In 1943 Jack Mercer the voice of Popeye entered the armed forces and the creators held a Popeye Contest at the Fox Theater to find a new voice for the characters Popeye and Olive Oyl, it is unknown why Hines had retired from the role, according to information given she may have gone into defense work. Mae was Betty's official voice and most famous and would " Boop-Oop-a-Doop" in over 100 cartoons featuring the character. Mae was often asked to model while the animators drew the character and her impersonation technique and mannerisms were incorporated into the character. In 1932 the character debuted as a human girl in Stopping the Show. According to a draft of the script, Betty Boop was originally to be played by Margie Hines. In the same year Questel was asked to portray Betty Boop in the live action Paramount film short Musical Justiceopposite Rudy Vallée. The role of the character was shared with Margie Hines who was the original voice of Betty Boop, Little Ann Little, Bonnie Poe and Kate Wright. In 1931 while working in vaudeville Mae heard that there was an audition for a girl to supply the the voice of Betty Boop in the cartoons, she applied for the role and was given the job making her debut as Betty Boop (a anthropomorphic French poodle who was loosely based on singer Helen Kane) in the 1931 Talkartoon Silly Scandals. In 1929 Helen Kane had to cancel a performance at RKO Proctor's Fifty-eight Street Theater, Questel was called in to substitute for her. She would sometimes perform solo, and sometimes with partners and often appeared at the Palace on Broadway where she presented novelty songs and impersonations of Maurice Chevalier, Eddie Cantor, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, Fanny Brice and Helen Kane. Mae was then asked to perform "He's So Unusual" to a live audience at the Riverside Theatre. Mae billed herself Mae Questel - Personality Singer of Personality Songs. Changing the spelling of her from Kwestel to Questel to rhyme with compel. Against her grandparents wishes she signed the contract with the agency. Her imitation impressed the RKO management which prompted them to offer her a contract to go on the vaudeville circuit. There Mae did an impersonation of the chubby Helen Kane singing "He's So Unusual" and won first place with $150 prize money and an autograph from Helen Kane, stating that Mae was another her. Two months after her wedding persuaded by her friends she entered a Helen Kane impersonation contest held at the RKO Fordham Theater in the Bronx. After she married her parents thought she would forget about a theatrical career but she didn't. Mae married Leo Balkin, with whom she later had two children Robert Balkin (named after her brother) and Richard Balkin.
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