Born 1904 as Helen Clare Schroeder in The Bronx, New York City, American singer and actress Helen Kane had her career break coming in 1927, when she appeared in a musical called A Night in Spain. It ran from May 3 through Nov 12, 1927, for a total of 174 performances, at the 44th Street Theatre in New York City. Subsequently, Paul Ash, a band conductor, put Kane’s name forward for a performance at New York’s Paramount Theater.
Kane’s first performance at the Paramount Theater in Times Square proved to be her career’s launching point. She was singing “That’s My Weakness Now”, when she interpolated the scat lyrics “boop-oop-a-doop”. This resonated with the flapper culture, and four days later, Helen Kane’s name went up in lights.
Kane’s signature song was “I Wanna Be Loved by You” (1928), featured in the 1928 stage musical Good Boy. The song was written for Good Boy by the songwriting team Kalmar and Ruby. Her voice and appearance were thought to be a source for Fleischer Studios animators when creating Betty Boop.
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. She died in 1966, at age 62, in her apartment in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City. Take a look at these gorgeous photos to see portraits of young Helen Kane in the 1920s and 1930s.
0 comments:
Post a Comment