In 1923, a plump, impudent artfully infantile young woman named Helen Kane began to appear in vaudeville. In her songs she usually replaced the lyrics with extraordinary noises. Presently her favorite noise, "boop-boop-a-doop," became a recognized word in vaudeville's nonsense language. By 1928, Helen Kane had innumerable imitators. In 1931, there appeared in animated cinema cartoons a character called Betty Boop.
Helen Kane grew fatter. Her infantilism grew less appropriate and profitable. Betty Boop remained babyish, alert, and so prosperous that her name has lately become almost as familiar in Manhattan courtrooms as that of Ella Wendel. Last month, Producer Max Fleischer whose firm makes Betty Boop cartoons, distributes them through Paramount, successfully sued a doll manufacturer for imitating Betty Boop. Last week it was Producer Fleischer and Paramount Publix Corp. who were sued by Helen Kane for $250,000 for copying her voice and mannerisms.
Justice Edward J. McGoldrick ruled against a jury. Counsel ordered Helen Kane to remove her coat, arrange her hair like Betty Boop. Defendant Fleischer produced three babyfaced young women who do the singing for Betty Boop cartoons. A court anteroom was darkened and three Betty Boop cartoons and one reel of a Helen Kane picture were projected on the wall. After this, Justice McGoldrick ruled that he had had enough, demanded records and music sung by Helen Kane and Betty Boop before he made a decision. Grown fatter but still talking with the voice of an indignant doll, Helen Kane explained her difficulties:
"I have become a ghost. Recently in Hollywood when some children ran to open the door of my car they greeted me as Betty Boop. Betty is just one stroke removed from Mickey Mouse."