In September 2021, PBS retracted a story that had been on its website for six years asserting that Baby Esther (Esther Lee Jones), a young African American performer, was the unsung and uncredited inspiration behind the cartoon character Betty Boop. The retraction, entitled Betty Oops, explains how and why PBS had not properly verified their sources and acknowledges that this led to the story becoming “a viral source” of misinformation, including a widely circulated photo of a woman misidentified as Baby Esther.

​While it is gratifying to see this story corrected and freshly researched by a news outlet that has been thorough and transparent in its process, we also recognize that the viral spread of this misinformation was born of a sincere effort to retrieve and lift-up the voices and stories of so many long neglected African American artists. That is an effort that Fleischer Studios stands behind and hopes to make a significant contribution to today.

TRIGGER WARNING

This post includes text and images from newspapers articles published in 1920s and 1930s, including material that some may find offensive. The language and imagery of the period is critical to understanding this period in history.

Perhaps the most unfortunate aspect about the false narratives that grew up around this story was the degree to which they clouded, rather than illuminated, our understanding of Baby Esther. That is why, this year, we’re marking Black History Month by honoring the life and career of the extraordinary, and extraordinarily talented, Esther Lee Jones. 

Who was Baby Esther?

Baby Esther as she appeared in 1929 on the cover of the French weekly magazine "Vu."

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Esther Lee Jones (a.k.a. Baby Esther) was born in Chicago in, or around, 1919. Because she was billed as a “kiddie” act, staying childlike for as long as possible was central to her marketability. This meant that her exact age was kept purposely fluid. As a result, today more than 100 years later, we still aren’t sure of her exact birth date.

We do know that in the mid-1920s, when she was between four and six years old, Esther won first prize in a Chicago Charleston contest. This attracted the attention of theatrical agent Lou Bolton who was known for his ability to identify, train, package and promote talented child performers. “Kiddie” acts, were all the rage in the early 1900s and nearly all were billed as “little,” “baby” or “miniature” versions of popular stars. For example, audiences were far more inclined to buy tickets for a "Miniature Florence Mills" than they were for a child performer they’d never heard of. As audience tastes changed, promoters simply changed the name of the act.

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Today, Esther Lee Jones is best remembered as Baby Esther, but this is only one of many names under which she performed. Other stage names included: Farina's Kid Sister, L'il Farina, Lil' Esther, Little Esther, Little Florence Mills, Young Flo Mills and Miniature Florence Mills. By the time she arrived in New York City in 1928, she'd been performing under numerous names, at venues around the country for more than a year.

Baby Esther in New York

Exhibitor's Harold March 2, 1929

In early 1928, Bolton booked Baby Esther at The Everglades, a restaurant and after-hours club in midtown Manhattan, where she was billed as "The Miniature Florence Mills". In April of that year Helen Kane, a popular entertainer and actress, saw Baby Esther's act at the Everglades Club. Around that same time, Esther was invited to perform her act as part of a short Movietone talking film produced by MGM. At the time, no one could have guessed that these two seemingly unrelated events would come to play a role in the 1934 court case of Helen Kane v. Max Fleischer and Paramount Studios.
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But there was an event that would impact Baby Esther, her father William Jones, her agent Lou Bolton, and the trajectory of young Esther’s career much more immediately and dramatically. In June of 1928, police arrested William Jones and Lou Bolton for allowing a minor to perform “after hours without a permit”. The somewhat curious phrasing of the charge reflects an age in which child workers enjoyed almost no legal protection. It was, apparently, not illegal for a 9-year-old girl to perform at an adult club, known to serve illegal alcohol. But it was illegal for her to do so without having a permit, and both Jones and Bolton were imprisoned and fined.

