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Mae Questel(1908-1998)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Mae Questel
Popeye The Sailor Man Classics
Play trailer2:43
Popeye the Sailor (1960–1962)
2 Videos
12 Photos
Her Orthodox Jewish family was totally averse to her having an entertainment career. Her parents and grandparents forced her to leave the Theatre Guild school (New York) while still a teenager and had their wills drawn up accordingly so as to discourage this career choice.

Studied drama at Columbia University, and belonged to the American Theatre Wing.

When Mae was 17 and living in the South Bronx, she won a local contest to find the girl who most resembled Helen Kane, a popular singer known as the "Boop-Oop-A-Doop Queen". She was promptly signed by an agent and began performing in the Vaudeville circuit. Billing herself as "Mae Questel - Personality Singer of Personality Songs," she performed dead-on vocal imitations of Maurice Chevalier, Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West and of course Helen Kane, among many others. Her mimic talent also provided duck, dog, chicken, owl, monkey, lion and baby sounds for radio shows.

Betty Boop creator Max Fleischer heard Mae doing her "boop-oop-a-doop" routine and hired her to do the character's voice in 1931. She served as the voice on more than 150 Betty Boop animated shorts until the character was retired in 1939. Her recording of "On The Good Ship Lollipop" sold more than 2 million during the Depression.

Best known as the voice of "Betty Boop", she was also the voice of not-so-less-famous "Olive Oyl" in the Popeye cartoons, as well as the toddler Swee'pea and others. She did Popeye's voice once, in the cartoon Shape Ahoy (1945), because Jack Mercer was serving in the military during World War II. Her versatility is probably better appreciated in the cartoon Never Kick a Woman (1936) in which she provides the quivery, nervous-Nellie voice of Olive Oyl, based on comedic actress Zasu Pitts, and the deep, assured, alluring voice of the blonde saleswoman, based on Mae West.

In 1968, the City of Indianapolis honored her with a "Mae Questel Day". In 1979, she won the Troupers Award for outstanding contribution to entertainment.
BornSeptember 13, 1908
DiedJanuary 4, 1998(89)
BornSeptember 13, 1908
DiedJanuary 4, 1998(89)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 1 win total

Photos12

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Known for

Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
7.5
  • Bethany
  • 1989
Barbra Streisand and Omar Sharif in Funny Girl (1968)
Funny Girl
7.4
  • Mrs. Strakosh
  • 1968
Frank Sinatra, Christopher Lloyd, Kathleen Turner, Joanna Cassidy, Bob Hoskins, Jim Cummings, and Charles Fleischer in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
7.7
  • Betty Boop(voice)
  • 1988
New York Stories (1989)
New York Stories
6.4
  • Mother (segment "Oedipus Wrecks")
  • 1989

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress



  • Best Popeye the Sailor Man Cartoons (2025)
    Best Popeye the Sailor Man Cartoons
    Video
    • Olive Oyl
    • 2025
  • Cartoon Classics - Vol. 3: 25 Favorite Cartoons - 3 Hours (2019)
    Cartoon Classics - Vol. 3: 25 Favorite Cartoons - 3 Hours
    7.1
    • Olive Oyl
    • Betty Boop
    • Flies (voice)
    • 2019
  • Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
    National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
    7.5
    • Bethany
    • 1989
  • New York Stories (1989)
    New York Stories
    6.4
    • Mother (segment "Oedipus Wrecks")
    • 1989
  • Frank Sinatra, Christopher Lloyd, Kathleen Turner, Joanna Cassidy, Bob Hoskins, Jim Cummings, and Charles Fleischer in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit
    7.7
    • Betty Boop (voice)
    • 1988
  • Hot Resort (1985)
    Hot Resort
    3.7
    • Mrs. Labowitz
    • 1985
  • Susan Lucci, Debbi Morgan, Rebecca Budig, Cameron Mathison, and Darnell Williams in All My Children (1970)
    All My Children
    6.8
    TV Series
    • Miss Hardy
    • 1983
  • Zelig (1983)
    Zelig
    7.6
    • voice of Helen Kane (uncredited)
    • 1983
  • The Corner Bar
    5.0
    TV Series
    • Aunt Blanche
    • 1973
  • Move (1970)
    Move
    5.1
    • Mrs. Katz
    • 1970
  • Joel Crothers in Somerset (1970)
    Somerset
    7.4
    TV Series
    • Miriam Briskin (1975)
    • 1970–1976
  • Barbra Streisand and Omar Sharif in Funny Girl (1968)
    Funny Girl
    7.4
    • Mrs. Strakosh
    • 1968
  • Valentine's Day (1964)
    Valentine's Day
    7.6
    TV Series
    • Olive the Parrot (voice)
    • 1964
  • Jack Mercer in Popeye the Sailor (1960)
    Popeye the Sailor
    7.1
    TV Series
    • Olive Oyl
    • The Sea Hag
    • Swee'pea (voice) ...
    • 1960–1962
  • Jerry Lewis in It's Only Money (1962)
    It's Only Money
    6.3
    • Cecilia Albright
    • 1962

