In 1930, Fleisher Studios in Hollywood introduced the cartoon character Betty Boop. Whenever she performed, both parents were in attendance. After performing, Jones would go backstage to play with dolls. There she was dubbed the “Miniature Josephine Baker.” While in Europe, she was paid an average $750 per week for her performances and by age 11, Jones was the highest-paid child on stage globally. Jones performed at the Moulin Rouge, Casino de Paris, and the Empire in Paris, France. The business, however, was forced to close after her treatment there became public knowledge. Despite her notoriety, she also experienced blatant racism when denied a glass of milk in an American-operated restaurant in Stockholm. In 1929, Jones was taken to Spain, where she was called “La Pandilla.” Later she performed before Sweden’s Queen Sophie Marie Viktoria and King Gustaf V, in Stockholm. She added to her entertainment fame by become an extraordinary black-bottom dancer. At seven, Jones was later known for adopting the popular singing style, scat, which emphasized the baby-style of “b” and “d” sounds and nonsense syllables such as Boo-Boo-Boo’ and ‘Doo-Doo-Doo.’ Consequently, she was a sought-after child performer in the city, and was a fixtured entertainer in the famous Cotton Club and the Everglades Nightclub in New York City during the latter years of the Harlem Renaissance. In 1928, the Jones family moved to Harlem, New York. She formerly began singing, dance, and acrobatics training at 4, and by 1924, when she was six years old, Jones won first prize at a Charleston dance contest in the city. Jones was born Esther Lee Jones in 1918 in Chicago, Illinois, to William Jones and Gertrude Jones. Vaudeville performer Esther Jones was known on stage by many names, including “Baby Esther,” “Little Esther,” “Farina’s Kid Sister,” and “Miniature Florence Mills,” is widely, although not universally, credited with being the inspiration for the Betty Boop cartoon character.
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