing the case.
19 Facts About Helen Kane
1. 2.
Fleischer Studios later admitted that Helen Kane had been the inspiration for Betty Boop.
3.
Helen Kane attended St Anselm's Parochial School in The Bronx, New York City.
4.
Helen Kane spent the early 1920s trouping in vaudeville as a singer and kickline dancer with a theater engagement called the "All Jazz Revue".
5.
Helen Kane played the New York Palace for the first time in 1921.
6.
Helen Kane sang onstage with an early singing trio, the Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce, later known as The Three X Sisters.
7.
Helen Kane rejoined her friends from vaudeville, The Three X Sisters for one night.
8.
Helen Kane recorded four songs that comprise a 1954 MGM 45Ep entitled "The Boop Boop a Doop Girl".
9.
In early 1929, Paramount Pictures signed Helen Kane to make a series of musicals at a salary of as much as $8,000 a week.
10.
Helen Kane provided all the fun, and Jack Oakie and she danced to "The Prep Step", a big hit along with "He's So Unusual".
11.
In Dangerous Nan McGrew, Helen Kane received top billing in the film's credits.
12.
In May 1932, Helen Kane filed a lawsuit against Max Fleischer and Paramount for damages of $250,000, alleging infringement, unfair competition and exploitation of her personality and image.
13.
Theatrical manager Lou Bolton offered testimony during the Kane v Fleischer trial to convey the impression that Helen Kane adopted Baby Esther's boops to further her own popularity as a singer.
14.
Helen Kane appeared in a stage production called Shady Lady in 1933, sang weekly on the radio, and made appearances at various nightclubs and theatres during the 1930s.
15.
Helen Kane did not appear in the film's credits, but was credited on the soundtrack album and 78RPM records.
16.
Helen Kane appeared on several TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s, principally Toast of the Town, later known as The Ed Sullivan Show.
17.
Helen Kane had surgery in 1956 and eventually received two hundred radiation treatments as an outpatient at Memorial Hospital.
18.
Helen Kane died on September 26,1966, at age 62, in her apartment in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City.
19.
Helen Kane was buried in Long Island National Cemetery, in Suffolk County, New York.