Betty Furness

Born: 1916-01-03

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Elizabeth Mary Furness (January 3, 1916 – April 2, 1994) was an American actress, consumer advocate, and current affairs commentator. She began her professional career as a model before being noticed by a talent scout and being signed to a film contract in 1932 by RKO Studios. Her first film role was as the "Thirteenth Woman" in the film Thirteen Women (1932) but her scenes were deleted before the film's release. Over the next few years, she appeared in several RKO films, and became a popular actress. Among her film successes were Magnificent Obsession (1935) and the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film Swing Time (1936). By the end of the decade, she had appeared in over forty films, but during the 1940s, she found it difficult to secure acting roles. In 1948, Furness was performing in the television series Studio One, which was broadcast live. She filled in for an actor to promote Westinghouse products during the advertisement break, and impressed the company with her easy and professional manner. They offered her a contract to promote their products and she thus became closely associated with them.


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Swing Time

as Margaret Watson
Released: 1936-08-27

Lucky is tricked into missing his own wedding again and has to make $25,000 so her father allows...

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Flying Down to Rio

as Belinha's Friend (uncredited)
Released: 1933-12-22

A dance band leader finds love and success in Brazil.

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Magnificent Obsession

as Joyce Hudson
Released: 1935-12-30

A playboy tries to redeem himself after his careless behavior causes a great man's death.

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Headline Shooter

as Miss Saunders
Released: 1933-07-28

A newsreel photographer neglects his love life to get the perfect shot.

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Ellis in Freedomland

as Spokeswoman for Westinghouse
Released: 1952-06-15

Westinghouse claims its electric appliances "freed women from the drudgery of housework." The...

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Twelve Angry Men

as Herself / Commercial Spokeswoman
Released: 1954-09-20

Twelve Angry Men is a 1954 teleplay by Reginald Rose for the Studio One anthology television...

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Beggars in Ermine

as Joyce Dawson
Released: 1934-02-21

John Dawson loses control of his factory when he is crippled in an accident caused by a rival....

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The President's Mystery

as Charlotte Brown
Released: 1936-09-28

The screenplay for this mystery is based upon a story suggested to Liberty Magazine by President...

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Fair Warning

as Kate Farnham
Released: 1937-03-05

In California's Death Valley a chemistry whiz-kid helps a sheriff track the man who murdered a...

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Let's Fall in Love

as Linda
Released: 1933-12-26

A carnival girl pretends to be Swedish in order to win a movie role.

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Scarlet River

as Babe Jewel
Released: 1933-03-10

Unable to find open range near Hollywood, western actor Tom Baxter and his troop head to Judy...

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Gridiron Flash

as Jane Thurston
Released: 1934-10-06

A college football team recruits a tough convict.

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Ace of Aces

as Card Playing Party Guest (uncredited)
Released: 1933-10-20

A sculptor who doesn't want to have any part of World War I is shamed by his girlfriend into...

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The Defender (Studio One)

as Self / Commercial Spokeswoman
Released: 1957-02-25

The pilot for the television series, "The Defenders." The story of Walter and Kenneth Pearson, a...

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The Arena

as uncredited
Released: 1956-04-09

Arriving in Washington, a freshman senator gets an experienced advisor who warns him not to...

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They Wanted to Marry

as Sheila Hunter
Released: 1937-02-05

Newspaper photographer Jim Tyler sneaks into a society girl's wedding, and the bride's sister...

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The Life of Vergie Winters

as Joan Shadwell
Released: 1934-06-14

A small town politician, kept from marrying the love of his life, eventually marries another...

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The Bands Plays On

as Kitty O'Brien
Released: 1934-12-21

A judge hands four wayward boys to a college football coach who turns them into backfield stars.

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A Wicked Woman

as Yancey Stroud, aka Yancey Trice
Released: 1934-12-07

A woman and her children escape severe poverty and abuse. She successfully betters her family's...

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Here Comes Cookie

as Phyllis Allen
Released: 1935-09-10

A scatterbrained heiress opens her home to a succession of unemployed actors and vaudeville...

