Betty Garrett

Born: 1919-05-23

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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On the Town

as Brunhilde Esterhazy
Released: 1949-12-08

Three sailors wreak havoc as they search for love during a whirlwind 24-hour leave in New York City.

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That's Entertainment!

as (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: 1974-06-21

Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50...

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Take Me Out to the Ball Game

as Shirley Delwyn
Released: 1949-03-09

The Wolves baseball team gets steamed when they find they've been inherited by one K.C. Higgins,...

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My Sister Eileen

as Ruth Sherwood
Released: 1955-09-22

Ruth and her beautiful sister Eileen come to New York's Greenwich Village looking for "fame,...

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The Shadow on the Window

as Linda Atlas
Released: 1957-03-06

Three delinquents murder a prosperous farmer at an isolated farm house. One witness to the crime...

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That's Entertainment! III

as (archive footage)
Released: 1994-07-01

Some of MGM'S musical stars review the studios history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of...

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Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There

as Self
Released: 2003-01-01

Broadway: The Golden Age is the most important, ambitious and comprehensive film ever made about...

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Neptune's Daughter

as Betty Barrett
Released: 1949-06-10

Scatterbrained Betty Barrett mistakes masseur Jack Spratt for Jose O'Rourke, the captain of the...

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Hollywood: The Dream Factory

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1972-01-10

A documentary about the glorious history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its decline leading...

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The Long Way Home

as Veronica
Released: 1998-03-01

A retired widower wanders away from his daughter's home, hooks up with a free-spirited young...

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Carol Channing: Larger Than Life

as Self
Released: 2012-01-20

If Carol Channing didn't exist, no one could have made her up. One in a billion, Carol , at 89,...

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Words and Music

as Peggy Lorgan McNeil
Released: 1948-12-31

Encomium to Larry Hart (1895-1943), seen through the fictive eyes of his song-writing partner,...

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That's Dancing!

as Ruth Sherwood (archive footage)
Released: 1985-01-18

A documentary film about dancing on the screen, from it's orgins after the invention of the...

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Dark and Stormy Night

as Mrs. Hausenstout
Released: 2009-10-10

In the 1930s the family of old Sinas Cavinder, gathered for the reading of his will, find...

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Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer

as Self
Released: 2002-09-24

American Masters Series. Documentary on Gene Kelly that gives insight into his dancing, how he...

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Trail of the Screaming Forehead

as Mrs. Cuttle
Released: 2008-06-08

A small town infestation of crawling alien foreheads that begin attaching to people and taking...

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Jack Lemmon: America's Everyman

as Self
Released: 1996-11-25

Jack Lemmon made over 60 films and received numerous awards, including eight Academy Award...

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Big City

as Shoo Shoo Grady
Released: 1948-03-25

A young orphan in New York's Lower East Side is collectively adopted by three neighborhood...

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Frank Sinatra Memorial

as Self
Released: 2000-05-16

Frank Sinatra, the greatest entertainer of the 20th century, is remembered by some of the...

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The Costume Designer

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1950-07-13

This short focuses on the job of the costume designer in the production of motion pictures. The...

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All the Way Home

as Catherine
Released: 1981-12-21

A wife and mother in 1915 Tennessee copes with the loss of her husband and the necessity of...

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Grey's Anatomy

as Eleanor
First aired: 2005-03-27

Follows the personal and professional lives of a group of doctors at Seattle’s Grey Sloan...

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The Fugitive

as Margaret Ruskin
First aired: 1963-09-17

Richard Kimble is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death penalty. En route...

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Becker

as Mrs. Firth
First aired: 1998-11-02

Becker is a dedicated, outspoken and talented doctor with a gruff exterior. While he tends to...

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The Golden Girls

as Sarah
First aired: 1985-09-14

Four Southern Florida seniors share a house, their dreams, and a whole lot of cheesecake....

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The Love Boat

as Martha McCoy
First aired: 1977-09-24

Passengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or...

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Murder, She Wrote

as Kit Parkins
First aired: 1984-09-30

An unassuming mystery writer turned sleuth uses her professional insight to help solve real-life...

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All in the Family

as Irene Lorenzo
First aired: 1971-01-12

Archie Bunker, a working class bigot, constantly squabbles with his family over the important...

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The Colgate Comedy Hour

as Self
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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Boston Public

as Miriam Guber
First aired: 2000-10-23

Principal Steven Harper runs Winslow High School as best as he can while dealing with the...

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Great Performances

as Mary Hallen
First aired: 1971-01-28

The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse...

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The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

as Self
First aired: 1956-10-05

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on...

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Laverne & Shirley

as Edna Babish
First aired: 1976-01-27

Laverne & Shirley is an American television sitcom that ran on ABC from January 27, 1976 to May...

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Dinah!

as Self
First aired: 1974-10-21

Dinah's show premiered 9 September 1974 and continued through to 4 September 1981. She started...

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Blacke's Magic

as uncredited
First aired: 1986-01-05

Blacke's Magic is an American crime drama series that aired on NBC from January to May 1986. The...

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Townies

as uncredited
First aired: 1996-09-18

Life-long friends Carrie, Shannon and Denise grew up together. Now in their mid-twenties, the...

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Mr. Merlin

as uncredited
First aired: 1981-10-07

Mr. Merlin is an American sitcom that ran for one season, from 1981 to 1982, about Merlin the...

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Union Square

as uncredited
First aired: 1997-09-25

Union Square is a 1997 television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for one season. It follows...

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