1919-05-23 Saint Joseph, Missouri, USA
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.
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Carol Channing: Larger Than Life | Self | 2012-01-20 |
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Troupers | 2011-06-01 | |
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Dark and Stormy Night | Mrs. Hausenstout | 2009-10-10 |
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Trail of the Screaming Forehead | Mrs. Cuttle | 2008-06-08 |
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Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There | Self | 2003-01-01 |
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Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer | Self | 2002-09-24 |
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Frank Sinatra Memorial | Self | 2000-05-16 |
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The Long Way Home | Veronica | 1998-03-01 |
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Jack Lemmon: America's Everyman | Self | 1996-11-25 |
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That's Entertainment! III | (archive footage) | 1994-07-01 |
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That's Dancing! | Ruth Sherwood (archive footage) | 1985-01-18 |
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All the Way Home | Catherine | 1981-12-21 |
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That's Entertainment! | (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1974-06-21 |
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Hollywood: The Dream Factory | Self (archive footage) | 1972-01-10 |
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The Shadow on the Window | Linda Atlas | 1957-03-06 |
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My Sister Eileen | Ruth Sherwood | 1955-09-22 |
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The Costume Designer | Self (archive footage) | 1950-07-13 |
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Neptune's Daughter | Betty Barrett | 1949-06-10 |
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On the Town | Brunhilde Esterhazy | 1949-12-08 |
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Take Me Out to the Ball Game | Shirley Delwyn | 1949-03-09 |
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Big City | Shoo Shoo Grady | 1948-03-25 |
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Words and Music | Peggy Lorgan McNeil | 1948-12-31 |
