The Betty Boop character first appeared as a human-shape dog in the 1930 Talkartoons series installment called "Dizzy Dishes." She was initially designed by Grim Natwick, a famous silent film era animator who went on to direct for Walt Disney Studios, but was later redesigned without the doglike characteristics when Natwick left. Her floppy dog ears became hoop earrings and her little black nose became a girlish button nose. Originally the love interest of Talkartoons main character Bimbo, Betty quickly gained popularity. By 1932, Betty was the star of the shows and was given her own series, a well-loved show that aired until 1939.
Betty Boop was modeled after several famous performers of the 1920s. Her unusually sexy figure was based on the looks of actress Mae West, her curls and Brooklyn accent on silent film star Clara Bow, and her singing style on the distinct voice of popular singer Helen Kane. Unlike other female cartoon characters of the time, assertive Betty was dressed for sex appeal, often appearing in high heels, short flapper dresses, low-cut bodices and sporting a signature garter on her left leg. Often depicted as bubble-headed but good-hearted, Betty Boop became a representation of the young flapper girl, both mature and immature at once.
A lawsuit filed by Helen Kane against Fleishcer Studios, claiming that the Betty Boop character had stolen her style and created competition that resulted in Kane's career decline, did not succeed despite the fact that Betty had been initially based on Kane's performances. Kane claimed that her unique appearance, voice and signature phrase, "Boop Oop a Doop," had been exploited. However, the studio produced several key pieces of evidence to prove that none of these was unique to Kane, including her appearance, which greatly resembled that of Clara Bow. Kane's singing style and signature phrase were shown to have originated from a Harlem performance of African-American jazz singer Baby Esther, which Kane attended before her use of the style. In addition, five of Betty Boop's voice actors testified that they had not based their performances on that of Kane specifically.
Although the character's sexiness and the Fleischer Studio's tendency toward raciness initially attracted the adult audience that made the series popular, by 1934 pressure from moralists and the Production Code of 1933, which restricted film content, caused the studio to tone Betty down. The innocent sexuality that characterized her best-loved films became tame wholesomeness as the Betty Boop character was changed from a flapper to a career girl. Betty's role in the films, too, became diminished as extra characters were added to attract younger viewers. These changes heralded the decline in popularity that led to the show's eventual end.
The original Betty Boop series has made several comebacks since its ending in 1939. In 1955, the show was sold for syndication and aired in its original format, but was quickly retired as color television arrived in the 1960s. A second revival occurred in the 1970s as part of the post-'60s counterculture movement, though the show was not aired again because of the continuing problem of color television causing a lack of interest in black-and-white media. An attempt was made to color the series, but the result was cheap and unattractive, and the reworked series was never shown on television, though it appeared in 1981 as a compilation feature called "Hurray for Betty Boop." In the 1990s, the original black-and-white series was shown on the American Movie Classics channel, and the show was released on VHS.