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Betty Grable
Ruth Elizabeth "Betty" Grable (1916–1973) was an American actress, singer, and pin-up girl, whose famous bathing-suit poster was an icon of the World War II era.
Born in Saint Louis, Missouri on December 18 1916, she was propelled into acting by her mother, who insisted that one of her daughters become a star. For her first role, as a chorus girl in the film Let's Go Places (1930) Grable was legally underage for acting, but because the chorus line performed in blackface, it was impossible to tell how old she was. For her next film, her mother tried to get her to sign a contract using false ID, but when this was discovered Grable was fired. Grable finally obtained a role in Whoopee!, starring Eddie Cantor, and had played in some twenty films by 1939, including the Academy Award-nominated The Gay Divorcee, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
In 1937 she married another famous former child-actor, Jackie Coogan, but Coogan was under considerable stress from a lawsuit against his parents over his earnings, and the couple divorced in 1940.
In 1940, Grable obtained a contract with 20th Century Fox, becoming their top star throughout the decade, with splashy technicolor films such as Down Argentine Way , Springtime in the Rockies , Moon Over Miami , Coney Island, and Pin Up Girl . It was during her reign as box-office champ that Grable posed for her famous pin-up photo, which soon became escapist fare among GIs fighting overseas in World War II. It has become one of the most iconic images of the war.
In 1943 she married jazz trumpeter and big band leader Harry James. They divorced in 1965.
Grable's later career was marked by feuds with studio heads, who worked her to exhaustion. At one point, in the middle of a fight with Darryl F. Zanuck, she tore up her contract with him and stormed out of his office. Gradually leaving movies entirely, she made the transition to television, and starred in Las Vegas.
Betty Grable died of lung cancer on July 3 1973 at the age of only 56, and was buried in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.
Filmography
- Let's Go Places Fox, 1930
-
Happy Days Fox, 1930
- New Movietone Follies of 1930 Fox, 1930
-
Whoopee! Goldwyn, 1930
-
Kiki United Artists, 1931
- Crashing Hollywood Educational short subject, 1931
- Ex-Sweeties Mack Sennett short subject, 1931
- Palmy Days Goldwyn, 1931
- The Greeks Had a Word for Them Goldwyn, 1932
- Lady, Please Mack Sennett short subject, 1932
- Hollywood Luck Educational short subject, 1932
-
Probation Chesterfield, 1932
- The Flirty Sleepwalker Mack Sennett short subject, 1932
- Hollywood Lights Educational short subject, 1932
- The Age of Consent RKO, 1932
- Hold 'Em Jail RKO, 1932
- Over the Counter MGM short subject, 1932
- The Kid from Spain Goldwyn, 1932
-
Cavalcade Fox, 1933
- Child of Manhattan Columbia, 1933
- Melody Cruise RKO, 1933
- What Price Innocence? Columbia, 1933
- Sweetheart of Sigma Chi Monogram, 1933
- Air Tonic RKO short subject, 1933
- School for Romance Columbia short subject, 1934
-
Hips, Hips, Hooray! RKO, 1934
- Love Detectives Columbia short subject, 1934
- Elmer Steps Out Columbia short subject, 1934
- Business is a Pleasure Warner Bros. short subject, 1934
- Susie's Affairs Columbia short subject, 1934
- The Gay Divorcee RKO, 1934
- Student Tour MGM, 1934
- By Your Leave RKO, 1934
- The Spirit of 1976 RKO short subject, 1935
- The Nitwits RKO, 1935
- A Night at the Biltmore Bowl RKO short subject, 1935
- Drawing Rumors RKO short subject, 1935
- Old Man Rhythm RKO, 1935
- A Quiet Fourth RKO short subject, 1935
-
Collegiate Paramount, 1936
- Follow the Fleet RKO, 1936
- Sun-Kissed Stars at Palm Springs MGM short subject, 1936
- Don't Turn 'em Loose RKO, 1936
-
Pigskin Parade 20th Century-Fox, 1936
- This Way Please Paramount, 1937
-
Thrill of a Lifetime Paramount, 1937
- College Swing Paramount, 1938
- Give Me a Sailor Paramount, 1938
- Campus Confessions Paramount, 1938
- Man About Town Paramount, 1939
- Million Dollar Legs Paramount, 1939
- The Day the Bookies Wept RKO, 1939
- Down Argentine Way , 20th Century-Fox, 1940
-
Tin Pan Alley 20th Century-Fox, 1940
- Moon Over Miami 20th Century-Fox, 1941
- A Yank in the R.A.F. 20th Century-Fox, 1941
- I Wake Up Screaming 20th Century-Fox, 1941
- Song of the Islands 20th Century-Fox, 1942
- Footlight Serenade 20th Century-Fox, 1942
- Springtime in the Rockies 20th Century-Fox, 1942
-
Coney Island 20th Century-Fox, 1943
- Sweet Rosie O'Grady 20th Century-Fox, 1943
- Four Jills in a Jeep 20th Century-Fox, 1944
- Pin Up Girl 20th Century-Fox, 1944
- Diamond Horseshoe 20th Century-Fox, 1945
- The All-Star Bond Rally 20th Century-Fox short subject, 1945
- The Dolly Sisters 20th Century-Fox, 1945
- Do You Love Me 20th Century-Fox, 1946
- The Shocking Miss Pilgrim 20th Century-Fox, 1947
- Mother Wore Tights 20th Century-Fox, 1947
- That Lady in Ermine 20th Century-Fox, 1948
-
When My Baby Smiles at Me 20th Century-Fox, 1948
- The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend , 20th Century-Fox, 1949
- Wabash Avenue 20th Century-Fox, 1950
-
My Blue Heaven 20th Century-Fox, 1950
- Call Me Mister 20th Century-Fox, 1951
- Meet Me After the Show 20th Century-Fox, 1951
- The Farmer Takes a Wife 20th Century-Fox, 1953
-
How to Marry a Millionaire 20th Century-Fox, 1953
- Three for the Show Columbia, 1955
- Columbia short subject, 1955
- How to Be Very, Very Popular 20th Century-Fox, 1955
External links
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