Soundtrack



  • Zelig (1983)
    Zelig
    7.6
    • performer: "Chameleon Days"
    • 1983
  • Barbra Streisand and Omar Sharif in Funny Girl (1968)
    Funny Girl
    7.4
    • performer: "If A Girl Isn't Pretty" (uncredited)
    • 1968
  • Jerry Lewis in It's Only Money (1962)
    It's Only Money
    6.3
    • performer: "Isn't It Romantic"
    • 1962
  • Edd Byrnes, Roger Smith, and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. in 77 Sunset Strip (1958)
    77 Sunset Strip
    7.7
    TV Series
    • performer: "Oh, You Beautiful Doll" (uncredited)
    • 1962
  • A Majority of One (1961)
    A Majority of One
    6.7
    • performer: "Yoo-Hoo" (uncredited)
    • 1961
  • Audrey the Rainmaker (1951)
    Audrey the Rainmaker
    6.9
    Short
    • performer: "April Showers" (uncredited)
    • 1951
  • Tar with a Star (1949)
    Tar with a Star
    6.7
    Short
    • performer: "Jingle Jangle Jingle (I Got Spurs)" (uncredited)
    • 1949
  • Wigwam Whoopee (1948)
    Wigwam Whoopee
    6.3
    Short
    • performer: "By a Waterfall" (uncredited)
    • 1948
  • Olive Oyl for President (1948)
    Olive Oyl for President
    7.0
    Short
    • performer: "If I Were President"
    • 1948
  • Shape Ahoy (1945)
    Shape Ahoy
    6.5
    Short
    • performer: "I'm in the Mood for Love"
    • 1945
  • Stan Freed, Jack Mercer, Carl Meyer, Tedd Pierce, and Pauline Loth in Mr. Bug Goes to Town (1941)
    Mr. Bug Goes to Town
    6.9
    • performer: "Boy Oh Boy" (1941)
    • 1941
  • Morning, Noon and Night Club (1937)
    Morning, Noon and Night Club
    7.0
    Short
    • performer: "Why Am I So Beautiful?" (uncredited)
    • 1937
  • House Cleaning Blues (1937)
    House Cleaning Blues
    6.5
    Short
    • performer: "I've Got Those House Cleaning Blues" (uncredited)
    • 1937
  • Christmas Comes But Once a Year (1936)
    Christmas Comes But Once a Year
    7.2
    Short
    • performer: "X-mas Comes But Once a Year" (uncredited)
    • 1936
  • The Betty Boop Limited (1932)
    Be Human
    6.3
    Short
    • performer: "Be Human"
    • 1936

Videos2

Winky Dink And You
Clip 4:30
Winky Dink And You
Popeye The Sailor Man Classics
Trailer 2:43
Popeye The Sailor Man Classics
Popeye The Sailor Man Classics
Trailer 2:43
Popeye The Sailor Man Classics

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative names
    • Mae Questal
  • Height
    • 5′ 0¼″ (1.53 m)
  • Born
    • September 13, 1908
    • The Bronx, New York, USA
  • Died
    • January 4, 1998
    • New York City, New York, USA(Alzheimer's disease)
  • Spouses
      Jack E. ShelbyNovember 19, 1970 - ? (his death)
  • Children
      Richard Balkin
  • Parents
      Freida Kwestel
  • Other works
    Comedy album "Mrs. Portnoy's Retort", United Artists Records UAS 6721

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Best known as the voices of "Betty Boop" and "Olive Oyl".

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