Acting · Saint Joseph, Missouri, USA · Born May 23, 1919
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.
MovieCarol Channing: Larger Than Life
2012
as Self
Troupers
2011
MovieHollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing
2009
as (archive footage)
MovieDark and Stormy Night
2009
as Mrs. Hausenstout
MovieHollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1920s: The Dawn of the Hollywood Musical
2008
as Self
MovieTrail of the Screaming Forehead
2007
as Mrs. Cuttle
TVGrey's Anatomy
2005
as Eleanor
MovieBroadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There
2003
as Self
MovieGene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
2002
as Self
TVBoston Public
2000
as Miriam Guber
MovieFrank Sinatra Memorial
2000
as Self
TVBecker
1998
as Mrs. Firth
MovieThe Long Way Home
1998
as Veronica
TVUnion Square
1997
as Agnes
MovieJack Lemmon: America's Everyman
1996
as Self
TVTownies
1996
MovieThat's Entertainment! III
1994
as (archive footage)
TVThe Good Life
1994
as Phyllis
TVBlacke's Magic
1986
TVThe Golden Girls
1985
as Sarah
MovieThat's Dancing!
1985
as Ruth Sherwood (archive footage)
TVMurder, She Wrote
1984
as Kit Parkins
MovieAll the Way Home
1981
as Catherine
TVMr. Merlin
1981
TVThe Love Boat
1977
as Martha McCoy
TVLaverne & Shirley
1976
as Edna Babish
TVDinah!
1974
as Self
MovieThat's Entertainment!
1974
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
MovieHollywood: The Dream Factory
1972
as Self (archive footage)
TVGreat Performances
1971
as Mary Hallen
TVAll in the Family
1971
as Irene Lorenzo
TVThe Fugitive
1963
as Margaret Ruskin
TVThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
as Self
MovieThe Shadow on the Window
1957
as Linda Atlas
TVThe Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956
as Self
MovieMy Sister Eileen
1955
as Ruth Sherwood
TVThe Colgate Comedy Hour
1950
as Self
MovieThe Costume Designer
1950
as Self (archive footage)
MovieOn the Town
1949
as Brunhilde Esterhazy
MovieNeptune's Daughter
1949
as Betty Barrett
MovieTake Me Out to the Ball Game
1949
as Shirley Delwyn
MovieWords and Music
1948
as Peggy Lorgan McNeil
MovieBig City
1948
as Shoo Shoo Grady
