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Betty Garrett
Actor
Born May 23, 1919Died February 12, 2011 (91 years)
Betty Garrett (May 23, 1919 - February 12, 2011) was an American actress, comedian, singer and dancer, who 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.
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.
Betty Garrett Filmography
| 2011 | |
| 2009 | Dark and Stormy Night · as Mrs. Hausenstout |
| 2009 | Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing · as (archive Footage) |
| 2007 | Trail of the Screaming Forehead · as Mrs. Cuttle |
| 2005 | Grey's Anatomy (TV Series) · as Eleanor |
| 2000 | Boston Public (TV Series) · as Miriam Guber |
| 1998 | Becker (TV Series) · as Mrs. Firth |
| 1998 | The Long Way Home · as Veronica |
| 1997 | Union Square (TV Series) · as Agnes |
| 1996 | Townies (TV Series) |
| 1994 | That's Entertainment! III · as (archive Footage) |
| 1994 | The Good Life (1994) (TV Series) · as Phyllis |
| 1993 | Harts of the West (TV Series) · as Thelma |
| 1986 | Blacke's Magic (TV Series) |
| 1985 | The Golden Girls (TV Series) · as Sarah |
| 1985 | That's Dancing! · as Ruth Sherwood (archive Footage) |
| 1984 | Murder, She Wrote (TV Series) · as Kit Parkins |
| 1982 | Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter · as Betty Barrett |
| 1981 | All the Way Home · as Catherine |
| 1981 | Mr. Merlin (TV Series) |
| 1977 | The Love Boat (TV Series) · as Martha Mccoy |
| 1976 | Laverne & Shirley (TV Series) · as Edna Babish |
| 1974 | That's Entertainment! · as (archive Footage) (uncredited) |
| 1971 | Great Performances (TV Series) · as Mary Hallen |
| 1971 | All in the Family (TV Series) · as Irene Lorenzo |
| 1963 | The Fugitive (TV Series) · as Margaret Ruskin |
| 1962 | The Lloyd Bridges Show (TV Series) · as Ellen Pennington |
| 1957 | The Shadow on the Window · as Linda Atlas |
| 1955 | My Sister Eileen · as Ruth Sherwood |
| 1952 | Ford Theatre: All Star Theatre (TV Series) · as Georgia Penland |
| 1949 | On the Town · as Brunhilde Esterhazy |
| 1949 | Neptune's Daughter · as Betty Barrett |
| 1949 | Take Me Out to the Ball Game · as Shirley Delwyn |
| 1948 | Words and Music · as Peggy Lorgan Mcneil |
| 1948 | Big City · as Shoo Shoo Grady |