Margie Hines Explained

Margie Hines
Birth Name:Margaret Louise Hines[1]
Alias:Marjorie Hines
Marjorie Heidtmann
Birth Date:15 October 1909
Birth Place:New York City, U.S.
Death Place:Seaford, New York, U.S.
Occupation:Voice actress
Yearsactive:1930–1943
Spouse:
    Known For:Betty Boop, Olive Oyl

    Margaret Louise Hines (October 15, 1909 – December 23, 1985), also known as Marjorie Hines or Margie Hines, was an American animation voice artist.

    She was known for her work at Fleischer Studios, where she was the original voice of Betty Boop. Hines served from 1930 until 1932 and again from 1938 until 1939, before voicing Olive Oyl and Swee' Pea in the Popeye the Sailor cartoons from 1938 to 1944.[2] She also provided the voices for Fleischer's animated films Gulliver's Travels and Mr Bug Goes to Town.[3]

    Career

    Hines was the original voice actress for Fleischer's cartoon character Betty Boop, whilst she was touring vaudeville she was heard by vocalist Billy Murray, an employee at Fleischer studio who suggested she was the right choice for the voice of the character[4] she made her who debut in the cartoon short Dizzy Dishes in 1930, studio head Max Fleischer hired Hines, as she was a Helen Kane sound-alike, and Kane was the basis for the character. Hines and several other actresses voiced Betty until Mae Questel took over the role in 1931.

    Beginning in 1932, Hines also did vocals for Aesop's Film Fables and Tom and Jerry produced by Van Beuren Studios. Her Van Beuren credits were erroneously attributed to Bonnie Poe, another actress who had 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 during the mid-1930s, left show business in 1938 to start a family. It was that year when Margie Hines was recalled as Questel's replacement. She moved with the Fleischer Studios staff when they left New York City for Miami. As a result, Hines assumed the roles done by Questel in both the Betty Boop and Popeye series. 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 and renamed Famous Studios, returned to New York.[5] The Marry-Go-Round (1943) was Hines' final short as the voice of Olive, with Mae Questel returning to the role in 1944 in The Anvil Chorus Girl.

    Personal life

    Hines was born in Glendale, Queens, New York City, in October 1909, as Margaret Louise Hines.[6]

    On March 3, 1939, at the purported age of 21 (more likely 29 since she was born in 1909), Hines married her 29 year old co-star Winfield B. "Jack" Mercer, who provided the voice of Popeye.[7] At the time of her marriage, her mother lived on Long Island and had the two remarry at a New York church. The two later divorced in 1950.[8] Hines married for a second time in 1951, to Raymond Brenneis (1922–1981), in Greenwich, Connecticut.[9] However, the couple divorced in 1954.[10] In 1956, Hines married Jesse William Heidtmann (1918–1997) in Southold, New York.[11]

    Under the name Marjorie L. Heidtmann, Hines died in Seaford, New York on December 23, 1985, at age 76.[12] [13] [14]

    Filmography

    !Year!Title!Role
    1930Dizzy DishesBetty Boop
    1932The Wild Goose ChaseGirl Cat
    1932Pencil ManiaTomtato / Flapper
    1933Magic MummyThe Mummy
    1933The FarmeretteFarmerette
    1933Tight Rope TricksAcrobat
    1933Silvery MoonCountess
    1935Dancing on the MoonVarious roles
    1938Bulldozing the BullOlive Oyl
    1938All's Fair at the FairMirandy
    1938Sally SwingBetty Boop
    1938On with the New
    1938Thrills and Chills
    1938Cops Is Always RightOlive Oyl
    1939My Friend the MonkeyBetty Boop
    1939Customers WantedOlive Oyl
    1939Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
    1939Musical MountaineersBetty Boop
    1939The Scared Crows
    1939Ghosks is the Bunk
    1939Rhythm on the Reservation
    1939It's the Natural Thing to DoOlive Oyl
    1939Never Sock a BabySwee' Pea
    1940Shakespearean SpinachOlive Oyl
    1940Females Is Fickle
    1940Me Feelins Is Hurt
    1940Wimmin Hadn't Oughta Drive
    1940Puttin' on the Act
    1941All's WellBaby
    1941Child PsykolojikySwee' Pea
    1941Mr. Bug Goes to TownMrs. Ladybug
    1941Nix on HypnotricksOlive Oyl / Telephone Operator / Bird
    1942Olive Oyl and Water Don't MixOlive Oyl
    1942Baby Wants a Bottleship
    1942Alona on the Sarong Seas
    1943Cartoons Ain't Human
    1943The Marry-Go-Round

