Betty Hutton

Betty Hutton

CountryUnited States United States
GenderFemale
Birthdayfévr. 26, 1921
Death2007-03-11
BiographyBetty Hutton (born Elizabeth June Thornburg; February 26, 1921 – March 12, 2007)

was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer. With a career spanning six decades, she rose to fame in the 1940s as a contract player for Paramount Pictures, appearing primarily in musicals and becoming one of the studio's most valuable stars. She was noted for her energetic performance style.

Raised in Detroit during the Great Depression by a single mother who worked as a bootlegger, Hutton began performing as a singer from a young age, entertaining patrons of her mother's speakeasy. While performing in local nightclubs, she was discovered by orchestra leader Vincent Lopez, who hired her as a singer in his band.

In 1940, Hutton was cast in the Broadway productions Two for the Show and Panama Hattie, and attracted notice for her raucous and animated live performances. She relocated to Los Angeles in 1941 after being signed by Paramount Pictures, and concurrently recorded numerous singles for Capitol Records. Her breakthrough role came in Preston Sturges's The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944), and she went on to receive further notice for her lead role as Annie Oakley in the musical Annie Get Your Gun (1950), and for Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Greatest Show on Earth (1952). She made her final feature film appearance in Spring Reunion (1957).

After leaving Paramount, Hutton starred in her own series, The Betty Hutton Show, from 1959 until 1960. She continued to perform in stage productions, though her career faltered following a series of personal struggles, including chronic depression, alcoholism, and prescription drug addiction. Hutton largely abandoned her performing career by the 1970s and found employment in a Rhode Island rectory after becoming nearly destitute. She returned to the stage temporarily, replacing Alice Ghostley in the original Broadway production of Annie in 1980.

In her later life, Hutton attended Salve Regina University, where she earned a master's degree in psychology in 1986. After working as an acting instructor at Emerson College, Hutton returned to California in 1999 and resided in Palm Springs, where she died in 2007 at 86.

Biography from the Wikipedia article Betty Hutton. Licensed under CC-BY-SA. Full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Recently Updated Shows

Recently updated shows that might be of your interest.
Untold
Running

Untold

Untold is a sports docuseries that brings fresh eyes to some of the greatest stories in sports. From tennis to boxing to basketball, these stories aren't the ones you've heard before, even if you think you have.
 

GenreSports
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Running

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

On Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, John Oliver presents a satirical look at the week in news, politics and current events.

GenreComedy
Lioness
Running

Lioness

Lioness, inspired by an actual U.S. Military program, follows the life of Joe while she attempts to balance her personal and professional life as the tip of the CIA's spear in the war on terror. The Lioness Program, overseen by Kaitlyn Meade and Donald Westfield, enlists an aggressive Marine Raider named Cruz to operate undercover alongside Joe among the power brokers of State terrorism in the CIA's efforts to thwart the next 9/11.

The Diplomat
Running

The Diplomat

In the midst of an international crisis, a career diplomat lands in a high-profile job she's unsuited for, with tectonic implications for her marriage and her political future.

The Pitt
Running

The Pitt

The Pitt is a realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers in today's America as seen through the lens of the frontline heroes working in a modern-day hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Each episode follows an hour of Dr. Robby's 15-hour shift as the chief attendant in Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital's emergency room.