MAE QUESTEL
Name: Mae Questel
Born: 13 September 1908 Bronx, New York City
Died: 4 January 1998 New York City
Mae Questel (September 13, 1908 – January 4, 1998) was an American actress and
vocal artist.
Born Mae Kwestel in New York City, she won a talent contest at the age of 17,
and began performing in vaudeville. She was seen by animator Max Fleischer, who
was looking for an actress to provide the voice for his Betty Boop character.
Questel's "Boop-boop-a-doop" routine, done in a style similar to that of the
song's originator, Helen Kane, while at the same time evoking something of the
naughty allure of film star Clara Bow, was exactly what Fleischer wanted. From
1931 until 1939, Questel provided the voice of Betty Boop in more than 150
animated shorts. During the 1930s she released a recording of "On the Good Ship
Lollipop" which sold more than 2 million copies.
From the mid 1930s Questel also provided the voice for Olive Oyl in the Popeye
animated shorts. She based Olive's nasal vocal style on that of the legendary
character actress ZaSu Pitts, and ultimately played the role for more than
twenty years. Questel refused to move to Miami, Florida when Fleischer Studios
relocated there in 1938. Margie Hines was the voice of Olive Oyl during the
Miami years. Questel returned as the voice of Olive Oyl when Paramount Pictures
moved the former Fleischer Studios which became Famous Studios back to New York
City. She filled Jack Mercer's shoes as Popeye when Mercer was temporarily drawn
into war service. She voiced Little Lulu and Little Audrey in their respective
animated shorts. In the 1950s, she was the voice to the title character of the
interactive, and pioneering, Saturday-morning cartoon series Winky Dink and You.
Questel's Broadway theatre credits included A Majority of One, Enter Laughing,
and Bajour.
Questel appeared onscreen in the 1930's as herself, the most noted being in a
1933 "Hollywood on Parade" short. After she finishes a musical number Bela
Lugosi enters in his Dracula costume and says "You have Booped your Last Boop!"
before carrying her off. She made her first dramatic appearance in the 1960s and
was seen as one of Fanny Brice's mother's card-playing friends at the start of
Funny Girl (1968). She appeared in Zelig (1983) and as a celestial apparition in
New York Stories (1989).
When Hanna-Barbera began making new Popeye cartoons for television in the 1970's,
Questel had to audition for the role of Olive Oyl, and lost out to another voice-over
actress. Questel's final film appearance was as Aunt Bethany in National Lampoon's
Christmas Vacation (1989); Questel was nineteen years older than actor William
Hickey, who played her husband in that movie. She provided the voice for Betty
Boop in a cameo appearance in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). She achieved
perhaps her greatest visibility in television commercials for various household
products, most notably as "Aunt Bluebell", pitching Scott Towels.
Questel had a withered arm; in her on-camera film appearances, she was usually
photographed with elbows bent and both hands at her waist or holding an object
in the crook of her elbow to make it less obvious that one arm was shorter and
smaller than the other.
Questel died from complications related to Alzheimer's disease at the age of 89
in New York City.
Name: Mae Questel
Born: 13 September 1908 Bronx, New York City
Died: 4 January 1998 New York City
Mae Questel (September 13, 1908 – January 4, 1998) was an American actress and
vocal artist.
Born Mae Kwestel in New York City, she won a talent contest at the age of 17,
and began performing in vaudeville. She was seen by animator Max Fleischer, who
was looking for an actress to provide the voice for his Betty Boop character.
Questel's "Boop-boop-a-doop" routine, done in a style similar to that of the
song's originator, Helen Kane, while at the same time evoking something of the
naughty allure of film star Clara Bow, was exactly what Fleischer wanted. From
1931 until 1939, Questel provided the voice of Betty Boop in more than 150
animated shorts. During the 1930s she released a recording of "On the Good Ship
Lollipop" which sold more than 2 million copies.
From the mid 1930s Questel also provided the voice for Olive Oyl in the Popeye
animated shorts. She based Olive's nasal vocal style on that of the legendary
character actress ZaSu Pitts, and ultimately played the role for more than
twenty years. Questel refused to move to Miami, Florida when Fleischer Studios
relocated there in 1938. Margie Hines was the voice of Olive Oyl during the
Miami years. Questel returned as the voice of Olive Oyl when Paramount Pictures
moved the former Fleischer Studios which became Famous Studios back to New York
City. She filled Jack Mercer's shoes as Popeye when Mercer was temporarily drawn
into war service. She voiced Little Lulu and Little Audrey in their respective
animated shorts. In the 1950s, she was the voice to the title character of the
interactive, and pioneering, Saturday-morning cartoon series Winky Dink and You.
Questel's Broadway theatre credits included A Majority of One, Enter Laughing,
and Bajour.
Questel appeared onscreen in the 1930's as herself, the most noted being in a
1933 "Hollywood on Parade" short. After she finishes a musical number Bela
Lugosi enters in his Dracula costume and says "You have Booped your Last Boop!"
before carrying her off. She made her first dramatic appearance in the 1960s and
was seen as one of Fanny Brice's mother's card-playing friends at the start of
Funny Girl (1968). She appeared in Zelig (1983) and as a celestial apparition in
New York Stories (1989).
When Hanna-Barbera began making new Popeye cartoons for television in the 1970's,
Questel had to audition for the role of Olive Oyl, and lost out to another voice-over
actress. Questel's final film appearance was as Aunt Bethany in National Lampoon's
Christmas Vacation (1989); Questel was nineteen years older than actor William
Hickey, who played her husband in that movie. She provided the voice for Betty
Boop in a cameo appearance in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). She achieved
perhaps her greatest visibility in television commercials for various household
products, most notably as "Aunt Bluebell", pitching Scott Towels.
Questel had a withered arm; in her on-camera film appearances, she was usually
photographed with elbows bent and both hands at her waist or holding an object
in the crook of her elbow to make it less obvious that one arm was shorter and
smaller than the other.
Questel died from complications related to Alzheimer's disease at the age of 89
in New York City.