Mr.KnowitAll601

NEW YORK, 1928 — At Harlem’s Cotton Club and Lafayette Theatre, a precocious Black child performer known as Baby Esther (Esther Lee Jones) captivated audiences with her wide-eyed mischievous grin, energetic dance steps, and signature baby-voiced scat singing featuring playful “boop-oop-a-doop” improvisations. White vaudeville star Helen Kane, performing uptown, attended one of Esther’s shows. Kane soon incorporated the distinctive vocal style and mannerisms into her own act. In 1928 she released her breakthrough hit “I Wanna Be Loved by You,” complete with the now-iconic “boop-boop-a-doop” delivery that propelled her to national fame. Two years later, in 1930, animator Grim Natwick and Fleischer Studios created Betty Boop — visually modeled on Kane’s flapper look and curves — launching the cartoon character whose voice carried the scat-singing spark first popularized by Baby Esther. One performer’s stage innovation. Another’s mainstream breakthrough. A defining slice of Jazz Age entertainment history.