Margaret Louise Hines (October 15, 1909 – December 23, 1985), also known as Marjorie Hines or Margie Hines, was an American voice actress. She was known for her work as a

voice artist Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () is an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures, the parent company and the distributor of i ...

, where she was the original voice of Betty Boop, although Little Ann Little erroneously claimed to have been the first and longest serving voice artist, Hines served from 1930 until 1932 and again from 1938 until 1939, before voicing

Olive Oyl Olive Oyl is a cartoon character created by E. C. Segar in 1919 for his comic strip ''Thimble Theatre''. The strip was later renamed ''Popeye'' after the sailor character that became the most popular member of the cast; however, Olive Oyl was a ...

and Swee' Pea in the ''

Popeye the Sailor Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Milestone column
''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' (March 20, 1939) She also provided the voices for Fleischer's animated films ''

Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', or ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'' is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan ...

'' and '' Mr Bug Goes to Town''.

Career

Hines was the original voice actress for Fleischer's cartoon character Betty Boop, whilst she was touring vaudeville she was heard by Billy Murray an employee at Fleischer studio who suggested she was the right choice for the voice of the character she made her who debut in the cartoon short ''

Dizzy Dishes ''Dizzy Dishes'' is an animated cartoon created by Fleischer Studios in 1930, as part of the ''Talkartoon'' series. It is noted for being the first cartoon in which Betty Boop appears. Plot The cartoon begins with four anthropomorphic flappe ...

'' in 1930.

Max Fleischer Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 25, 1972) was an American animator, inventor, film director and producer, and studio founder and owner. Born in Kraków, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he became ...

hired Hines, as she was a

Helen Kane Helen Kane (born Helen Clare Schroeder, August 4, 1904 – September 26, 1966) was an American singer and actress. Her signature song was " I Wanna Be Loved by You" (1928), featured in the 1928 stage musical ''Good Boy''. The song was written for ...

sound-alike A sound-alike is a recording intended to imitate the sound of a popular record, the style of a popular recording artist, or a current musical trend; the term also refers to the artists who perform on such recordings. In the voice-over world, it m ...

, and Kane was the basis for the character, who in turn based her act on singer and child entertainer Baby Esther. Hines and several other actress voiced Betty until

Mae Questel Mae Questel (born Mae Kwestel, September 13, 1908 – January 4, 1998) was an American actress. She was best known for providing the voices for the animated characters Betty Boop (from 1931) and Olive Oyl (from 1933). She began in vaudeville, ...

took over the role in 1931. Beginning in 1932, Hines also did vocals for '' Aesop's Film Fables'' and ''

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...

'' produced by

Van Beuren Studios The Van Beuren Corporation was a New York City-based animation studio that produced theatrical cartoons as well as live-action short-subjects from the 1920s to 1936. History In 1920, the Keith-Albee organization formed Fables Pictures for the ...

. Her Van Beuren credits were erroneously attributed to

Bonnie Poe Bonnie Poe (October 15, 1912 – October 16, 1993) was an American actress and voice artist, best known for providing the voice for the Fleischer Studios animated character Betty Boop beginning in 1933, starting with the Popeye the Sailor seri ...

, another actress who'd worked for Fleischer on Betty Boop cartoons. Mae Questel, who was Fleischer's voice for Betty Boop and ''Popeye'' characters Olive Oyl and

Swee'Pea Swee'Pea (alternatively spelled Swee'pea and Sweapea on some titles and once called Sweep Pea) is a character in E. C. Segar's comic strip ''Thimble Theatre''/'' Popeye'' and in the cartoon series derived from it. His name refers to the flower k ...

during the mid-1930s, was unable to move with the Fleischer Studios staff when they left New York City for

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. As a result, Hines was hired to replace Questel in both the ''Betty Boop'' and ''Popeye'' series, beginning in 1938. Hines voiced Betty Boop through her final series entries in 1939, and continued to voice Olive until 1943, when the studio, by then taken over by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

and renamed

Famous Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contro ...

, returned to New York. ''

The Marry-Go-Round This is a list of the 122 cartoons of the ''Popeye the Sailor'' film series produced by Paramount Pictures' Famous Studios (later known as Paramount Cartoon Studios) from 1942 to 1957, with 14 in black and white and 108 in color. These cartoo ...

'' (1943) was Hines' final short as the voice of Olive, with Mae Questel returning to the role in 1944.

Personal life

Hines was born in

Glendale, Queens Glendale is a neighborhood in the west-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Forest Hills to the east, Ridgewood to the west, Woodhaven to the south, and Middle Village to the north. Glendale was built on a ...

, New York City, in October 1909 as Margaret Louise Hines."Florida Marriages, 1830-1993," database with images, ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V65G-ZPK : July 12, 2019), Winfield B Jack Mercer and Margaret Louise Hines, March 3, 1939; citing Marriage, Broward, Florida, United States, citing multiple County Clerks of Court, Florida; FHL microfilm 2,241,554. On March 3, 1939, at the purported age of 21, Hines married her 29 year old co-star Winfield B. "Jack" Mercer, who provided the voice of

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar. At the time of her marriage, her mother lived on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

and had the two remarry at a New York church. The two later divorced in 1950."Florida Divorce Index, 1927-2001," database, ''FamilySearch'' (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VK7F-LKK : December 25, 2014), Jack W Mercer and Marjorie Mercer, 1950; from "Florida Divorce Index, 1927-2001," database and images, ''Ancestry'' (http://www.ancestry.com : 2005); citing Dade, Florida, certificate 11372, volume 517, Florida Department of Health, Jacksonville. Hines married for a second time in 1951, to Raymond Brenneis (1922–1981), in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

. However, the couple divorced in 1954. In 1956, Hines married Jesse William Heidtmann (1918–1997) in

Southold, New York The Town of Southold is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is located in the northeastern tip of the county, on the North Fork of Long Island. The population was 23,732 at the 2020 census. The town also contains a ha ...

. Under the name Marjorie L. Heidtmann, Hines died in

Seaford, New York Seaford is a township in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 15,294 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of wh ...

on December 23, 1985, at the age of 76. She was survived by her husband Jesse, who died in June 1997, at the age of 79.Ancestry: Jesse William Heidtmann in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007
/ref>

Filmography

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hines, Margie 1909 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from New York City American voice actresses Famous Studios people Fleischer Studios people