Mae Questel the voice of Betty Boop, Olive Oil, and Minnie Mouse

Mel Blanc is world-renowned for voicing thousands of cartoon characters but you may not ever have heard of Mae Questel. She was not in the league with Blanc but she was the voice behind three of the most iconic female cartoon characters ever. Mae gave the world the sound and personalities behind Betty Boop, Olive Oil, and Minnie Mouse. Her career began at the age of 17 when she won a talent contest at the RKO Fordham Theatre in the Bronx. Her imitation of singer Helen Kane was so impressive Questel was signed by an agent and began performing as an impersonator in Vaudville.

The actress did imitations of numerous celebrities including Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice, Mae West, Marlene Dietrich, and Maurice Chevalier. She also did animal imitations and when animator Max Fleischer, caught her act he was so impressed that he hired her to provide the voice for his character Betty Boop. Questel's famous "Boop-boop-a-doop" was similar to the version don by Helen Kane but Mae had the "naughty allure of film star Clara Bow," and was exactly what Fleischer was looking for.

Hee hired Questel in 1931 as one of quite a few actresses who were providing Betty Boop's voice. Eventually, Mae took over the role and she alone became the voice of the cartoon character. Between 1931 and 1939 the actress did more than 150 animated shorts which is the longest record for any actress to date. From 1933-1938 Fleisher had Mae doing the voice of Olive Oil in the POPEYE cartoons and also voiced LITTLE AUDREY.

In 1958, Qustel did the voice of Wendy the Good Little Witch in the theatrical version of Casper, and provided the voice of the childlike spirit in in 1962 in Golden Records' CASPER THE FRIENDLY GHOST AND LITTLE AUDREY SAYS. Mae Questel also was the voice of characters on THE FLINTSTONES COMEDY HOUR, THE FLINTSTONES FROLIC, and THE PEBBLES AND BAM BAM SHOW. She also voiced Felix the cat and Minni Mouse.

The actress was on an episode of the television series NAKED CITY and in the movies, IT'S ONLY MONEY, NEW YORK STORIES and FUNNY GIRL.In 1989 she had the role of Aunt Bethany in NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION. Fans of the holiday film will remember that when Bbetany was asked to say grace she replied that Grace had been dead for 30 years. When she was told to say grace for the meal she recited the pledge of allegiance to the flag.

The actress continued voicing Olive Oil and Betty Boop in commercials, for special occasions and television commercials until she died. She also did the voice of Betty Boop in the 1988 film WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT.

Mae Questel was born Mae Kwestel, to Orthodox Jewish parents on September 13, 1908. Her parents were against her having a career in entertainment and actually removed her from a theatrical school. Questel was married twice and had 2 sons, one of whom preceded her in death. The actress passed away at age 89 from Alzheimer's disease on January 4, 1998,

The times in which Mae Questel came along were not keen on giving honor when it was due to women or minorities. This in no way diminishes the many accomplishments of people of color and females who entertained the world. Questel will live on thanks to the Internet and television networks like MeTV that celebrate golden oldies of classic television and movies. POPEYE and BETTY BOOP cartoons often run together when they are shown so check your local listings.