Some of the information is Boop-Oop-a-Dooping full of SPOILERS. Boop-Oop-a-Doop!
Babe Kane
| Margie "Babe" Kane the Boop-Boop-Ah-Doop Girl |
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| Marjorie Babe Kane | |
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Name |
Margie Kane |
Marjorie Babe Kane (April 28, 1905[1] – January 8, 1992) was a baby-talk singer and American film actress. Kane who was born in Chicago, was one of the many Helen Kane impersonators,[2] and she appeared in 68 films from 1929 to 1951.
Babe appeared in the 1928 Broadway show Good News, the same musical as Peggy Bernier. Penny Singleton appeared in the 1930 film adaption by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Babe did the song in Good News a little different, at first the director old her she had to sing like the others. One night, after a rehearsal, Babe sang her own way just for fun. The director saw it, and he changed his mind. "After this, do it your own way, Miss Kane," he said. "Your version has the other beat a thousand ways." Babe's version won her stardom in the show.
In her film appearances, she sings similar to Helen Kane, and also used unique scat-singing. Like most singers, her "Boop-Boop-a-Doop" was alternative, and she didn't use the phrase "Boop" in her songs. In The Dance of Life, she sang "The Flippity Flop", and in The Great Gabbo she sang "Every Now And Then".
In the 1930 film Be Yourself!, Babe Kane rivals Fanny Brice in the "Boop-Boop-a-Doop" style singing "When A Woman Loves A Man". She also sang "I Wanna Find A Boy" and "Must Be Love" in Sunny Skies.
Some sources falsely suggest that Marjorie "Babe" Kane was related to Helen Kane as a sister or cousin, which is false. They were not related because Helen took the name Kane from her first husband, Helen Kane's first second name was Schroeder.
Babe generally did not like the comparison to Helen Kane, and certainly did not like be asked to "Boop-Boop-a-Doop" in person. While filming one of her films, she was consistently asked to "Boop" which annoyed her. Babe also made it clear, that she was not Helen Kane, it was just a situation that arose when two pretty girls both by the name of Kane came into the limelight at the same time, and just naturally got confused.
It was commonly assumed that Helen Kane played the ukulele, although in fact it was Babe Kane who could play the ukulele, and Helen Kane sang about playing the ukulele in her song "Don't Be Like That".
In the 1930 short Bubbles, the baby-talk singer that sings the opening sequence "My Pretty Bubble" is often identified as Mae Questel but in fact is Babe Kane. She was advised to drop the "Babe" from her name, and no longer talk baby-talk or sing through her nose, and henceforth be called Marjorie.
Though claims of no longer singing in a baby voice or imitating Helen Kane, Babe seemingly continued to do so on stage throughout the early 30s. In a 1935 revue, Babe appeared as the "Boop-Boop-Ah-Doop Girl" in a Hollywood Revue on the Parthenon stage. In 1945, Babe had a minor role in Life with Blondie, starring Penny Singleton as Blondie Bumstead. Her career died out by the 1950s, and she eventually retired from show business.
Quotes
- Babe Kane: "I am a great admirer of Helen Kane." (1930)
- Babe Kane: "Boop-Boop-a-Doop, why do speakeasy owners make good weather prophets?" (1932)
- Babe Kane: "I find my complexion is much cleaner when I eat mostly vegetables." (1933)
- Babe Kane: "Extracting the juice from water-cress and rubbing it on my face, gives my skin an added glow, I find." (1933)
- Babe Kane: "For exercise I practice dancing every day, and try to find time for a daily swim." (1933)
Death
- On January 8, 1992, Marjorie Kane died at Temple University Hospital in Los Angeles, California.
Trivia
- In A 1931 newspaper article, the Pomona Progress Bulletin referenced Babe as the "Poop-Poop-Pa-Doop Girl".
- Margie Kane is not to be mistaken for Margie Hines. Coincidentally Margie "Babe" Kane appeared on screen using the "baby-doll" persona with star Benny Rubin in the 1930 film Sunny Skies, two years before Hines appeared with Rubin in a similar character role in The Perfect Suitor in 1932.
- She is arguably best recognized for her roles in the classic films The Dentist in 1932 and The Pharmacist in 1933, as W.C. Fields' daughter.
- A 1936 article in the Omaha World-Herald described Babe Kane as, "The Boop-Boop-a-Doop Girl" formerly with Olson and Johnson, Ben Bernie and the late Rus Columbo.