    Notes and References

    1. News: Clipped From The Sun and the Erie County Independent . November 17, 2019 . The Sun and the Erie County Independent . April 17, 1941 . 2 . en . November 15, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191115224613/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39062446/the_sun_and_the_erie_county_independent/ . live .
    2. https://web.archive.org/web/20081214211743/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,789548,00.html Milestone column
    3. Book: Scott . Keith . Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2 . October 3, 2022 . BearManor Media . 668, 678 . en.
    4. Web site: Margie Hines: Betty's First Voice!. October 6, 2022. October 6, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221006174119/https://www.fleischerstudios.com/voices.html. live.
    5. Book: Grandinetti, Fred M. . Popeye: An Illustrated Cultural History . December 31, 2003 . McFarland . 2004 . 2nd . 0-7864-2687-X . 60 .
    6. "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.
    7. News: Stout . Wesley W. . The Beachcomber: You may know or maybe not. . November 15, 2019 . Fort Lauderdale News . April 22, 1957 . 6 . en . November 15, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191115224612/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39061546/the_beachcomber_you_may_know_or_maybe/ . live .
    8. "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.
    9. Web site: Ancestry: Marjorie Mercer in the Connecticut Marriage Records, 1897–1968 . February 9, 2021 . February 6, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210206201050/https://www.ancestry.com/inst/discoveries/PfRecord?emailId=N-fd97b595-cbb7-4f39-bcf9-aff6a31987c8&collectionId=70865&recordId=181538&ahsht=2021-01-29T20:32:57&language=en-US&ahsh=97a2dccf8a231115c46078a0acf29e08 . live .
    10. Web site: Ancestry: Marjorie Brenneis in the Alabama, U.S., Divorce Index, 1950–1959 . February 9, 2021 . February 7, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210207171413/https://www.ancestry.com/inst/discoveries/PfRecord?emailId=N-217eee4e-7766-4f0f-b93d-e5d901a1afe9&collectionId=8976&recordId=115491&ahsht=2021-01-29T20:32:57&language=en-US&ahsh=df6151cb0c9986a8aa53b68e37859c4e . live .
    11. Web site: Ancestry: Marjorie L. Hines/Brenneis in the New York State, Marriage Index, 1881–1967 . February 9, 2021 . October 1, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231001010239/https://www.ancestry.com/inst/discoveries/PfRecord?emailId=N-3dfd508b-1b69-4127-8479-0eb7c5354830&collectionId=61632&recordId=3226393&ahsht=2021-01-29T20:32:57&language=en-US&ahsh=2346a8ccc96fdbe3d79b263a5de41e18 . live .
    12. Web site: Ancestry: Marjorie Heidtmann in the U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935–2014 . February 9, 2021 . February 7, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210207154954/https://www.ancestry.com/inst/discoveries/PfRecord?emailId=N-21e521aa-31aa-4d8e-93b2-d1a68c58def2&collectionId=3693&recordId=26696808&ahsht=2021-01-29T20:32:57&language=en-US&ahsh=ba012bc949435e5d3eb7283a6a4d50e6 . live .
    13. Web site: Marjorie Hines/Heidtmann gravestone . 2 September 2022 . September 2, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220902170156/https://postimg.cc/948V1qd6 . live .
    14. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/14422195:60901?tid=&pid=&queryId=0c354ffaea347f8babacbe76fc88c9e5&_phsrc=OzZ13050&_phstart=successSource Ancestry: Jesse William Heidtmann in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007