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Betty Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg on February 26, 1921, in Battle Creek, Michigan.
Two years later Betty's father decided that the family way of life wasn't for him, so he left. Sixteen years later, he would commit suicide.
Mrs. Thornburg moved the family to Detroit to find work in the numerous auto factories there in order to support her family. But times were tough and she decided to take advantage of Prohibition. She opened a small tavern, at the time called a speakeasy, and every time there was a run in with the police, they’d pack up and move the business somewhere else. In addition to that, Mrs. Thornburg was an alcoholic.
At nine years old Betty began singing publicly for the first time in a school production. Realizing the voice Betty had, her mother took her around Detroit to have her sing to any group that would listen. This was a small way of getting some money for the poor family. When she was 13 Betty got a few singing jobs with local bands in the area.
In 1937, Betty was hired by Vincent Lopez who had a popular band that appeared on the local radio. Later she returned to New York and it was there that her career took off. Betty found herself on Broadway in 1940 and it was only a matter of time before her career took off to bigger heights such as Hollywood!
The following year she left New York for Hollywood, where she was to find new life in films. She was signed by Paramount Pictures and made her debut, at 21, in The Fleet's In (1942), along with Eddie Bracken, William Holden and Dorothy Lamour. Reviews were better than expected, with critics looking favorably upon her work. She had previously appeared in a few musical shorts, which no doubt helped her in her first feature film.
It wasn't long before Betty became unhappy with her career. In truth she had the acting talent, but the parts she got weren't the types to showcase that. Though she did appear in three well received films later, Red, Hot and Blue (1949), Annie Get Your Gun (1950) and The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), her career was winding down. Later, after filming Somebody Loves Me (1952), Betty was all but finished. She had married Charles O'Curran that year and he wanted to direct her in an upcoming film. Paramount didn't like the idea and the temper tantrum-prone Betty walked out of her contract and movies. In 1952, she left Hollywood to concentrate on stage and television.
A 9th-grade dropout, Betty Hutton went back to school in the 1970s with the help of a Catholic priest, Father Peter Maguire (who was a major help in her self discovery). She earned a bachelors degree from Salve Regina University and was later awarded an honorary Ph.D. She taught theater for a time at the University. She later moved to Palm Springs, California to be closer to her children. She now resides there.
Qoutes
"I worked out of desperation. I used to hit fast and run in hopes that people wouldn't realize that I really couldn't do anything."
"I don't know where it's all going to lead. I have no idea where I'm going. I would just like to be happy."
"Some kind of fun lasts longer than others."
"Then the ceiling fell in and the bottom fell out I went into a spin and I started to shout I've been hit. This is it. This is it! I . . T . . . IT!"
"I don't even have many friends anymore because I backed away from them. When things went wrong for me I didn't want them to have any part of my trouble."
"I think things are going to go right for me again. I'm not old. I'm old enough, but I photograph young, thank God, and I still have a public. I still get fan mail."
"I was a commodity, like a hot dog. It was like hot dogs and Betty Hutton."
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