Biography for
Betty Hutton (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

26 February 1921, Battle Creek, Michigan, USA

Date of Death

11 March 2007, Palm Springs, California, USA (colon cancer)

Birth Name

Elizabeth June Thornburg

Height

5' 4" (1.63 m)

Mini Biography

Betty Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg on February 26, 1921, in Battle Creek, Michigan. Two years later Betty's father decided that the family way of life wasn't for him, so he left (he committed suicide 16 years later). Having to fend for themselves, Mrs. Thornburg moved the family to Detroit to find work in the numerous auto factories there, but times were hard and she decided to take advantage of Prohibition and opened a small tavern, at the time called a speakeasy. The police were always looking for those types of operation, both big and small, and when they detected one, they swooped in and closed it down. Mrs. Thornburg was no different from the other owners, they simply moved elsewhere. Poverty was a constant companion. In addition to that, Mrs. Thornburg was an alcoholic. At nine years old Betty began singing publicly for the first time in a school production. Realizing the voice Betty had, her mother took her around Detroit to have her sing to any group that would listen. This was a small way of getting some money for the poor family. When she was 13 Betty got a few singing jobs with local bands in the area. Thinking she was good enough to make the big time, she left for New York two years later to try a professional career. Unfortunately, it didn't work out and Betty headed back to Detroit. In 1937, Betty was hired by Vincent Lopez who had a popular band that appeared on the local radio. Later, she would return to New York and it was here that her career took off. Betty found herself on Broadway in 1940, and it was only a matter of time before her career took off to bigger heights. The following year she left New York for Hollywood, where she was to find new life in films. She was signed by Paramount Pictures and made her debut, at 21, in The Fleet's In (1942), along with Eddie Bracken, William Holden and Dorothy Lamour. Reviews were better than expected, with critics looking favorably upon her work. She had previously appeared in a few musical shorts, which no doubt helped her in her first feature film. She made one more musical in 1942 and two more in 1943. In 1944 she tried to break away from musicals and try her hand in a screwball comedy, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944). She proved - to herself, the public and the critics - that she was marketable outside musicals. In subsequent films Betty was able to show her comedic side as well as her singing. In 1948 she appeared in her first big box-office bomb, Dream Girl (1948), which was ripped to shreds by critics, as was Betty's acting, and the movie flopped at the box office. It wasn't long before Betty became unhappy with her career. In truth she had the acting talent, but the parts she got weren't the types to showcase that. Though she did appear in three well received films later, Red, Hot and Blue (1949), Annie Get Your Gun (1950) and The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), her career was winding down. Later, after filming Somebody Loves Me (1952), Betty was all but finished. She had married Charles O'Curran that year and he wanted to direct her in an upcoming film. Paramount didn't like the idea and the temper tantrum-prone Betty walked out of her contract and movies. She did concentrate on the relatively new medium of television and the stage, but she never recovered her previous form. Her final film was a minor one, Spring Reunion (1957). Her TV series, "The Betty Hutton Show" (1959), didn't fare too well at all. Betty lived in quiet retirement in Palm Springs, California until her death on March 11, 2007. She was 86 years old.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson

Mini Biography

Born in Battle Creek, Michigan, and relocated to Detroit when she was two years old when her father abandoned the family. Her mother ran a speakeasy where Betty and her sister, Marion Hutton, entertained customers, until into their early teens. Lived in near poverty during these years. While still in high school, Vincent Lopez spotted her doing a guest spot at a night club and signed her. She toured with the band, did radio spots and vaudeville turns. This led to featured roles in several Broadway revues and then a role in the Ethel Merman musical "Panama Hattie". Paramount then signed her in 1941. In 1952, she left Hollywood to concentrate on stage and television.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Herman Seifer