Baby Esther in Europe

In spite of having attracted some unwanted notoriety, Bolton was able to parlay Baby Esther's New York success into a European tour, and by early 1929 she was in Europe where she was most often billed as "Little Esther". Like many African American artists in the 1920s, Baby Esther found access to opportunities, success, and respect in Europe that weren't available to her in the United States.​

Above: Variety March 6, 1929. Below: Variety March 20, 1929

But there were problems. Esther hadn’t been in Europe long when the relationship with Bolton began to sour. According to Esther’s mother Gertrude Jones, Bolton’s misdeeds included everything from financial misconduct to outright theft. By March of 1929, Bolton had been sent packing. He returned to the U.S. leaving a trail of unflattering media coverage in his wake. ​

Afro-American October 28, 1929

Sidney Garner, an African American ex-pat who had been living in France for more than a decade and had been working as the family’s translator, became Esther’s new manager and under his guidance, Esther’s career flourished.
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It wasn’t long before Esther was being hailed in the press as the highest paid child performer in the world. She performed for royalty in Spain, Norway, and Sweden; played to sold out houses at the Moulin Rouge and La Scala; and even shared the stage with Josephine Baker. Celebrated for her ability to speak and sing in many languages, it was said that she quickly picked up popular songs and enchanted audiences by performing them in their native language.

Afro-American September 28, 1929

When a restaurant in Stockholm refused to serve Esther and her party, Swedes were scandalized. The restaurant’s owner, Branada Tomtom was accused of trying to “appear American.” The Stockholm Dagblad reported that it surveyed all the leading restaurants and hotels in the area and found that they would all very proudly serve any “negro” but would be especially proud to serve an important star like Baby Esther. The public outcry was so great that Tomtom’s restaurant was forced to close.

​While Esther’s amazing, overseas adventures were overlooked by mainstream, white media outlets, African American outlets including The Birmingham Reporter, Chicago Defender, The Baltimore Afro-American (AFRO) and The Pittsburgh Courier  published feature articles about Esther and her European triumphs. Esther followed up her success in Europe with an equally successful tour of South America in 1931.

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While she was neglected by mainstream media, some of the most prestigious African American papers, including The Chicago Defender, Afro-American and the Pittsburgh Courier (clips below) covered Baby Esther's success in Europe and South America. 

Afro-American Oct 5, 1929

The Chicago Defender October 1929

The Chicago Defender July 19, 1930

The Chicago Defender December 14, 1929

Afro-American Aug 22, 1931

Afro-American Aug 16, 1930

The Chicago Defender October 19, 1931

Pittsburgh Courier, March 1929

Baby Esther's Legacy

Afro-American July 14, 1928

Variety July 4, 1928

Variety July 11, 1928

Daily News June 22, 1928

The Pittsburgh Courier June 30, 1928

Daily News June 22, 1928

The Afro-American January 24, 1931

A feature in Spanish language press

When Esther returned to the states in 1932, she was on the verge of womanhood. She was still virtually unknown in the states despite having achieved celebrity status in Europe and South America, and she was likely no longer able to pull off the “baby” moniker on which she’d built her career. It was during this period that Baby Esther performed at the famed Cotton Club in Harlem – not as a headliner as is often supposed – but as a member of Cab Calloway’s famed Sepia Dolls dance troupe. 

A publicity image of Baby Esther, thought to be from 1932 or 1933.

​By 1934, at the age of 15, Baby Esther stepped away from public life and there appears to be no record of where she went or what she did thereafter. The mystery of Baby Esther’s departure from public life combined with the public’s interest in her relationship to the failed lawsuit of Helen Kane versus Max Fleischer and Paramount Studios, gave rise to decades of speculation and mistaken identification that have only accelerated in recent years due to the viral nature of the internet. 

​Thankfully, the internet has revealed a great deal of legitimate information as well, including documentation that finally enables us to identify Baby Esther. While there is still much to learn about Esther Lee Jones, the important process of recovering and restoring her amazing life and legacy has begun, and Fleischer Studios is honored to play a part in this process. ​

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Want to read more?

• For more about the case of Helen Kane vs. Max Fleischer/Paramount Studios read: Performance Style on Trial: The Battle Over Booping.
• ​Read PBS's full retraction here: Betty Oops.
• Interested in Betty Boop's origins? Read Becoming Betty Boop.