Helen Kane

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Helen Kane (August 4, 1904) – September 26, 1966) was an American popular singer; her signature song was "I Wanna Be Loved By You". Kane's voice and appearance were a likely source for Fleischer Studios animator Grim Natwick when creating Betty Boop, although It-girl Clara Bow is another possible influence.

Early life

Born as Helen Clare Schroeder, Kane attended St. Anselm’s Parochial School in the Bronx. She was the youngest of three children. Her father, Louis Schroeder, the son of a German immigrant, was employed intermittently; her Irish immigrant mother, Ellen (Dixon) Schroeder, worked in a laundry.

Kane's mother reluctantly paid $3 for her daughter's costume as a queen in Kane's first theatrical role at school. By the time she was 15 years, Kane was onstage professionally, touring the Orpheum Circuit with the Marx Brothers in On the Balcony.

She spent the early 1920s trouping in vaudeville as a singer and kickline dancer with a theater engagement called the 'All Jazz Revue.' She played the New York Palace for the first time in 1921. Her Broadway days started there as well with the Stars of the Future (1922–24, and a brief revival in early 1927). She also sang onstage with an early singing trio, the Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce, later known as The Three X Sisters.

Kane's roommate in the early 1920s was Jessie Fordyce. The singing trio act might have become the Hamilton Sisters and Schroeder, however Pearl Hamilton chose Fordyce to tour as a trio act "just to see what happens" at the end of the theatrical season.

Music

Kane's career break came in 1927, when she appeared in a musical called A Night in Spain. It ran from May 3, 1927 through Nov 12, 1927 for a total of 174 performances, at the 44th Street Theatre in NYC. Subsequently, Paul Ash, a band conductor, put her 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-boop-a-doop.” This resonated with the flapper culture, and four days later, Helen Kane’s name went up in lights.

Oscar Hammerstein’s 1928 show Good Boy, was where she first introduced the hit "I Wanna Be Loved by You" . Then it was back to the Palace, as a headliner for $5,000 a week. She rejoined her friends from vaudeville, The Three X Sisters (formerly The Hamilton Sisters and Fordyce) for one night. In a 1935 live stage performance, she harmonized with their unique banter to a novelty tune, "The Preacher and the Bear".

Kane had excellent diction, intonation and timing, learned during her apprenticeship in vaudeville. Her songs have a strong word focus, and capitalize on her coquettish voice. She blended several fashionable styles of the late 1920s. These included scat singing, a kind of vocal improvisation, and also blending singing and speech. Sprechgesang ("speech-song") was fashionable at this time in Germany's Weimar Republic in both nightclubs and in serious music.

Kane recorded 22 songs between 1928 and 1930. After 1930 and up to 1951, she recorded four sides for Columbia in addition to the "Three Little Words" soundtrack single recording of "I Wanna Be Loved by You" She also recorded four songs that comprise a 1954 MGM 45Ep entitled, "The Boop Boop a Doop Girl".

Cult following

As she took on the status of a singing sensation, there were Helen Kane dolls and Helen Kane look-alike contests, appearances on radio and in nightclubs. This cult following reached its peak in late 1928 and stayed there until early 1929.

Kane's height (only 5 feet tall) and slightly plump figure attracted attention and fans. Her round face with big brown eyes was topped by black, curly hair; her voice was a baby squeak with a distinct Bronx dialect.

Films

In mid-1929, Paramount Pictures signed Kane to make a series of musicals at a salary as much as $8,000 a week (equivalent to over $160,000 in 2009).

Her films were:

1929: Nothing But the Truth a comedy starring Richard Dix

1929: Sweetie a college musical, which starred Nancy Carroll, Jack Oakie and Stanley Smith

1929: Pointed Heels, which starred William Powell and Fay Wray

1930: Paramount on Parade, an all-star extravaganza

1930: Dangerous Nan McGrew, with Stuart Erwin, Frank Morgan, and Victor Moore

1930: Heads Up! , starring Buddy Rogers and Victor Moore

1931: A Lesson in Love, a musical short film

It should be noted that although Helen was not the "star" of most of her pictures (with Dangerous Nan McGrew being the one exception) she was so popular that in the case of "Sweetie," her name appeared over the title on the marquee when the movie premiered at the New York Paramount (although Nancy Carroll was the true star). Helen provided all the fun and she and Jack Oakie taught the college kids, "The Prep Step," a big hit along with "He's So Unusual." Another hit from this picture was Nancy Carroll's, "My Sweeter Than Sweet."

In the opening credits of Pointed Heels, Helen's name is equal with William Powell on the same line in large letters just below the title with Fay Wray and the rest in smaller letters underneath. She had equal billing with Buddy Rogers in Heads Up! and it is their faces which appeared in all the ads. And in Dangerous Nan McGrew, Helen received top billing in the film's credits.

Fleischer v. Kane

In 1930, Fleischer Studios animator Grim Natwick introduced a caricature of Helen Kane, with droopy dog ears and a squeaky singing voice, in the Talkartoons cartoon Dizzy Dishes. "Betty Boop", as the character was later dubbed, soon became popular and the star of her own cartoons. In 1932, Betty Boop was changed into a human, the long dog ears becoming hoop earrings.

