Collection: Betty Boop Biography and Art Gallery Collection

Betty Boop was first created as a dog character by Grim Natwick and appeared as the girl friend of another dog named Bimbo. Betty's figure was modeled after Mae West's and her singing style taken from Helen Kane the "Boop-Boop-a-Doop" Girl. The voice of Betty Boop was that of May Questal. Dave Fleischer first produced the Talkartoons for Paramount. Max drew his first comic strip for the "Brooklyn Daily Eagle" in 1902. In 1915 Max, Dave and Joe Fleischer invented the rotoscope which revolutionized animation. It gave a much smoother, more life-like quality to the motion of the characters. Betty Boop made her debut as a sexy canine cabaret singer in the Max Fleischer short "Dizzy Dishes" on Aug. 8, 1930. In 1931 Betty's friends Koko the Clown and Pudgy, Bimbo's replacement, were introduced. Betty Boop evolved into her own with "Betty Co-Ed" when she shed her dog identity and the long ears became earrings. Betty Boop's beginnings were quite risque and ahead of her time as gusts of wind raised her skirt long before Marilyn Monroe. By 1932 Betty was considered to be the first and only female animated screen star who could do it all - Drama, Musicals and Comedy. Betty Boop had a flare all her own, she could be daring and assertive while keeping an air of innocence, however in 1933, the Betty Boop short "Boilesque" was banned in Philadelphia for being too risque. By 1934, due to moralist pressure, Betty Boop began showing far less leg. There were more than one hundred Betty Boop cartoons produced including ninety in the official Betty Boop Series. "Stopping the show", "Betty Boop for President" and "Boilesk" are among the most noteworthy. In 1939 her last film "Yip Yip Yipee" was released. In 1934, King Features Syndicate started distribution of "Betty Boop", a newspaper comic strip drawn by Bud Counihan.

Ownership of the Betty Boop cartoons has changed hands over the intervening decades due to a series of corporate mergers, acquisitions, and divestings (mainly involving Republic Pictures and the 2006 corporate split of parent company Viacom into two separate companies). As of 2006, CBS Paramount Television handles television distribution, while, ironically, original distributor Paramount handles theatrical distribution, although any sort of re-release has yet to be announced. Also, the Betty Boop character and trademark is currently owned by King Features Syndicate and Fleischer Studios.