Betty Garrett
Known For
Acting
Born
1919-05-23 in Saint Joseph, Missouri, USA
Died
2011-02-12
Biography
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.
Most Known For
Grey's Anatomy
as Eleanor
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self
Murder, She Wrote
as Kit Parkins
Murder, She Wrote
as Martha Neilson
Great Performances
as Mary Hallen
The Love Boat
as Martha McCoy
The Fugitive
as Margaret Ruskin
The Golden Girls
as Sarah
Boston Public
as Miriam Guber
All in the Family
as Irene Lorenzo
All in the Family
as Irene
Laverne & Shirley
as Edna Babish
Becker
as Mrs. Firth
The Colgate Comedy Hour
as Self
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
as Self
Dinah!
as Self
Blacke's Magic
Union Square
as Agnes
Troupers
The Good Life
as Phyllis