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Helen Kane was born Helen Shroeder on August 4th 1904, in New York, to a German father and an Irish mother and by the time she was just fifteen years old Helen, a natural talent, was already on the stage and touring the Orpheum Circuit with the Marx Brothers.

In 1920 Helen married her first husband, the department store manager, Joseph Kane and began to use the name Kane professionally. She spent the early 1920s working as a singer and kickline dancer with the All Jazz Revue.

In 1921, she played the New York Palace for the first time, but Helen’s big break came in 1927 when she appeared in a musical called A Night in Spain. The musical was actually a flop, but the band conductor, Paul Ash, recommended her for a performance at the Paramount Theater in New York’s Times Square.

While she was on stage at The Paramount Helen sang the song That’s My Weakness Now, and chose to add the lyrics Boop-Boop-a-Doop. This flash of inspiration paid off for her, four days later her name was up in lights and she was a star.

In 1928 Helen sang the song I Wanna Be Loved By You for the first time on Oscar Hammerstein’s Good Boy show and the song was not just a hit with the audience it was a major hit for Helen and even as recently as 2003 it was included in the soundtrack of the Rob Zombie film House of 1000 Corpses.

Helen’s career peaked between the years 1928 and 1930 and she recorded 22 songs during this period. Between 1930 and 1951, though, she only recorded a further five and one of these was a re-release of her hit I Wanna Be Loved By You. During those two years when she was at her peak though, she was an extremely popular girl. Helen Kane dolls were readily available to buy in the shops and Helen Kane Look-alike contests were not an uncommon thing either. Helen appeared in nightclubs and on the radio. She was in demand, and even made a series of musicals, the last of which was A Lesson in Love (1931)

In 1930 the animator Grim Natwick was working for Fleisher Studios and he based a cartoon character on Helen. That character would later become known as Betty Boop and even adopted the catchphrase Boop-Oop-A-Doop. Helen filed a lawsuit against Paramount and Fleisher Studios, but, two years later, in 1934, the judge ruled against her. Strangely enough, however Helen provided the voice of Betty Boop for the 1933 cartoon Hollywood on Parade No. A-8, and it is sad to note that the career of the copy-cat cartoon would far eclipse that of the original boop-girl.

Helen was married three times. Her first marriage to Joseph Kane lasted just eight years and they divorced in 1928. In 1933 she married her second husband the actor Max Hoffman Jr, but the marriage only lasted until the May of 1935. Then, in 1939, Helen married the performer Dan Healy, they opened a restaurant, and spent the rest of their lives together.

Helen Kane died of Cancer on 26th September 1966 and was buried at the Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

Many people seek to visit new and exciting places to spend New Year’s Day, since this is probably the most important event of the year for most people. This guide takes a look at five of the best places in the world where you can spend your New Year’s Day.

1. Times Square, New York City – Times Square would rate as one of the best places to bring in the New Year, with its lights and New Year Countdown. The hundred and three year old tradition of the ball drop that occurs at midnight draws over a million visitors who come to the square on New Year’s Eve to bring in the New Year. The many celebrations and all night parties happening in the clubs around the square, make Times Square the one place everyone wants to be on New Year’s Eve.

2. Aspen, Colorado – The ski slopes of Aspen are also a great location to bring in the New Year and the many resorts here feature elaborate parties and banquets to celebrate the event.

3. Tokyo, Japan – For those who want to celebrate ahead of schedule, Tokyo is the perfect place for you to go. Extended festivities take place from the 29th of December and often extend to the 4th of January. Singing, dancing and fireworks mark the entrance of a new year. The Juya No Kane (Watch Night Bell) rings a hundred and eight times, in temples all over Japan, as a symbol for a prosperous New Year. The Imperial Palace gates are also thrown open to the public on the 1st of January for duration of two days.

4. Sydney, Australia – Another exciting place to bring in the New Year’s ahead of most of the world is Sydney, Australia. A major attraction is the amazing display of fireworks along with music playing, against the backdrop of the Sydney Harbor. Over a million visitors gather here every New Year’s Eve, trying to get the best spot to view the fireworks on display. Visitors are also offered a chance to go for a boat ride from which they can view the proceedings.

5. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – While Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is most famous for the Carnival, its New Year’s Day celebrations are no less exciting. Over two million followers of the Umbanda and Candomble religion converge for a beachfront display known as the Reveillon. This spectacle also attracts a large number of tourists who get to witness this unique offering to the sea goddess. In addition to this, tourists are also treated to a mind blowing display of fireworks, delicious food and dance in the midst of a warm Brazilian summer. A large number of private parties are held alongside, and festivities often continue well into the day.

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Holiday accommodation in New York is always very hard to find, and to find something at a reasonable price is even harder. Manhattan is the most popular region for tourists, with Times Square been the heart of the district.

The city has four distinct seasons, ranging from freezing cold winters to quite hot summers. Spring and Autumn are often regarded as the best time to visit as it is not too cold or too hot.

A lot of Europeans come across during the cold winter months to shop and are amazed at the beautiful blue sky but surprised at how cold it is. If they are lucky and there is a snow fall, they will flock to Central Park and join the locals sledding and some even ski on Pilgrim Hill. Most tourists try to avoid New York in the summer when temperatures are often unbearable, however the temperature at easter is often perfect.

Tourists like to visit Fifth Avenue where there are several parades held there each year and also free concerts. St Patrick’s Day Parade consists of tens of thousands of locals covering the entire area in a sea of green costumes and floats on March 17th each year. The parade starts at Fifth Avenue and 44th Street at 11am each year.

During May they celebrate Martin Luther King; in fact most New Yorkers like to celebrate with parades most months and many of these parades start on Fifth Avenue.

The city offers a wide range of accommodation catering for most price ranges. A new popular form of accommodation is the renting of holiday apartments and homes in the heart of the city. Holiday accommodation here is often very hard to get hold of.

New York is also famous for the large number of restaurants that it has. It is said that there are over 17,000 and just about every imaginable taste is catered for. New Yorkers are hard people to please when it comes to their food and as a result restaurants offer excellent service and quality of food to please them. New Yorkers also like good value for money and in order for restaurants to survive, they have had to offer extremely good value for money.

The city also has a great selection of antique shops and art galleries. It is regarded as the entertainment capital of the world with ballet, dance, concerts, opera and theatre. Most tourists come back to New York year after year as the City has so much for them to see and do.

There are also plenty of coffee houses, grills, steak houses and Chinese restaurants offering a very good choice of cheap food with quick friendly service. For people in a rush, New York offers some of the best fast food outlets in the world. It does not matter if it is day or night, you can always get something to eat twenty four hours a day in New York.

Most coffee houses are also open twenty four hours a day in New York and many serve hamburgers and grilled cheese sandwiches. There is something special about having a strong black coffee in New York sitting in a Coffee House watching the rest of the City go about their work as you relax taking in the atmosphere.

As well as having some fabulous shops on Fifth Avenue (Most of the famous department stores are based here), New York is also home to Trump Tower. It is worth a visit to Trump Tower just to experience the sheer elegance and opulence of the boutiques.

New York truly is the city that never sleeps, but if you’re there on vacation you most certainly will want a good nights sleep. Holiday homes and holiday villas are both available for rent in and around the city, but your best bet for quality holiday accommodation is a hotel.