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Cross Fire

as Pat "Mike" Plummer
Released: 1933-05-28

Tom and five older respected business men run the Sierra mine. When Tom leaves for Europe to...

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Shadow of Doubt

as Lisa
Released: 1935-02-15

When a Hollywood producer is murdered, the most likely suspect is a man who is smitten with the...

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Pontius Pilate

as uncredited
Released: 1952-04-07

The story, set 15 years after the Crucifixion, of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, who is...

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All American Chump

as Kitty Crane
Released: 1936-10-16

A country bumpkin who's a mathematical genius falls into the hands of gangsters.

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Dangerous Corner

as Mrs. Betty Whitehouse
Released: 1934-12-04

Friends uncover a dark secret when they compare notes about a theft and suicide.

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Lucky Devils

as Ginger
Released: 1933-02-03

Two Hollywood stuntmen compete for the same pretty extra.

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Emergency Call

as Alice Averill
Released: 1933-06-24

A surgeon and an ambulance driver fight racketeers who take over their hospital.

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Mama Steps Out

as Leila Cuppy
Released: 1937-02-05

A Fort Wayne, Indiana housewife (Alice Brady) drags her husband (Guy Kibbee) and daughter (Betty...

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The Good Old Soak

as Lucy Hawley
Released: 1937-04-23

A small town drunk beats a teetotal banker guilty of a shady transaction.

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Aggie Appleby, Maker of Men

as Evangeline
Released: 1933-10-18

Tough Aggie gives a street guy polish and a rich kid gumption.

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The Keeper of the Bees

as Molly
Released: 1935-07-14

A severely traumatized World War I veteran, believing that he's living on borrowed time, comes...

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Renegades of the West

as Mary Fawcett
Released: 1932-11-25

A cowboy goes undercover to catch the cattle thieves who killed his father.

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The Kill

as Self - Commercial Spokeswoman
Released: 1952-09-22

Jeff and his family just moved into a small, rural community. When two sinister locals tamper...

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North of Shanghai

as Helen Warner
Released: 1939-01-24

In this newspaper drama, a female reporter and a newsreel cameraman are both assigned to cover...

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Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs

as uncredited
Released: 1936-08-05

Winners of the Lucky Stars National Dance Contest - one woman from each state of the United...

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It Can't Last Forever

as Carol Wilson
Released: 1937-07-15

Russ Matthews, a theatrical agent who is not above pulling off a hoax or two or more to further...

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The Great Jasper

as Sylvia Bradfield
Released: 1933-03-03

Generational saga about a failed streetcar conductor, who finds success as an Atlantic City...

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Calm Yourself

as Mary Elizabeth Allenby
Released: 1935-06-28

A recently-fired advertising executive starts his own company, Confidential Services, to help...

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Midshipman Jack

as Ruth Rogers
Released: 1933-09-22

Director Christy Cabanne's 1933 film dramatizes one year in the lives of four midshipmen at the...

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The Rockingham Tea Set

as Self - Commercial Spokeswoman
Released: 1950-01-23

To keep her former fiancé from leaving her, a neurotic young woman (Louise Allbritton) fakes a...

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The Play of the Nativity of the Child Jesus

as Self
Released: 1952-12-22

The birth of Jesus and the serene Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem.

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Studio One

as Coral, Princess Livitski
First aired: 1948-11-07

An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher...

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Studio One

as Self - Commercial Spokeswoman
First aired: 1948-11-07

An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher...

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The Philco Television Playhouse

as uncredited
First aired: 1948-10-03

The Philco Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC...

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What's My Line?

as Self - Panelist
First aired: 1950-02-02

Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while...

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The Colgate Comedy Hour

as Maggie Watson
First aired: 1950-09-10

The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC...

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Climax!

as Beth Jaynes
First aired: 1954-10-07

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was...

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Climax!

as Ann Kilgore
First aired: 1954-10-07

Climax! is an American anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was...

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Your Show of Shows

as Herself
First aired: 1950-02-25

Your Show of Shows was a live 90-minute variety show that was broadcast weekly in the United...

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