Betty Hutton
|
|
Betty Hutton, (born Elizabeth June Thornburg on February 26, 1921 in Battle Creek, Michigan) is an American actress, musician and comedienne.
Raised by a single mother, Hutton (along with her sister, Marion Hutton) started singing in the family's speakeasy at age 3. Related troubles with the police kept the family on the move; eventually they moved to Detroit. As a teenager, she sang in several local bands, and at one point visited New York hoping to perform in Broadway, where she was rejected.
A few years later, she was scouted by orchestra leader Vincent Lopez, who gave Hutton her entry into entertainment. In 1939 she appeared in several musical shorts for Warner Bros., and appeared on Broadway in Panama Hattie and Two for the Show, produced by Buddy DeSylva.
When DeSylva became a producer at Paramount Studios, Hutton acquired a starring role in The Fleet's In in 1942. She made 14 films in 11 years during the 1940s and early 1950s, including "Annie Get Your Gun", in which she stepped in to replace Judy Garland in the role of Annie Oakley. In 1942, she signed with Capitol Records, one of the first artists to do so, but was unhappy with their management, and signed with RCA. Her status as a Hollywood star ended during contract disagreements with Paramount.
Hutton worked in radio and toured in nightclubs, then appeared on television through the early 1960s. In 1967, she was signed for starring roles in two Paramount westerns, but was fired shortly after the projects began. Afterwards, Hutton had trouble with alcohol abuse, eventually attempting suicide, and had a nervous breakdown. However, after regaining control of her life, she went on to teach acting.
Married four times with three children, Hutton as of 2004 lives in Palm Springs.
Hit songs
- Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief
- His Rocking Horse Ran Away
- I Wish I Didn't Love You So
- It Had To Be You
- Hit the Road to Dreamland
- Old Man Mose
- Murder He Says
- Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing In a Hurry
- Somebody Loves Me
- Crazy Rhythm
- Orange Colored Sky
- Who Kicked the Light Plug (Out of the Socket)
- Papa Don't Preach to Me
- You Can't Get a Man with a Gun
Filmography
- Paramount Headliner: Queens of the Air (1938) (short subject)
- Vincent Lopez and His Orchestra (1939) (short subject)
- One for the Book (1939) (short subject)
- Three Kings and a Queen (1939) (short subject)
- Public Jitterbug Number One (1939) (short subject)
- The Fleet's In (1942)
- A Letter from Bataan (1942) (short subject)
- Star Spangled Rhythm (1942)
- Strictly G.I. (1943) (short subject)
- Happy Go Lucky (1943)
- Let's Face It (1943)
- The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)
- And the Angels Sing (1944)
- Skirmish on the Home Front (1944) (short subject)
- Here Come the Waves (1944)
- Incendiary Blonde (1945)
- Duffy's Tavern (1945)
- Hollywood Victory Caravan (1945) (short subject)
- The Stork Club (1945)
- Cross My Heart (1946)
- The Perils of Pauline (1947)
- Dream Girl (1948)
- Red, Hot and Blue (1949)
- Annie Get Your Gun (1950)
- Let's Dance (1950)
- The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
- Sailor Beware (1952) (cameo)
- Somebody Loves Me (1952)
- Spring Reunion (1957)
External links
- Betty Hutton's Home Page (http://www.geocities.com/thebettyhuttonshow)
- Denny Jackson's Betty Hutton Page (http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/2440/hutton.html)
- Betty Hutton page on "Solid!" site (http://www.parabrisas.com/d_huttonb.html)sv:Betty Hutton