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IMDbPro

Betty Garrett(1919-2011)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Betty Garrett
After submitting a story of her beautiful sister, a woman assumes her identity to maintain the attention of a playboy publisher.
Play trailer2:55
My Sister Eileen (1955)
3 Videos
33 Photos
A sunny singer, dancer and comic actress, Betty Garrett starred in several Hollywood musicals and stage roles. She was at the top of her game when the Communist scare in the 1950s brought her career to a screeching, ugly halt. She and her husband Larry Parks, an Oscar-nominated actor, were summoned by the House UnAmerican Activities Committee and questioned about their involvement.

As the drama played out, a very pregnant Garrett was never called to testify, but her husband was. With his admission of Communist Party membership from 1941-1945 and refusal to name names, he made it to the Hollywood Blacklist. After the incident, Garrett and Parks worked up nightclub singing/comedy acts along with appearing in legit plays. Although Parks never quite shook off the blacklist incident, he did win a role in John Huston's film, Freud (1962). Garrett went on to appear in roles in many television series.
BornMay 23, 1919
DiedFebruary 12, 2011(91)
BornMay 23, 1919
DiedFebruary 12, 2011(91)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy

Photos33

Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller, and Jules Munshin in On the Town (1949)
Jack Lemmon and Betty Garrett in The Long Way Home (1998)
Molly Ringwald and Betty Garrett in Townies (1996)
Betty Garrett, Red Skelton, and Esther Williams in Neptune's Daughter (1949)
Janet Leigh and Betty Garrett in My Sister Eileen (1955)
Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller, Jules Munshin, and Vera-Ellen in On the Town (1949)
Betty Garrett and Louis Guss in The Golden Girls (1985)
Penny Marshall, Betty Garrett, Eddie Mekka, and Cindy Williams in Laverne & Shirley (1976)
Betty Garrett in Laverne & Shirley (1976)
Penny Marshall, Betty Garrett, and Cindy Williams in Laverne & Shirley (1976)
Betty Garrett in Laverne & Shirley (1976)
Betty Garrett in Laverne & Shirley (1976)

Known for

Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller, Jules Munshin, and Vera-Ellen in On the Town (1949)
On the Town
7.3
  • Brunhilde Esterhazy
  • 1949
My Sister Eileen (1955)
My Sister Eileen
6.8
  • Ruth Sherwood
  • 1955
Rob Reiner, Sally Struthers, Carroll O'Connor, and Jean Stapleton in All in the Family (1971)
All in the Family
8.4
TV Series
  • Irene Lorenzo
  • Irene
Trail of the Screaming Forehead
Trail of the Screaming Forehead
5.9
  • Mrs. Cuttle
  • 2007

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Dark and Stormy Night (2009)
    Dark and Stormy Night
  • Trail of the Screaming Forehead
    Trail of the Screaming Forehead
  • James Pickens Jr., Ellen Pompeo, and Chandra Wilson in Grey's Anatomy (2005)
    Grey's Anatomy
  • Terry Farrell, Ted Danson, Alex Désert, Shawnee Smith, and Hattie Winston in Becker (1998)
    Becker
  • Boston Public (2000)
    Boston Public
  • Jack Lemmon and Sarah Paulson in The Long Way Home (1998)
    The Long Way Home
  • Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter, Christine Burke, Harriet Sansom Harris, Michael Landes, Jim Pirri, and Jonathan Slavin in Union Square (1997)
    Union Square
  • Molly Ringwald, Jenna Elfman, Bill Burr, Lauren Graham, and Ron Livingston in Townies (1996)
    Townies
  • The Good Life (1994)
    The Good Life
  • Beau Bridges and Lloyd Bridges in Harts of the West (1993)
    Harts of the West
  • Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur, and Betty White in The Golden Girls (1985)
    The Golden Girls
  • Angela Lansbury in Murder, She Wrote (1984)
    Murder, She Wrote
  • Hal Linden and Harry Morgan in Blacke's Magic (1986)
    Blacke's Magic
  • Mr. Merlin (1981)
    Mr. Merlin
  • All the Way Home (1981)
    All the Way Home

Soundtrack

  • That's Entertainment! III (1994)
    That's Entertainment! III
    • (uncredited)
  • Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams in Laverne & Shirley (1976)
    Laverne & Shirley
  • Dinah Shore in Dinah! (1974)
    Dinah!
  • Johnny Carson in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)
    The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
  • Rob Reiner, Sally Struthers, Carroll O'Connor, and Jean Stapleton in All in the Family (1971)
    All in the Family
    • (uncredited)
  • Art Carney in Art Carney Special (1959)
    Art Carney Special
  • My Sister Eileen (1955)
    My Sister Eileen
    • (uncredited)
  • All Star Revue (1950)
    All Star Revue
  • Moments in Music
  • John Carroll and Marie McDonald in Hit Parade of 1951 (1950)
    Hit Parade of 1951
  • Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett, Ann Miller, Jules Munshin, and Vera-Ellen in On the Town (1949)
    On the Town
  • Ricardo Montalban, Xavier Cugat, Betty Garrett, Red Skelton, Esther Williams, and Keenan Wynn in Neptune's Daughter (1949)
    Neptune's Daughter
  • Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, and Esther Williams in Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949)
    Take Me Out to the Ball Game
    • (uncredited)
  • Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, June Allyson, Mickey Rooney, Lena Horne, and Ann Sothern in Words and Music (1948)
    Words and Music
  • Big City (1948)
    Big City

Videos3

Official Trailer
Trailer 2:55
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:50
Official Trailer
On the Town Official Trailer
Trailer 2:58
On the Town Official Trailer

Personal details

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    • May 23, 1919
    • St. Joseph, Missouri, USA
    • February 12, 2011
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(aortic aneurysm)
    • Larry ParksSeptember 9, 1944 - April 13, 1975 (his death, 2 children)
  • Other works
    (autobiography) (1997) "Betty Garrett and Other Songs."
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Article

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Godmother of Jeff Bridges.
  • Quotes
    [on working with Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre] He had an unbroken string of successes. But unfortunately, I joined the company just in time for the first flop, "Danton's Death". He was a genius, but in that one he let his genius get slightly out of hand. He loaded up the little theater with thousands of dollars worth of lights, and tore out the stage and put in elevator platforms, so all the actors were constantly moving up and down out of the depths. I remember we all had to make noises in the night, in addition to our roles. I did animal noises. Joseph Cotten had to do sex noises. Can you imagine? Joseph Cotten?
    • Long back length hair

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