Esther Jones was known on stage by many names, including “Baby Esther,” “Little Esther,” “Farina’s Kid Sister,” and “Miniature Florence Mills,” is widely,  credited with being the inspiration for the Betty Boop cartoon character. Jones was born Esther Lee Jones in 1918 in Chicago, Illinois. The performer started singing, dance, and acrobatics training at 4, and by 1924, when she was six years old, Jones won first prize at a Charleston dance contest in the city.

In 1928, the Jones family moved to Harlem, New York. Then at seven, Jones was later known for adopting the popular singing style, scat, which emphasized the baby-style of “b” and “d” sounds. Also the nonsense syllables such as Boo-Boo-Boo’ and ‘Doo-Doo-Doo.’ Consequently, she was a sought-after child performer in the city, and a fixtured entertainer in the famous Cotton Club and the Everglades Nightclub in New York City during the latter years of the Harlem Renaissance. She added to her entertainment fame by become an extraordinary black-bottom dancer.

Jones performed at the Moulin Rouge, Casino de Paris, and the Empire in Paris, France. There she was dubbed the “Miniature Josephine Baker.” While in Europe, Jones was paid an average $750 per week for her performances and by age 11, Jones was the highest-paid child on stage globally.

In 1930, Fleisher Studios in Hollywood introduced the cartoon character Betty Boop. Jones, but received no royalties or performing credits. Although the fact that a lawsuit would eventually expose Betty Boop’s true origins. The suit ironically was brought by Helen Kane, a white performer, who filed a lawsuit to Fleisher Studios for appropriating her “Betty Boop” character without her permission and without the payment of royalties. During the course of the Fleisher Studios v. Kane trial, it was revealed that Kane had started mimicking Jones’ scat act and even sang the same song, “I Want to Be Loved By You’ including the “Boop-Boop-a-Doop” reference. Once Kane lost the lawsuit, other studios felt emboldened to promote the Betty Boop character but it recognized neither Kane or Jones as the source.

Then by 1940 the entertainment career of Esther Jones at 22-year-old. Jones is now widely credited with influencing the iconic sex symbol Betty Boop, passed away in 1984 in New York City from liver and kidney complications. Jones died at 66.

Sources:

Alexander, O. (2022, April 09). Esther Jones (1918-1984). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/people-african-american-history/esther-jones-1918-1984/

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