Some of the information is Boop-Oop-a-Dooping full of SPOILERS. Boop-Oop-a-Doop!
| Helen Kane Is Writing A Book About Her Life[1] |
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Remember when Helen Kane sang "Boop-Boop-a-Doop" back in 1928?
Well the onetime voice of Betty Boop in the movie cartoons is living in an apartment in the Jackson Heights section of New York City now, hoping for a comeback.
"I feel fine now, thank you," said Miss Kane, who had four operations for cancer in the past seven years, the last one Dec. 6.
She says she's finishing an "official book" about her career, wants to do some television, and has had some offers for a movie about her life. She still speaks in that piping voice that sounds as if she's suppressing a laugh. Miss Kane, who made 14 movies for Paramount, saw one on television not long ago.
"I was the peppy one, I was the flapper," she said.
"There I was, looking about 16, laughing, and jumping on and off horses." Her last movie was "Heads Up," with Buddy Rogers in 1930. Miss Kane has been married for 35 years to Dan Healy, who was her leading man in "Good Boy," the show in which she sang "I Wanna Be Loved By You" (Boop-Boop-a-Doop).
"He's a very talented young man," said Miss Kane. She added, "I'm not near that age. Don't put down any fancy age for me. It's not that long ago."
Helen Kane died before she could release her book. Everything she wrote was scrapped, and was never recovered. Other historians and writers have elaborated on her story. But they haven't done a very good job. Instead of focusing on her life, they focus more or less on Betty Boop being based on Kane. Which is not 100% true, as it is a fabrication. Kane was only partial inspiration. There were many "Boop-Boop-a-Doop" girls in the 1920s and 1930s. Betty Boop's persona was more or less based on the women (who were also "Boop-Boop-a-Doop" girls) that voiced the character in the cartoons.
Trivia
- Helen Kane was not the real Betty Boop, actress Mae Questel was.