What brings Mayor Eric Garcetti to Beverly Hills these days? Apparently, it’s a book launch about one of the most celebrated cartoon characters in animation history, Betty Boop. The Mayor joined the authors Susan Wilking Horan and Kristi Ling Spencer last week at local Italian favorite Via Alloro, to celebrate the “fun, fierce, fabulous advice” inspired by the pop-culture icon, and to present them with a plaque of recognition from the city of L.A.
Other guests including David Foster, Katherine McPhee and Frank Mancuso mingled on the patio over pasta and wine while Horan signed copies of the book, “Betty Boop’s Guide to a Bold and Balanced Life,” which is meant to target fans of all ages to create the life they desire and deserve. Universal themes discussed in the book include independence, love, kindness, style, positivity, courage, confidence, humor, health and respect.
Susan Wilking Horan is an attorney, author, and businesswoman who for 20 years has worked with her husband, Mark Fleischer, CEO and President of family-owned Fleischer Studios, owner of the iconic Betty Boop. Together with the studio’s partners, she has been instrumental in cementing Betty’s presence in today’s world of licensing and merchandising in over 58 countries as one of the most successful characters in entertainment history.
And, 90 years later, fans are still interested in what the first animated female cartoon star from 1930 has to say, sing, wear and teach a younger generation of women about empowerment.
The book features a foreword by renowned fashion designer Zac Posen, a lifelong fan of Betty Boop, who recently designed a duo of dresses inspired by the animated film star. Proving once again, that she is still a style trendsetter.
