Some of the information is Boop-Oop-a-Dooping full of SPOILERS. Boop-Oop-a-Doop!
Good Boy
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Good Boy is a Broadway musical that was created by Oscar Hammerstien with music by Herbert P. Stothart and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. Helen Kane, who was paired up with Dan Healy debuted her "Boop-Boop-a-Doop" routine in the Good Boy Broadway musical.
Although, it later came out that the "Boops" that Helen had used in her number "I Wanna Be Loved By You" actually originated in the all-black Broadway musical Shuffle Along. It is indicated that Gertrude Saunders' scat singing style that she originated was alternative scat rhythms which served as base for the whole "Boop" interpolation.
Saunders inspired other women to scat sing in their act, most notably Helen Kane, who according to witnesses saw Baby Esther Jones doing her unique scat rhythms in 1928, and it is said that Kane took direct inspiration from Esther Jones. Jones in turn was a Florence Mills impersonator. Mills replaced Saunders in the musical Shuffle Along.
Helen Kane left Good Boy unexpectedly and went into hiding, this upset a lot of people. She was quickly replaced by her understudy Blanche Bow. Helen Kane was described as utilising "Bumpee-Ump-Bump-Bump" as her final words in her "I Wanna Be Loved By You" performance in a Tuesday, November 6, 1928 review.
For many years Helen Kane sang "I Wanna Be Loved By You" on radio and TV. But there is no existing footage from the original Broadway show featuring Helen Kane or Dan Healy in their character roles.
In 1950, the musical scenes from the show were recreated by Debbie Reynolds and Carleton Carpenter for the film Three Little Words. Kane taught Reynolds her baby-doll mannerisms, and also dubbed over Reynolds' voice for the musical sequence.
Quotes
- Helen Kane: "No one did believe me when I left Good Boy, but I was really ill." (1930)
- Helen Kane: "And so miserable about all the things that were said about me." (1930)
- Helen Kane: "However, people seem to have forgiven me for what they thought I did, so I don't mind any more." (1930)
Notable Cast
- Helen Kane as Pansy McManus
- Blanche Bow as Pansy McManus
- Debbie Reynolds as Pansy McManus / Helen Kane (Three Little Words)
- Carleton Carpenter as Dan Healy / Bobby Darnell (Three Little Words)
- Borrah Minevitch as Jimmie
- Dan Healy as Bobby Darnell
- Vivian Hart as Betty Summers
- Al Gold as Walter Meakin
- Lester Bernard as A. A. Stone
- Milton Douglass as Manhattan
- Charles Butterworth as Cicero Meakin
- Gus Quinlan as Policeman
- Stan Rock as Brakeman
- Joseph Ames as Ticket Speculator
- Jack Irwin as Movie Doorman
- Jack O'Hare as Hotel Clerk
- Tom Martin as Bellboy
- Edwin Galliard as Bellboy
- Gus Quinlan as Elevator Boy
- Austin Clark as Trevor Joseph
- Ames as Justice of the Peace
- Muriel Greel as Landlady
- Jack Irwin as Theatre Doorman
- William Meek as Theatre Treasurer
Music
Act I:
- "Down in Arkansas"
- "What Makes You So Wonderful?"
- "Good Boy"
- "Voice of the City"
- "Manhattan Walk"
- "Some Sweet Someone"
- "I Have My Moments"
- "I Wanna Be Loved By You"
- "Some Sweet Someone"
- "The Three Bears"
- "Oh, What a Man"
Act II:
- "Voice of the City"
- "Good Boy Wedding March"
- "Nina"
- "I Wanna Be Loved By You"
Trivia
- In early 1928, Helen Kane saw Florence Mills impersonator Baby Esther Jones scat sing at an obscure nightclub called the Everglades Restaurant. Not too long after Helen Kane started to scat sing in her act, and even put the scat singing into her first two recordings "That's My Weakness Now" and "Get Out and Get Under the Moon".
- When Kane became part of the musical Good Boy it was said that she adapted those sounds to "Poop-Poop-a-Doop", making Shuffle Along the true origin of where those sounds originated, this only came out when Helen sued the creators of Betty Boop. Gertrude Saunders who was the original headliner in the musical Shuffle Along is said to be the female originator of the scat singing style, who paved the way for others.
- Helen Kane who was often known as Broadway's Sugar Kane, played the role of Pansy McManus, and Dan Healy played the role of Bobby D'Arnell.
- Helen Kane suddenly left Good Boy without telling anyone and went into hiding and had to be replaced by another baby-talk singer by the name of Blanche Bow.
- There is no original footage of Helen performing the song in 1928, although she can be heard performing it on radio in the 1930s, and also on various TV shows in person in the 1950s up until her death.
- Marilyn Monroe made "I Wanna Be Loved By You" even more famous by singing it in the 1959 film Some Like It Hot as Sugar Kane, which was a nod to Helen Kane.
- Today the song "I Wanna Be Loved By You" is Betty Boop's official song and catchphrase. According to information, Betty's interpretation of the song, was influenced by Marilyn Monroe, forgetting that it was originally Helen Kane's signature song. Betty was partially based on Kane. During the run of the original Betty Boop cartoons, Betty never once sang "I Wanna Be Loved By You." Betty only started singing the song and being paired with the quote when she became a cult figure of the past in the 1980s.
- Borrah Minevitch who later discovered a 14-year-old Bonnie Poe, appeared alongside Helen Kane in promotional photography to promote the show. As a young girl, Poe had joined his group The Harmonica Rascals. A few years later Poe met Helen Kane, who told her that it would be a good idea to enter a Helen Kane Impersonation Contest.
- Minevitch left the show in 1929 over a row over "second billing" to Helen Kane.[1]