Margaret Louise Hines (October 15, 1909 – December 23, 1985),[nb 1] also known as Marjorie Hines or Margie Hines, was an American animation voice artist.
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[10] she made her who debut in the cartoon short Dizzy Dishes in 1930, studio head Max Fleischer hired Hines, as she was a Helen Kanesound-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.[11]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.[12]
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.[12][13] At the time of her marriage, her mother lived on Long Island and had the two remarry at a New York church.[13] The two later divorced in 1950.[14] Hines married for a second time in 1951, to Raymond Brenneis (1922–1981), in Greenwich, Connecticut.[15] However, the couple divorced in 1954.[16] In 1956, Hines married Jesse William Heidtmann (1918–1997) in Southold, New York.[17]
^Some sources suggest she was aged 21, or alternatively 24, when she married in 1939. However, the New York Birth Index shows Margaret L Hines as born in Queens, New York on October 15, 1909.[2] The 1910 US Federal Census has Margaret L Hines aged 6 months, living with parents Andrew T and Cecilia M Hines at 7 Van Horn St, Queens.[3] The 1915 New York Census has her, aged 5, with the same parents at 7 Delta Place, Queens.[4] The 1920 Federal Census has Margaret Hines, aged 10, living with Cecile Hines, still at 7 Delta Place.[5] The 1930 Federal Census has Margaret L. Hines aged 20, "singer", living with Cecilia M Hines at 6164 Ralph Ave., Queens.[6] The 1940 Federal Census has Marjorie R (?) Mercer aged 30, "artist", born in Queens, living with Winfield B Mercer, at 3130 Gifford Lane, Miami, Florida.[7] All these records are public records which can be accessed via websites such as Ancestry.com.
^ ab"Florida Marriages, 1830-1993," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V65G-ZPKArchived October 1, 2023, at the Wayback Machine : 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.
^"Florida Divorce Index, 1927-2001," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VK7F-LKKArchived October 1, 2023, at the Wayback Machine : December 25, 2014), Jack W Mercer and Marjorie Mercer, 1950; from "Florida Divorce Index, 1927-2001," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.comArchived November 27, 1999, at the Wayback Machine : 2005); citing Dade, Florida, certificate 11372, volume 517, Florida Department of Health, Jacksonville.