In May 1932, Kane filed a $250,000 suit against Paramount and Max Fleischer, charging unfair competition and wrongful appropriation in the Betty Boop cartoons. The trial opened that year with Helen Kane and Betty Boop films being viewed only by the judge. No jury was called., Bonnie Poe, Kate Wright, Margie Hines, and most notably Mae Questel were all summoned to testify.

The case dragged on for more than two years before the judge ruled against Kane, claiming her testimony did not prove that her singing style was unique and not an imitation itself; a little-known African American singer known as "Baby Esther" had been cited by the defense as "booping" in song.

Later years

With the hardships of the Great Depression biting, the flamboyant world of the flapper was over, and Kane's style began to date rapidly. After 1931 she lost the favour of the movie makers, who chose other singers for their films. She appeared in a stage production called Shady Lady in 1933, and made appearances at various nightclubs and theatres during the 1930s.

In 1950, she dubbed Debbie Reynolds, who performed "I Wanna Be Loved By You" in the MGM musical biopic of songwriters Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby: Three Little Words. She did not appear in the film's credits.

She appeared on several TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s, principally Toast of the Town, later known as The Ed Sullivan Show. Kane's final public appearance was on the Sullivan Show on St. Patrick's Day 1965.

In addition, she was given overdue tribute in the early 1950s on This is Your Life with Ralph Edwards. It brought a tearful reunion with Helen's old friend, actress Fifi D'Orsay, and a lifelong fan who once sent her money when she was down on her luck. Renewed interest in Helen brought her a one-record contract with MGM Records and appearances on I've Got a Secret and You Asked for It. She sang on all of these TV shows.

Personal life

In November 1924, Helen Schroeder married department store buyer Joseph Kane and took his last name professionally. The marriage was over by 1925, ended in 1928, and Helen went to Mexico to get a final divorce in December 1932.

In February 1933 she married an actor, Max Hoffman, Jr. After six months he deserted her and Helen filed for divorce. The divorce was finalized in May 1935.

In 1939 she married Dan Healy, whom she had worked with in Good Boy in 1928. They opened a restaurant in New York City, "Healy's Grill." She remained married to Healy for the rest of her life. However, the marriage was childless.

Helen Kane battled breast cancer for more than a decade. She had surgery in 1956 and eventually received two hundred radiation treatments as an outpatient at Memorial Hospital.

She died on September 26, 1966 at age 62, in her apartment in Jackson Heights, Queens (New York City). Her husband of 27 years was at her bedside. Her remains were buried in the Long Island National Cemetery.

Discography

Single Release Date Remarks

1 "Get Out and Get Under the Moon" July 16, 1928

2 "That's My Weakness Now" July 16, 1928

3 "I Wanna Be Loved by You" September 20, 1928 from the musical Good Boy

4 "Is There Anything Wrong in That?" September 20, 1928

5 "Don't Be Like That" December 20, 1928

6 "Me and the Man in the Moon" December 20, 1928

7 "Button Up Your Overcoat" January 30, 1929 from the musical Follow Thru

8 "I Want to Be Bad" January 30, 1929 from the musical Follow Thru

9 Do Something (1929) March 15, 1929 from the movie Nothing But the Truth

10 "That's Why I'm Happy" March 15, 1929

11 "I'd Do Anything for You" June 14, 1929

12 "He's So Unusual" June 14, 1929 from the movie Sweetie[8]

13 "Ain'tcha?" October 29, 1929 from the movie Pointed Heels

14 "I Have to Have You" October 29, 1929 from the movie Pointed Heels

15 "I'd Go Barefoot All Winter Long" March 18, 1930

16 "Dangerous Nan McGrew" April 12, 1930 from the movie Dangerous Nan McGrew

17 "Thank Your Father" April 12, 1930 from the musical Flying High

18 "I Owe You" April 12, 1930 from the movie Dangerous Nan McGrew

19 "Readin' Ritin' Rhythm" July 1, 1930 from the movie Heads Up!

20 "I've Got It (But It Don't Do Me No Good)" July 1, 1930 from the movie Young Man of Manhattan

21 "My Man Is on the Make" July 2, 1930 from the movie Heads Up!

22 "If I Knew You Better" July 2, 1930 from the movie Heads Up!

23 "I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat" between 1950–51 with Jimmy Carroll & His Orchestra

24 "Beanbag Song" between 1931–51 with Jimmy Carroll & His Orchestra

25 "Hug Me! Kiss Me! Love Me!" between 1931–51 with George Siravo & His Orchestra

26 "Aba Daba Honeymoon" between 1931–51 with George Siravo & His Orchestra

27 "I Wanna Be Loved by You" c. 1950 from the movie Three Little Words

The release dates of recordings 1 to 22 are derived from the cover notes of the CD Helen Kane - Great Original Performances - 1928 to 1930 (RPCD 323)

In 1954, MGM records issued the last Helen Kane recordings as a 45-rpm Ep X1164 called "The Boop-Boop-A-Doop Girl!", orchestra directed by Leroy Holmes, and the songs are "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street", "When I Get You Alone Tonight, Do Something" (from Nothing But the Truth) and "That's My Weakness Now".

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