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