Mini Biography

A 9th-grade dropout, Betty Hutton went back to school in the 1970s with the help of a Catholic priest, Father Peter Maguire. She earned a bachelors degree from Salve Regina University and was later awarded an honorary Ph.D. She taught theater for a time at the University. She later moved to Palm Springs, California to be closer to her children.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Miles-10

Spouse

Pete Candoli	(24 December 1960 - 18 June 1967) (divorced) 1 child
Alan Livingston	(8 March 1955 - 21 October 1960) (divorced)
Charles O'Curran	(18 March 1952 - 21 February 1955) (divorced)
Ted Briskin	(3 September 1945 - April 1950) (divorced) 2 children

Trivia

Energetic, "blonde bombshell" actress-singer of the 1940s.

Younger sister of singer Marion Hutton.

Prior to her first feature film role, she appeared, in 1939, in a number of musical short subjects for Vitaphone, filmed in New York. These included: One for the Book (1940) with Hal Sherman; Public Jitterbug No. 1 (1939) with Chaz Chase, Hal Le Roy and Emerson's Sextette; and Vincent Lopez and His Orchestra (1939). Also, Paramount featured her in a one-reeler, Three Kings and a Queen (1939).

Starred in TV's first "spectacular", Satins and Spurs (1954) (TV), which debuted on September 12, 1954. It was a 90-minute musical comedy produced by Max Liebman. She played a rodeo queen who falls for a magazine writer, played by Kevin McCarthy. Reactions by critics and viewers were so negative that she announced her retirement from show business (one of the many times.)

Reportedly did not get along with Annie Get Your Gun (1950) co-star Howard Keel. He thought she cared more about her career than her co-stars.

Daughters with Briskin: Candy, born 1946, and Lindsay, born 1948.

Daughter Caroline born in 1962.

She became a devout Catholic after a stay in a clinic for an addiction to sleeping pills.

In 1974, began work as a cook and housekeeper in a Rhode Island rectory.

Daughter, Carolyn, with Pete Candoli.

Her one big musical number in the Broadway show "Panama Hattie" was cut just before opening night by orders of star Ethel Merman. Hutton was so upset, a producer on the show promised to make her a star in movies at Paramount and he kept his word. The incident was later used in both the book and film Valley of the Dolls (1967).

Turned down the role of Ado Annie in Oklahoma! (1955).

Was considered for the role of "Delilah" in Cecil B. DeMille's 1949 film Samson and Delilah (1949). The part went to Hedy Lamarr, instead.

Sister-in-law of Vic Schoen.

Her marriages to manufacturer Ted Briskin, dance director Charles O'Curran, recording company executive Alan Livingston and jazz-man Pete Candoli all ended in divorce.

None of her daughters attended her funeral.

Best remembered by the public for her roles as energetic brassy sassy blonds.

Was best friends in college with rock musician Kristin Hersh.

Was elected Mother of Year in 1956 by the City of Hope charity. In that capacity she toured the US raising money and volunteers for that good cause.

Personal Quotes

"I worked out of desperation. I used to hit fast and run in hopes that people wouldn't realize that I really couldn't do anything."

"I don't know where it's all going to lead. I have no idea where I'm going. I would just like to be happy."

"Some kind of fun lasts longer than others."

"Then the ceiling fell in and the bottom fell out I went into a spin and I started to shout I've been hit. This is it. This is it! I . . T . . . IT!"

"I don't even have many friends anymore because I backed away from them. When things went wrong for me I didn't want them to have any part of my trouble."

"I think things are going to go right for me again. I'm not old. I'm old enough, but I photograph young, thank God, and I still have a public. I still get fan mail."

"I was a commodity, like a hot dog. It was like hot dogs and Betty Hutton."

"I am not a great singer and I am not a great dancer, but I am a great actress, and nobody ever let me act except [director] Preston Sturges. He believed in me."

Salary

Spring Reunion (1957)	$100,000 + 25% of net
Somebody Loves Me (1952)	$5,000/week
The Fleet's In (1942)	$1,000/week

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