Betty Garrett
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.
Acted in
Carol Channing: Larger Than Life
2012
as Self
Troupers
2011
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1940s: Stars, Stripes and Singing
2009
as (archive footage)
Dark and Stormy Night
2009
as Mrs. Hausenstout
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1920s: The Dawn of the Hollywood Musical
2008
as Self
Trail of the Screaming Forehead
2007
as Mrs. Cuttle
Grey's Anatomy
2005
as Eleanor
Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There
2003
as Self
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
2002
as Self
Boston Public
2000
as Miriam Guber
Frank Sinatra Memorial
2000
as Self
Becker
1998
as Mrs. Firth
The Long Way Home
1998
as Veronica
Union Square
1997
as Agnes
Jack Lemmon: America's Everyman
1996
as Self
Townies
1996
That's Entertainment! III
1994
as (archive footage)
The Good Life
1994
as Phyllis
Blacke's Magic
1986
The Golden Girls
1985
as Sarah
That's Dancing!
1985
as Ruth Sherwood (archive footage)
Murder, She Wrote
1984
as Kit Parkins
Murder, She Wrote
1984
as Martha Neilson
All the Way Home
1981
as Catherine
Mr. Merlin
1981
The Love Boat
1977
as Martha McCoy
Laverne & Shirley
1976
as Edna Babish
Dinah!
1974
as Self
That's Entertainment!
1974
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1972
as Self (archive footage)
Great Performances
1971
as Mary Hallen
All in the Family
1971
as Irene Lorenzo
The Fugitive
1963
as Margaret Ruskin
The Shadow on the Window
1957
as Linda Atlas
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956
as Self
My Sister Eileen
1955
as Ruth Sherwood
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950
as Self
The Costume Designer
1950
as Self (archive footage)
On the Town
1949
as Brunhilde Esterhazy
Neptune's Daughter
1949
as Betty Barrett
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
1949
as Shirley Delwyn
Words and Music
1948
as Peggy Lorgan McNeil
Big City
1948
as Shoo Shoo Grady