Max and Me... by Ginny Mahoney
As Max Fleischer’s granddaughter I’ve had to the opportunity to meet some amazing people, including Mae Questel. The voice artist most often identified with Betty Boop, Mae was in fact an enormously talented and versatile voice artist whose character work ranged from voices for Olive Oyl to Casper the Friendly Ghost, and even - when Jack Mercer (the voice of Popeye) was drafted in WWII - Popeye! Later, Mae went on to play Aunt Bluebell in a well-known series of commercials for Scott Towels and, among other impressive credits, appeared in the films of Woody Allen.
|
“Put Jeni on the phone,” Mae said when she heard Jeni was a fan.
“Hi Jeni…this is Casper,” Mae intoned in Casper’s iconic friendly voice. Mae, as Casper, then proceeded to have an entire conversation with Jeni. “Wait,” Casper finally said, “let me get Betty Boop!” After talking to Betty, Jeni when on to have conversations with Popeye, Olive Oyl and about a half dozen other characters.
Mae’s lovely and very generous gesture made for a very special day in the Mahoney household, and wonderfully exemplifies the spirit of this vibrant and talented artist.
For more, check out Finding Her Voice in our virtual museum, featuring Mae Questel and the five other women who voiced Betty in the 1930s.
TM Hearst Holdings, Inc./Fleischer Studios, Inc.